The Stockings Were Hung and the Creatures Were Stirring . . .

Race car drivers Spencer Hatch, Andrew Hatch, Jackson
Hatch, Cutter Laramore & Bode Laramore

Sunday we celebrated Hatch Family Christmas with all our children and grandchildren that could be in Seattle to join in the festivities.  We missed Ken's daughter Liffy, and my son Justin and his family, but otherwise everyone else was there for a total of 19 including baby Campbell.  Though Campbell's seat was in a high chair, everyone else was able to sit at the dining room table looking through the forest of silver and crystal reindeer and trees.

We began the evening with a toast of the specialty cocktail, "A Partridge in a Pear Tree" and by allowing the five grandsons ages 2 through 5 to open their plasma cars.  

All the other adults thought I had lost my mind and I think they were probably right.  I rolled up all the rugs in the long hallway between our back door and the living room and let the boys race on their cars back and forth until it was time for dinner.  The noise level was brutal for those that don't normally hang out with young boys!  It turned out to be great fun for the boys though.  Jackson Hatch, the eldest at age 6 was having the best time followed by his brothers Spencer (4), Andrew (2) and Cutter Laramore (4) and his little brother, Bode (2). Little princess, Campbell, in her baby walker stayed off the race track and held court with

Nikki Hatch with Campbell Laramore

her aunts and grown-up cousins, Kylee & Nikki Hatch.

People found their places at the table with their photo ornaments that they were asked to hang on the tree before they sat down for dinner.  The menu included caviar pie, our traditional Black Tie Tomato Soup with Parmesan Cheese Trees, Silky Syrah Short Ribs, a Christmas salad of shaved brussels sprouts and kale with craisins, tiny brie and fresh cherry preserves tartlets that Katie Laramore brought, delicious crusty scalloped potatoes with carmelized onions and fennel that Troy Clark and Sean Hatch brought along with baked macaroni and cheese from Teresa Hatch, fennel with lemon crumb topping from Alicia Hatch and pumpkin and apple pies courtesy of Renee Newitt.  

Bode and Katie Laramore, Alicia Hatch

We ended the evening with a gift exchange that

Troy Clark, Sean Hatch, Kevin Laramore

turned out not to be a white elephant exchange, but with desirable gifts that people actually jockeyed to take home.  And of course so we didn't all grow faint from hunger, there were Christmas cookies, Grandma Lee's fudge and homemade Caramel Pop passed during the exchange.

What a special time with family.  Merry Christmas everyone!

    

Single Malt Scotch Tasting with ARCS Members

The production of Scotch Whisky.

Last week I attended a Scotch tasting and dinner for women only at Jacque & Rick Doane's beautiful Yarrow Point home that had been purchased at the Seattle Chapter of the ARCS Foundation Auction earlier this year.  It turned out to be the auction item which raised the most money because not only was there room for around 30 women to attend the tasting, there was also room for several husbands of ARCS members to step up and bid on being honorary bartenders.

Dean Thomas Baillie

A real Scotsman, University of Washington Dean of Pharmacy, Thomas Baillie, dressed in his kilt and full regalia led the scotch tasting.  We tasted single malt Scotch whisky (we learned no "e" in the word "whisky" produced in Scotland) from three primary areas of Scotland; the Highlands, the Lowlands and the Isle of Islay.

We tasted The Glenlivet from the Highlands, Auchentoshan from the Lowlands and Bowmore from the Isle of Islay.  My least favorite was the Auchentoshan which I thought had a bitter flavor and I couldn't decide which I liked better between very smooth The Glenlivet and the heavier smoky and peat flavored Bowmore. We were served the whisky neat, but I found that I liked it much better with a splash of water and for me the flavor opened up more.

It was particularly fun for me to hear him telling about his childhood on the Isle of Islay when his father worked at the Bowmore distillery.  Many years ago in my previous life when I was still in the restaurant business, my then husband and I were

Dean Baillie with map of Scotland

wined and dined and stayed at the Bowmore Distillery.  Bowmore has a very distinctive flavor of smoky peat.  I can still remember running the bath water in our room and because it was water fed by springs which ran through the peat, the color of the water was exactly the same color as the Bowmore whisky!

The honorary bartender group was ably led by host Rick Doane and included Chap Alvord, Matt Rudolf, and Stan Barer. Some of the attending single malt Scotch aficionados included Lynn Thomsen, Susan Potts, Vicki Glant, Lee Brown, Alta Barer, Sandy Carlson, Lynn Mowe, Susan Adkins, Iris Wagner, Amy Rudolf, Kathy McQuaid, Zan Brookshire, Janet McNae, Jean Viereck and Margaret Breen.

SVP Fast Pitch Showdown

Wednesday night at McCaw Hall was the culmination of over 11 months work for ZINO Society in partnership with Social Venture Partners to produce their 3rd Annual SVP Fast Pitch Showdown.  There were literally thousands of details and decisions that were made over that space of time and hundreds of hours invested by entrepreneur innovators, volunteers and staff to present the final 14 pitches onstage in the Susan Brotman Auditorium at McCaw Hall.

In my opinion and from what I heard from many attendees that evening, this 2013 SVP Fast Pitch Showdown was by far the best to date.  Some of the challenges of the past couple of years which included leaky tents, unused assigned seating, an overly long program and registration and name tag snafus were all eliminated and 95% of the event went flawlessly.

The ZINO Society team members including Christine Gilbert, Meg Landies, Claire Dillow, Emma Landis and Ana Ongko, were on their game along with dozens of other volunteers and SVP team members!

Some of the best untold stories of challenges overcome this year were these which I thought you might enjoy . . .

SVP Executive Connector, Paul Shoemaker and SVP Fast Pitch Founder Will Poole did an excellent job of serving as co-emcees at the beginning of the evening.  As the program progressed, Paul's role was to introduce each presenting Social Innovator onstage and hand them the slide advancer aka "clicker".  Early in the evening, Paul accidentally dropped the slide advancer and it broke into several pieces with the battery rolling one direction and parts and pieces skittering about the stage.  Paul had to run around the stage finding the pieces and trying to put it back together which everyone saw.  Of course, the slide advancer didn't work once it was reassembled.

When the slide advancer hit the stage floor, the part of the story that no one saw except a startled usher who told her she shouldn't run in McCaw Hall was what ZINO Society Dealflow Manager, Meg Landies, who was managing the Innovators backstage, quickly did.  She dropped everything and ran at full speed from backstage all the way through the hallways, stairways and corridors of the bowels of backstage bursting out into the public spaces but still at the opposite side of McCaw Hall from the registration area where she needed to go.  When she arrived, she immediately retrieved the ZINO Society backup slide advancer from her bag and then sprinted all the way back to backstage in record time.  She said she told the usher it was an emergency and that she had to run.  Meg told me she hadn't run that fast since high school and was nursing pulled muscles for the next two days afterwards.

When it was time for the Awards ceremony, ZINO Society Project Manager for the Fast Pitch event, Christine Gilbert, who had been involved in virtually every detail of the project had the oversize "photo op" checks in place at the raised platform along with the crystal awards that were to be handed out to each of the winners.When the first winner was announced by Paul Shoemaker and Will Poole, Christine stepped forward with the crystal award and promptly dropped it on the floor next to the stage where it immediately shattered.  The funny part was after the crystal award's untimely demise, Christine just kept standing up straight, smiling holding the empty velvet case in which the award had been sitting and pretended that nothing had happened.  Finally, Bob O'Hara ran forward to pick up the broken crystal pieces while Christine continued to maintain her upright posture in absolute denial that anything untoward had happened.  After that, 2013 SVP Fast Pitch Chairman, Patricia Friel traded jobs with Christine and had Christine manage handing the unbreakable oversize checks to Will and Paul while Patricia handled the crystal awards disposition.  All the rest of the checks and crystal awards made it safely into the recipients' hands.

For details of who won which awards, please click HERE to read a blog posting by Deborah Drake.

The entire event can be described in one word:  AWESOME!

  

Hallowestival supporting Northwest Harvest!

Our devilish hostess, Eliza

Eliza Flug is one of those people that know how to PLAN a party so that everyone has fun!  This year she also chose to make it a time to gather food for Northwest Harvest.

The evening started with a bump in the road when Curmudgeon Ken, refused to dress up for the Halloween Party so I suggested that he could just wear his regular clothes and go as a "Grumpy, Old Man"!  He groused and complained all the way to the party, but then when he got out of the car and got to walk through the spectacular arcade of Halloween decorations and luminarias leading into the house, his attitude began to change (for the better!).

First, I found a place for the canned food we had brought with us and then almost immediately upon our arrival, Jodi Franklin, one of Liffy's good friends when they were growing up together, was there and she was so pleased to see Ken that she completely charmed him.

Andrew visits with Grumpa Ken

The party was for children and adults and Ken was thrilled to see his three grandsons shortly after we arrived at the party.  The older two, Jackson and Spencer, were not the least interested in seeing him or me because they were having so much fun running in a pack with all the other children at the party.  The children were entertained by a magician, running up and down the ladder to the playhouse and the huge dessert display with LOTS of decorated cupcakes and candy of all kinds.

Andrew with Alicia the Good Witch

Ken with Jody Foster

However, the youngest grandson, Andrew, dressed as a fireman, was happy to see his Grumpa and once I located seats for the two of them, sat next to Ken for a long time just taking in all the strange looking people while concentrating on eating a chocolate cupcake with lots of frosting.  His godmother,Betty Tong and her daughter, Caroline, stopped by to help him with his shoes and to wipe frosting off his face.  Mom Alicia, dressed as a beautiful witch, was definitely his favorite person at the party however and he was happiest when she held him.

Aaaargh!  Eve & Chap Alvord

Caroline & Betty Tong come to Andrew's rescue

Chap & Eve Alvord were dressed as pirates and their grandchild was dressed as a parrot, Chris Coburn was also dressed as an oversize parrot, Lisa Hess was dressed as one of the characters from Despicable Me, Michael Hatch was a fireman, and Connie Blumenthal was a pirate's wench.

The food included my favorite pizza from Veraci Pizza plus Nathan's Hot Dog Stand and when I brought Ken a bratwurst dog with the works, Ken raved that it was the best hot dog that he had ever eaten and could I please bring him another glass of wine.

By the end of the evening, Ken's attitude had totally changed and he had a GREAT time at the party! Thank you Eliza and Chris!  You really know how to make a party FUN!

A Spooktacular Party!

All the witches, ghouls and devils along with cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, pirates, golfers, pimps and mob bosses gathered for a Spooktacular Dinner Party at the home of Arlene Wright.  From Hunt's Point Road down through the driveway, front courtyard and into the house, every surface was decorated with spider's webs, bats, pumpkins, witches, spiders, skulls or skeletons!  Though they probably really didn't, it appeared that Arlene and her daughter, Crissey, must have worked for months just to decorate for the party!  I have never seen such a large collection of Halloween decorations!  What fun!!

Here is a photo gallery of some of the rogues and ghouls included.

Our beautiful hostess, Arlene

Carole the Cowgirl

Jan, the Spanish Lady & Susan, WHO Witch

Cowboy Bob & Penny, the Bee

Ken the Pimp, Gary the Mobster, & Doug, Old Man

Toni the Lamb & Penny the Bee

Mick the Pirate

Cowboy Bob and Indian Princess Kathie

Suzy, the masked one  & Diane as Octopussy

Food as Art (and Delicious too)

Gracious host and sommelier, Dan serves Ken

Last week Ken and I were delighted to be included in a dinner party that celebrated the beauty of the table and food as art, but with astonishing flavors too.

I have long been labelled a "chinaholic" and I was in heaven as course after small course of food was served on exquisite antique china with just the right size and shape for each course.  And the sterling silver was also perfectly in place for each as well.

The place setting when we sat down for dinner was exquisite.  And then the first course was a showstopper which was a scrambled duck egg served in the original shell with tiny caviar pearls on top.

It was an incredible menu entirely prepared by our hostess, Michele Heidt, who has incredible culinary skills, and ably assisted by her husband, Dan.  Not only was Dan the primary server, he also served as

Sommelier and dessert chef and didn't even complain once!

Scrambled Duck Egg

Michele's theme was "pearls" and luckily all of the women were wearing pearls and almost every food course came with a garnish of edible pearls of some type or another.  If you look closely at the photos, you will see the tiny

Fresh green pea soup with Wasabi Pearls

Tomato sorbet atop poached prawns

Creme Brulee with burnt sugar crust

garnishes.  I cannot remember all the types of pearls included but do remember that there were wasabi pearls and caviar pearls.

The other mesmerized and sated guests included Peggy & Michael Swistak and Lynn & Frank Lindsay.  It was truly a feast for all the senses!

Truth or Lie?

A couple of weeks ago at a dinner party, we had the opportunity to play "Two Truths and a Lie" with friends.  It is always fun to learn little known facts about friends, but after the party was over, I can't remember which were the truths and which were the lies!  I do remember that Chuck Lytle and Monty Montoya tied for the "best liars"!

Now you can guess which are the truths and which are the lies.

• Esther Schoenfeld said that she has traveled in a blimp, a rocket ship and a nuclear submarine.  
• Monty Montoya said that he met his wife, Tiffany when they performed cataract surgeries together in Arizona.
• Chuck Lytle said that for his first date with Karen, he took her to Club Med and that he was a champion distance track runner. 
• Kemper Freeman said that he and his wife, Betty, have been married for 50 years, that he has ridden his motorcycle 100,000 miles and that he was a championship swimmer at the University of Washington 
• Ken Hatch said that he grew up in a home with no running water and no electricity and that he received a four year full-ride academic scholarship to University of Utah.  
• Karen Lytle said that she and husband, Chuck, met in a bar.
• Tiffany Montoya said that Monty had to present a budget to her fighter pilot father proving that he could afford her when he asked for her hand in marriage.   
• Lenny Giannola said that he has bench pressed 1,500 pounds in 3 lifts and that he received a huge award last year as one of the select few Franchisees of the Year from McDonalds.  
• Patty Barrier said that she worked with chimpanzees at her first job out of college and that she has traveled cross-country in a motor home.  
• I said that I played the cello, was a provincial badminton doubles winner and Miss Cheerleader when I was in high school.  
• Jimmy Barrier said that . . . (he has asked to keep his truths and lie a secret!)
• Walter Schoenfeld said that he won a silver star as a Naval officer in Korea.
• Betty Freeman said that she has given up riding motorcycles now that she is older and smarter.
• Debi Giannola said that she was kicked out of first grade, that she totaled a snowmobile and took photos of grave stones for an ancestry website.

So, which factoids do you think are the truths and which are the lies?

Scintillating Lunch Conversation

Scintillating lunch conversation with Patty and Bob

Today, after 12 very cold holes of golf at Overlake Golf Club, Bob Cremin, Patty Barrier and I retired to the lounge for lunch and conversation.  Most of our conversation seemed to revolve about apps or photos on our iPhones though we did also talk about ringworm, potbelly pigs, shuttlecocks and glass art. At one point, we were clustered together  in one corner at the table trying to see the same iPhone photo all at the same time.

We saw photos of Patty's cats Leo and Manny, antique embellished silver tea caddies and an antique gold candlestick with a moth perched on the handle that Bob is considering acquiring.  Bob thinks it is a butterfly, but Patty and I both think it is a moth drawn to the flame.

Bob seems to have his photo files figured out the best since he actually has albums of photos on his iPhone. I still struggle just trying to get the photos off the iPhone and into my computer so I can use them.  However, this photo is one that successfully made the transition from my phone to my blog.  You can tell by the interaction that we were having extremely fascinating lunch conversation!

Shuttlecocks, Battledores or Birdies?

Table centerpieces

Last night I accompanied dear friend and  Pilchuck Glass School Board member, Patty Barrier, to the 35th annual Pilchuck Glass Auction at the Westin Hotel.  We left our husbands happily at home in front of their respective TVs.  As usual, this was such a beautiful auction with all the beautiful, fascinating and whimsical glass displayed.  The table centerpieces were interesting geometric tangents and clustered pillars designed by artist Lynn Everett Read, that several people said looked like Kryptonite out of a Superman movie

When we arrived, Patty was immediately enthralled with a glass piece in the silent auction entitled Black Battledore by artist Tyler Kimball, which I think was misnamed since that should mean the racket that is used to hit the object that looked just like the birdies that I used to play with when I played competition badminton in high school.  Patty was the successful bidder and we have since been arguing about what the correct name should be for this piece of glass art.  I kept calling it a "shuttlecock" which she thought sounded naughty, but looking up the definition in Widipedia, I was right, which is of course a huge relief!

According to Wikipedia,
A shuttlecock (also called a bird or birdie)^[1] is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. Battledore and shuttlecock or jeu de volant is an early game similar to that of modern badminton.  This game is played by two people, with small rackets, called battledores, made of parchment or rows of gut stretched across wooden frames, and shuttlecocks, made of a base of some light material, like cork, with trimmed feathers fixed round the top.  The "shuttle" part of the name was probably derived from its back-and-forth motion during the game, resembling the shuttle of a loom; the "cock" part of the name was probably derived from the resemblance of the feathers to those on a cockerel.

We ran into artist Steve Jensen, shortly after we arrived to find out that he had a piece in the live auction which was very unlike his traditional art.  This piece was an art glass bottomed boat with amber glass and driftwood sides.  Both Patty and I really liked it.  And then we ran into artist Debora Moore and also loved her white flower vase with orchids that was included in the live auction too.  There was also an exquisite black and white and red Dante Marioni piece that reminded me of how much I loved the tall red Dante Marioni that I received during my year as PONCHO President.  Everywhere we looked, there were amazing pieces of glass art!

Friends that we ran into also enjoying the evening were Faye Page, Bob Cremin, Dena Rigby, Carole Ellison, Toni & Rod Hoffman, Nancy & Charlie Hogan, Larry Hitchon & Dana Reid, Mitzi & John Morris, Sandi & Tim Premselaar and we were seated with Dorothy Saxe, Eve & Chap Alvord and Karyl & Elias Alvord, long-time supporters of Pilchuck Glass School and the arts in our community.

 

Museum of Flight Gala

Sherry & James Raisbeck with Raisbeck Aviation HS Student

Curmedgeon Ken and I enjoyed attending the Museum of Flight Gala this past weekend as guests of Puget Sound Business Journal.  It was a spectacular party with around one-third of the guests really getting into the spirit and dressing up in Great Gatsby era clothing.

Greeting guests near the front door by his exquisite classic car was James Raisbeck along with wife Sherry and a student from the new Raisbeck Aviation High School.  Sherry was wearing her special dress that had been Marilyn Monroe's and looked fantastic in it.

Ken Hatch with the "Champagne Girl"

Of course, one of the guest stars of the evening was the Electra 10-E airplane, a restored plane identical to the one Amelia Earhart loved flying and ultimately disappeared in, which came wheeling in front of the Museum of Flight piloted by Ann Simpson, Delta Airlines Captain, Museum of Flight Trustee and co-chair of the evening's festivities.

The Museum of Flight is of such grand size and scale that the tables awaiting the guests for dinner seemed tiny in comparison to the big Blackbird airplane towering over them.

We saw many friends including Gordy Prouty,

The tables awaiting the guests in the shadow of the Blackbird.

The "Champagne Lady"

Star of the Party:  The Electra 10-E

Marshal McReal, Patti Payne, Lee Keller, Nancy & Charlie Hogan, Dottie Simpson, Ann Wyckopf, Susan & Andy Hutchison, Bruce McCaw, Stacy & Doug King, Laurel & John Nesholm, Laurie Lyford, Robin Gainey & Jerry Sanford, Glenna Olson, Craig Stewart and others.

On the Eve of TNT: Travel & Technology Conference

Emma Landis and Claire Dillow working on TNT

The entire ZINO Society team has been hard at work preparing for TNT: Travel & Technology Conference that we are producing tomorrow in partnership with Garvey Schubert Barer.

We are expecting 150 people to join us at Bell Harbor International Conference Center tomorrow afternoon to hear from nineteen expert panelists in three separate panels in the fields of hospitality, travel and tourism and how technology impacts these business sectors along with one Dealflow flight which will include six entrepreneurs from start up and expansion companies in these sectors.  Click HERE to see more details about the

Ana Ongko and Meg Landies working on TNT

companies represented by panelists and entrepreneurs.

Meg Landies, ZINO Society Operations and Dealflow Manager, has prepared the presenting entrepreneurs to be ready to pitch their companies tomorrow, while Emma Landis, Member Services Manager, has worked on audience development and Claire Dillow, Marketing & Event Manager and newest team member, Ana Ongko, Events Coordinator, have handled the hundreds of details necessary to produce an event of this complexity.

Preparing the nametags for TNT.

The day will end with presentation of the TNT Explosive Idea Awards for best presentation and best investment opportunity followed by a networking reception featuring beer and wine from ZINO Society Brew & Wine Professional Members, Woodward Canyon Winery, Avennia, Castillo de Feliciano and Emerald City Beer.

AppleFest 2013

Penny Thackery at work cutting apples.

Carole Ellison at the press

A week ago, we braved the rain and wind to go to Carnation Valley to join our friends, Nancy & Van Strom,  at their annual AppleFest event.  This event is all about crushing apples for cider followed by a delicious dinner on our hosts' covered porch.

Though it was cold and rainy as we were driving to the party, when we arrived the rain began to clear so that it was positively sunny by later in the day.  To get us in the spirit of the project, we began with fresh apple juice on ice mixed with rum.  Ken pulled up a chair where he could supervise and keep a close eye on the work being done.

Michele & Dan Heidt at the press

There are many sticky jobs that are part of producing apple cider including washing the apples in a big old-fashioned bathtub, cutting the oversize apples in half so they will fit in the press, moving the apples from the bath to the press in buckets, pouring the apples into the press one or two apples at a time, twisting the press to squeeze out the juice, catching the juice in a pitcher and changing out the pitcher as needed, pouring the juice into bottles and capping them and cleaning out the "apple slush" of peels, worms(?), stems, etc that are trapped in the screen and don't make it into the juice.  The "apple slush" was all loaded into the blade of a front-loader to be driven to a neighbor's home later for his pigs.

Susan Taylor, Toni Hoffman, Joyce McCallum, Nancy Strom

Many of the guests took part in the production.  Susan Taylor handled catching the juice for much of the day, Carole Ellison was twisting the apple press, while Bob Cremin made dozens of trips back and forth from the bathtub to the press with buckets of apples. Michele & Dan Heidt took a turn at the press too as did several others.  Penny Thackery, Arlene Wright and I took turns cutting apples in half as needed. Along with others, Toni Hoffman and Jan Rogers poured juice in bottles.

If we needed to choose one person who worked non-stop on the apple-pressing project from beginning to end, it would be Carole Ellison, whom I think we should crown as AppleFest Queen!

Ken Hatch and Jan Rogers

A number of the guests came bearing hors d'oeuvres to keep up everyone's energy during the hard work of apple pressing.  I was especially happy to see Joyce McCallum arrive with her devilled eggs and Jan Rogers with her warm sausage turnovers.  And for dessert, Toni Hoffman, Trudi Syferd and Mary Nelson brought three different versions of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Yum!

Several of the ladies escaped to the kitchen when it appeared to be time to help with dinner.  There were many cooks in the kitchen with varying opinions on the "right" way to prepare every food item.  I do have to say that Nancy has the patience of a saint because she was able to handle all the "help and advice" without batting an eyelash.  And in spite of the many cooks, everything turned out absolutely delicious!

Tim Premselaar shows his appreciation of Tom Raschella.

Some of the other guests not already mentioned included Carol & Spike Anderson, Sue & Tom Raschella, Sandi & Tim Premselaar, Ken Hatch, Doug McCallum, Dave Syferd, Diane & Gordon Kuenster, Nancy & Denny Rood, Mick Thackery, Rod Hoffman and Susan & Gary Neumann.

Arlene Wright with Carole Ellison, AppleFest Queen.

The Magic of Amelia Earhart and the Lockheed Electra

Debi Giannola & Cathi Hatch 

On Saturday, Debi Giannola and I went to the Museum of Flight as guests of sponsor, Wells Fargo, to witness the final flight and arrival of the Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, a replica of the plane in which Amelia Earhart flew around the world.

We arrived early enough to visit the Electra Simulator flights in the Aviation Learning Center.  We were each able to "pilot" our own plane and I discovered that landing is much harder than it appears.  My plane bounced on the ground

Debi Giannola in the Simulator cockpit

and then up into the clouds as I kept over compensating on the joystick.

It was also fascinating to wander through the great gallery and see the scores of planes that are part of the Museum of Flight collection; fighter jets, stealth bombers, mail planes, commercial airplanes, military planes, helicopters, gliders, the Space Shuttle trainer and even a car that could convert to a plane with fold-down wings.  I didn't realize the incredible number of planes that are on

A view of just a portion of the aircraft collection

display at the Museum of Flight and it is very impressive.

We then made our way to “Amelia’s Electra” public program in William M. Allen Theater presented by Chief Curator Dan Hagedorn and Bob Bogash, Aircraft Acquisition Expert. Dan is a huge fan of Amelia Earhart and shared dozens of photos of her that I had never seen previously.  

"Project Amelia" banner

Bob is a huge fan of Clarence Johnson, the famous Lockheed aircraft designer that did some wind tunnel tests on the Electra 10-E that were important to its safety along with a modification to the tail which became known as "guitar picks". He would include the guitar pick element on future planes he would design when he went on to become a very famous Lockheed aircraft designer.  Bob made use of his time at the podium to make an "ask" to Museum of Flight CEO Doug King, who was sitting in the audience, for the next plane which he wants to acquire for the Museum of Flight.  One of the bigger challenges is that it is the only one left in the world and currently sits at the bottom of the ocean just off the Hawaiian Islands.  He estimated at least a $10 million price tag to recover it. 

The Museum of Flight's newest acquisition

Following the lectures, we adjourned upstairs for lunch to the VIP Viewing Lounge and were able to go out on the deck when the Electra flew by twice before making her final landing. There was something quite emotional in watching that beautiful, shiny silver plane land and taxi towards us, stopping long enough to do a full 360 degree circle as if she was taking her final bow just before stopping in the viewing area in the parking lot for the welcoming ceremony.

Debi and I saw several friends at the event including Pam Ellison, Mary Knell, Mary Bass and Marco Abbruzzese all representing Wells Fargo and Brad Tilden representing Alaska Airlines, Ned Laird, Patti Payne, Stacy King, Dottie Simpson, Ann Simpson, James Raisbeck, Diane Tice and others.  There were also many dressed up to look like Amelia Earhart, which was fun to see.

Congratulations to the organizing committee and the Museum of Flight Board of Trustees who were able to raise the money necessary to bring the Electra to our museum!