2012 Spring Section Meeting
Where Pigs Fly | Kitty Hawk | Apr 2012
Pinehurst Southeast Section Meeting…….. where pigs fly!
Lots of southern hospitality was in order for the weekend of our Spring SE Section meeting in Pinehurst, NC. The ladies of the Kitty Hawk Chapter – with some assistance from the Carolinas Chapter – showed us all the good stuff! We stayed in the beautiful Homewood Suites in Pinehurst, surrounded by lush gardens and loads of golf courses. The hotel was beautiful, and the folks treated us like royalty.
We started with registration and a meet and greet Friday evening so we could reconnect and discuss the “pre-business” matters that were before us. Then the board retired to the meeting room to hold the annual board meeting in preparation for the general business meeting the following morning.
Hanna Mari Salo beat us all to the punch with her cheery safety seminar early Saturday morning. It was a well-attended meeting where our members learned about the 3 P’s model and discussed IMSAFE. Hanna set up some nice scenarios to drive (or fly) home the points about safety and aeronautical decision-making. Our general business meeting followed where we reviewed new proposed International Bylaws, discussed our fund-raising efforts and the continuing saga of our group 501(c)(3) exemption, among other topics. The annual budget was approved for the upcoming year.
When the meeting concluded, our 99s and guests learned the history of the area by taking a narrated motorized windshield history tour of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, and Aberdeen with a visit to the historic Shaw House and the Malcolm Blue Farm. The historic Shaw House, built by a first-generation Scottish settler around 1820, is located on its original foundation at the crossing of the famed Revolutionary Pee Dee and Morganton Roads at the southern entrance to Southern Pines. The House is typical of the antebellum houses which followed the cabins of the early Sandhills settlers. It is less elaborate than the seacoast plantations and has the charm and sturdy simplicity which was characteristic of the Scottish families who settled in this region. The interior is highlighted by fine detail on two hand-carved fireplace mantels of unusual beauty and by many outstanding early examples of Moore County pottery and “plain-style” pine furniture. Other homes and out-buildings, dating from 1770, are also located on the property. Touring the Malcolm Blue Farm, built in 1825, and museum provides insight into the lives of early pioneers in the Sandhills. The house is filled with authentic furnishings of everyday life during the 1800s. Visitors get a first-hand feel for what life in the 1800s was about by touring the farmstead. The grounds are shaded with 100-year-old Darlington oaks and are composed of a windmill, gristmill, water well, and numerous barns.
Others who did not participate in the tour stayed back and “minded the pig”. Oh, yeah, that pig …. well, there was one that did not fly. He was busy being dinner. Corbi Bulluck’s dad and family friend, Wayne did a full pig roast for our pig pickin’ dinner and, oh my, was it ever so good; only to be outdone by the ‘nanner puddin’ bake-off. (Did I mention how filling this meal was?)
After our fill of dinner, we sat back to hear our guest speaker, Roland Gilliam, owner of the Gilliam-McConnell Airport. He regaled us with stories of old aviators and the history of his airport in NC and of the homecoming of Robert Hoyle Upchurch, a WWII aviator shot down over China whose body was finally identified after being lost for 63 years The Gilliam-McConnell Airport hosted a memorial ceremony for our fallen pilot as they brought him back home for his proper burial. Sunday morning came all too soon, and we said “see ya’ll later” to our 99s sisters until our next Section meeting on September 14-16, 2012 at Macon, GA – sounds like more Southern Hospitality to me!!!
