WOW!!!! Way to go, NORTH CENTRAL SECTION 99S!!! The good news is, the North Central Section has SEVEN 2007 AE Scholarship winners!!! Repeat, SEVEN WINNERS, out of a total of 17! And not only that, for the second year in a row, the winner of the Maule Tailwheel Award is also from the North Central Section!

The seven 2007 Amelia Earhart Scholarship winners from the North Central Section are:

The three academic scholarships were awarded to our members pursuing college training in the field of aviation. Heidi is a student at the University of North Dakota. Sarah, a student at Purdue University, is receiving her second AE Scholarship this year. Jeannie is finishing high school this spring but has also been concurrently taking college courses. Jeannie won a Future Woman Pilot award in 2006, which helped her get her private pilot certificate.

The other four scholarships are for flight training. Sally hopes for a career change to aviation, and getting her instrument rating is a critical step in that direction. Lynn and Mary also hope to develop careers in aviation, by teaching flying and/or flying commercially. Tina is already a flight instructor and wants to add seaplane instruction to her skills.

The 2007 Maule Tailwheel Training Award, for 10 hours of tailwheel training, presented to a 99 who has no prior tailwheel experience, has been donated by Maule Flight, Inc, Moultrie, GA. And the 2007 winner is Stephanie Hahn, Greater Kansas City Chapter.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

Ellen Herring, Amelia Earhart Scholarship Chairman
North Central Section Ninety-Nines

Click here to see the AE Scholarship History

Our winners

Sarah Dooley

I’m thrilled to be one of the AE scholarship recipients! Yes, I will be a senior this year...finally :)...earning my Aviation Technology degree.  This coming semester will be my third semester in Purdue’s B727 simulator. I've completed almost all of my aviation related classes. Also, this will be my second year as a part-time flight instructor for Purdue.

Heidi Klein

I’m Heidi Klein from Waupaca, WI. I am 19 years old. Currently, I’m a junior (07-08) at University of North Dakota- Grand Forks. My majors are Commercial Aviation and Flight eduction with Honors. I’m currently a C/Lt Col in Civil Air Patrol and enjoy working with cadets and in the emergency services field. In my free time, I enjoy skiing, reading, flying, spending time with friends, volunteering, discussing politics and spending time outdoors. When I graduate, I plan on pursuing law school to work toward becoming an Aviation Lawyer.

Jeannie Shipp

I will be attending Schoolcraft College this fall to work toward my Bachelors in Aviation Managment. After Schoolcraft, I will be transfering to Eastern Michigan University for the completion of that degree. My ultimate career goal is to be the manager of Oakland County International Airport.

Sally Siebe

Sally Siebe, The Greater St. Louis Chapter, will use her 2007 AE Scholarship to pursue her Instrument Rating. She “couldn’t get out to the airport fast enough” once she heard she was an AE Scholarship winner! Sally started her training in May. Changing jobs to a three days/week Dialysis Nurse allowed her more time to fly. Now, if the St. Louis weather will cooperate, her Instrument Rating will be right around the corner.

Mary Biller

Thank you so much for all your help during the scholarship process.  I cannot tell you how delighted and excited I am to receive this honor.   

With my commercial rating my immediate plan is to become a CFI.  In the meantime, however, I will be looking for opportunities to use my new rating.  Imagine.....getting paid to fly!  How cool is that?

Lynn Sykes

I still cannot believe that I have received such a gracious scholarship. I continue to wake up each morning and think it is all a dream. Then I receive the announcement on the webserver and ....I SURE DID RECEIVE THE SCHOLARSHIP. I am so very blessed.!!!  

My amended plan for obtaining my commercial rating did not start out very well. The plane that I planned to use was sold last month.  But, last weekend I approached a fellow Sawyer pilot who just purchased a 1976 Piper Arrow and asked if he would consider renting N203BW for a 10 hour block. Without hesitation, he said “ABSOLUTELY, whatever you need to get it done!” So, now I have a plane secured. At present the plane is in my 49 1/2's maintenance shop for a new windscreen and glareshield install.  Once that is completed, my complex training can begin.  The second obstacle has been my CFI.  He recently sold his house and will be moving 4 hours away but promises me that he isn't worried. “We WILL get it done”.  We plan to meet next week for my first lesson and to map out a strategy.  I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am.  I have begun reading the POH on the Piper Arrow as well as reviewing the Commercial information from the written exam.  Closner Construction, my employer, graciously gave me an airline ticket to attend the International Conference in Denver. My life is surrounded by so many people who support my flying endeavors.  Let the learning begin!   

Christina Hartlaub

I have some wonderful news to share.  I have finished my seaplane add-on as of July 6th!  I have been spreading the good news to all pilots I get to see and let them know of the wonderful opportunity that the 99’s has given me.  I have even inspired one of our other WI members to consider apply for the AE scholarship next year for her own pair of seawings.  I learned so much from this license and experienced a whole other world of aviation.

The Hawk XP I flew was an amphibian and we dashed around a few lakes learning how to land, sail, and dock.  It was very scary flying so low to the water to see the wave heights and to see if there were any objects in the water that we would have to be cautious of.  But then afterward, it was then very weird to fly up at 1000 AGL again!  Strangely enough, my hardest part of the flying is landing on solid ground!  My depth perception became distorted being so high up on top of the floats.  I’ve had a blast and learned so much in the hours I’ve flown.

Now I have a 135 checkride coming up and the ground school is strenuous.   Thank you again for all your support.

Stephanie Hahn

I was born in Towson, MD on January 22nd, 1979. When I was ten, my family and I moved to the suburbs of Kansas City. Throughout my youth, my father took both my mother and I to every airshow he could find in the area. I did not seriously think about flying until I met a flight instructor. One year later I received my private pilot’s license, and two years after that I had my instrument rating. At first I just wanted to fly for my own pleasure, but I came to realize that I love to show people the joys of flying. It was at that moment that I discovered that I want to teach. My goal is now to become a flight instructor.

After a little telephone/email tag and comparing of schedules, I have arranged to do my training at the Maule Factory Nov 5-8th 2007.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful that time of year.  It is a four day training course, but I will allow time for weather.  I will probably fly down Sunday Nov 4th, and back on Sunday Nov 11th.