Racing with the Chairman and Commander in one weekend
With the roar of race cars muffled in the background, months of planning, sweat, blood and tears (ok, maybe not blood) were triumphantly rewarded for the Fort Worth Chapter 272. On a beautiful spring evening in March at The Speedway Club, Texas Motor Speedway, the chapter hosted another successful “Evening in Fort Worth”. Although the chapter has hosted the annual fund raiser black tie event for over a decade it is really a weekend long event. This year was no exception. Key note speaker this year was the Commander of Air Force Material Command, General Bruce Carlson. The chapter was also honored to have AFA Chairman of the Board, Bob Largent, attend.
Events during the day on Friday included meetings arranged by recent National Director Dan Heth with top Air Force leaders based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (Carswell Field). Mission briefings were presented by Major General Craig Collins, commander, 10th Air Force (AFRC); Colonel David McMinn, commander, 136th Airlift Wing (ANG): Colonel Kevin Pottinger, commander, 301st Fighter Wing (AFRC). Following the briefings, General Collins and Colonel Pottinger provided a flight line tour of the 301st Fighter Wing’s F-16 aircraft, where some of the aircrew and maintenance members shared their experiences from recent Iraq and Afghanistan deployments. Later that evening Chairman Largent hosted a casual dinner with the chapter officers not only from the Fort Worth chapter but those from Dallas as well. Also in attendance were former National Officers Dan Heth and Tom Kemp, and state Executive Vice President Dave Dietsch. This smaller group was able to interact with the chairman and he was able to give those in attendance a “State of AFA” and current activities and interest at the national level.
Saturday was a full day with the arrival of Gen and Mrs. Carlson and a tour of the OV-10 Bronco Association/Forward Air Controller and Vintage Flying Museums at Meacham Field, in Fort Worth. Of course the big event was the black tie and mess dress function that evening. With Mike Snyder, a local TV news anchor as Master of Ceremonies and Chapter President Ross Wood at the podium, the evening’s events were kept running as well as the cars on the track. Although the muffled sounds of race cars practicing around the track could be heard in the background it was like a smooth melody not an annoyance. By the time supper was complete, awards presented and General Carlson had given the almost 200 military, civic leaders, community partners and ROTC cadets in attendance an update about Material Command, the sounds of Jazz by Crosswinds Jazz Band replaced the sound of race cars. Dancing and socializing concluded the weekend events. Comments were overheard being said about the elegance of the Speedway Club and what a pleasant change in venue from a downtown hotel in past years.