by Denise Kowalcyzk

Last Jan. 24, Teddy Clemons, IDPA's Fly-In Coordinator, arrived at Reagan National Airport to check out the preparations for the 2002 IDPA-USA Fly-in at Frederick, Md.

As co-chairperson of the 2002 fly-in, I had arranged an itinerary of seven meetings for Teddy, so I picked him up and checked him into the Sleep Inn in Rockville, Md.

Afterward I and my son, Jay, took Teddy to Bakery Corner in Gaithersburg, Md., for dinner. He was delighted to see almost all the fly-in committee members there, including John Yeh, Robert Lewis, John Woo, Bill Paolini and his girlfriend Ellie, and Tim Mulford. Unfortunately, Eric Mansfield couldn't make it owing to a conflict. They discussed the final schedule of flight trips, meetings and special events, all of which impressed Teddy.

On Friday morning, Teddy and I went to AOPA at Frederick Municipal Airport to meet Mary Guthrie, AOPA's Member Relations Coordinator. After discussing AOPA donations, the workshop, and a press release, Mary showed Teddy and me the AOPA conference room where the workshop would be held. Teddy complimented Mary on the conference room as a good location for the lecture of the 1999 Fly-in.

In the afternoon, at the Holiday Inn-Ft. Detrick, headquarters for the fly-in, Teddy was given a tour around the hotel including two different bedrooms, meeting rooms and the ballroom. He was highly impressed with the newly renovated bedrooms and said that it was the perfect location since it was only five miles away from Frederick Municipal Airport.

Afterward, I took Teddy back to Frederick Municipal Airport for three meetings. The first meeting was with William Caudell, the owner of Frederick Aviation, Inc. William gave us a tour of the hangar that will be used for the Community Breakfast. The next meeting was with the manager of Frederick Municipal Airport, Charles Abell. Teddy was impressed by Charles's understanding of deafness, for Charles frequently banged his foot on the floor to get the attention of Teddy and me.

Charles showed Teddy and me the runway rehabilitation project and explained that some areas of the ramp are off limits to aircraft while improvements are being made. Charles also generously offered a free parking area on the grass for all IPDA pilots to park their aircraft. He said all pilots must bring their own tie-down stakes and ropes in the area. Teddy left Charles' office smiling and feeling good that everything was running smoothly.

The last meeting on Friday was with the new owner of the Frederick Flight Center, Patrick McFadden. Teddy learned that Patrick had purchased Frederick Flight Center from Frederick Aviation, Inc. just two weeks before. Patrick said his business was very successful because of the three general aviation airports under the Washington Temporary Flight Restriction area that were closed because of security concerns after the attacks of Sept. 11. Many student pilots from those airports switched to his flight school.

On Saturday afternoon, I took Teddy to Bakery Corner for lunch and a meeting with Yvonne Mattiello, President of Deaf Eastern Bikers, along with her husband and Tim Mulford. While Tim was on his way to Bakery Corner, he was stopped by the police by mistake. Tim said a faster car had passed him. When police searched his car, they found Tim's hunting rifle and called the FBI and Secret Service. Although Tim showed them his gun license, they took it and his GPS away due because of the high security concerns after Sept. 11. While Tim was with us, he received e-mail message on his pager from a Secret Service agent stating that he would drop all of Tim's personal items at his work later in the late afternoon. What an experience for Tim!

During the discussion with Yvonne on issues of merging the events of the Eastern Deaf Bikers with those of Fly-in 2002, she acknowledged the IDPA membership's vote at the 2001 Fly-in at Lee's Summit, Mo., not to do so, and said she would see that all committees of Eastern Deaf Bikers would respect IDPA's wish that the Flight Contest/BBQ Picnic and IDPA Banquet are open to the public. Everyone at the meeting was satisfied with the outcome.

On Saturday evening, Bill Paolini stopped by the Sleep Inn to invite Teddy, Jay and me to dinner at his and Ellie's place. Ellie, a wonderful hostess, took Teddy on a tour around her condo. Ellie was amazed that Bill served 75 year-old-brandy to Teddy because Bill had had the bottle for years and never opened it. Bill, an excellent chef, cooked the guests a yummy dinner. Teddy really enjoyed the last night of his visit at Bill and Ellie's place.

On Sunday, when I dropped Teddy at Reagan National Airport, he said he was strongly confident that the plans for Fly-in 2002 were running very smoothly. None of the committees, he declared, really needed his advice at all.