Welcome pilot community in the Santa Cruz county region. My name is Ryan Ramirez. As the newly elected President of the Watsonville Pilots Association, I am writing to tell you about some exciting developments as we emerge from a lengthy hiatus and reorganization. Based on overwhelming feedback from the survey we sent out a few months back, I am working closely with our board members to re-cast the WPA into an association that is more relevant and attractive to the larger pilot community across Santa Cruz county. The goals of the WPA remains much the same, albeit slightly updated:
Represent the Watsonville aviation community with a unified voice
Protect the airport land and surrounding safety zones
Host training and seminars to promote pilot safety and proficiency
Foster positive relationships with the citizens of Watsonville and surrounding communities
Educate on the utility and positive impact aviation has on the city
Organize community and aviation social events
Recent Accomplishments Our recent activities have been focused on protecting the airport, whether it’s from blocking encroaching development, settling unreasonable financial claims by the City, or negotiating with Pajaro Valley HS to build outside a critical flight path. None of these successes would be possible without member support and we thank you! I want to also thank Sara Chauvet and posthumously, her late husband Dan, for their incredible volunteer contributions to keep KWVI and the surrounding area safe. They have been tireless in driving these legal initiatives. New Website! The most noticeable change we’ve made so far is to our website. It has been redesigned for ease of navigation, upgradability and hosts many new features and tools that we can share with our members. Notably, we’ve unveiled a new Members Forum available to all paid members and a section with pilot and weather resources. Also, member dues can now be paid through the website. If you haven’t had a chance to visit please do so and explore all it has to offer! www.watsonvillepilots.org Your comments and contributions are invaluable as our website is still a work in progress. This resource belongs to all our members and is an essential hub of information, communication and outreach. We’re always looking for local aviation-related content, including photos, videos, articles, stories etc. The more relevant content that we add, the more valuable the website becomes. You can contact us at: mail@watsonvillepilots.org I would like to thank Richard Lippi for creating, managing and contributing to the old WPA site through many of the association’s formidable years. I would also like to thank Ken Adelman for hosting the old WPA site from 2001 to 2019 and to both for helping transfer the site to its new home! Next Membership Meeting You will soon receive an email about our next “new” All-Membership meeting. Our goal is to provide stimulating and informative content, an opportunity to mingle with old and new members, and of course serve up some tasty food. Planning is still in the formative stage, but the Board has tentatively decided on quarterly membership meetings, beginning with one this Fall. Stay tuned! If you have connections to great speakers, please send us an email and let us know. mail@watsonvillepilots.org Our New Leadership Team President: Ryan Ramirez Vice President: Barry Porter Secretary: Brad Smith Treasurer: Jeremy Lezin Vice-Treasurer: Ed Bogner The Board of Directors also includes: Jack Bernard, Sara Chauvet, Raphael Hebert, Said Karsalli, Theresa Byers and Marjorie Bachman Lastly, for those of you that don't know me... During the day, I am a product director in the software industry and at night you can sometimes find me playing music around the county with my band, Soul Doubt. As I’m sure you can relate, if I’m not doing either of those, I’m hanging out on the field at our beloved airport, or flying just about anywhere in my co-owned LSA. What can you do now? You can help the WPA by getting current with your annual dues or joining the WPA if you are not yet a member. There are two quick ways to do this: 1) Sign up at www.watsonvillepilots.org/joinwpa and pay your dues. This will also give you access to our new Members Forum on the website. Or, 2) If you are an existing member, send a check in the prepaid envelope being sent to your address on file. Your dues are critical to help us continue to protect the airport. Thank you in advance for your ongoing support.
On behalf of the Board, thank you for this opportunity to serve you and help create a new WPA. Ryan Ramirez President, WPA Hangar B-7