Lowell Cunningham and Barbara Hall.

MVCA Rep to the CCNC JoAnn Dean, of Restoration Mgmt Co., and Barbara Larson, of Cunningham Lindsey.

Sam Belknap, of Settlement Professionals, Inc.; Jodi DeVillier, of Coast Construction; and Jill Milani, of Budget/Avis were all engrossed as well.

Jennifer Diaz, of MCS, assisted with the door prize give-aways.

In addition to being the owner of Tucknott Electric (for which his introductions have become legendary at association gatherings everywhere), Tucknott is a volunteer pilot for the Angel Flight West organization. When Russ Auker was called out on a big investigation in the Truckee area - a situation that required his ongoing lead - Bob Tucknott agreed at the eleventh hour to share his experiences working with Angel Flight with the August MVCA luncheon crowd.

Technical difficulties hindered the start of the meeting so, in good spirits, MVCA President Marvin Wenograd, of Frontier Adjusters, made use of an EVOO bottle for a mock-microphone in welcoming the members and guests in attendance.

Angel Flight West is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that arranges free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions and other compelling needs. “Our network of 1,900 pilots throughout the 13 western states donate their aircraft, piloting skills, and all flying costs to help families in need,” states their web site, “enabling them to receive vital treatment that might otherwise be inaccessible because of financial, medical, or geographic limitations.”

Pilots like Tucknott give freely of their time and money, serving to help restore health and hope to those whose lives have been disrupted by illness, disaster, or other life-altering events. Their only reward is the joy of knowing how much of a difference they’ve made.

Bob gave a general overview of the organization and how Angel Flight West works, including a brief video, part of which featured him in a news report. He then proceeded to share some of his own personal stories of missions he’s flown over the many years he’s been involved. Angel Flight began in 1983 and Bob’s been onboard most of those years, since 1989. He was the first N. California “Wing Leader”.

He spoke of the little girl he flew from Redding, CA to Stanford and back, from his hanger at the Hayward Airport. He talked emotionally about a young father who Angel Flight agreed to transport on a daily basis to and from his treatment hundreds of miles away so that he could be with his family each night.

When missions are posted, Angel Flight West volunteer pilots accept the times and flights they can do. In this case, there were more than 60 flights to enable this family to have their dying father with them each night. Bob was able at that time to take on more than five of those flights. He said he generally makes a it a practice not to get too personally involved with the people for whom he flies. But, in this case, he actually felt compelled to attend the gentleman’s funeral.

Mr. Tucknott also told his dramatic story from September 11, 2001. As the entire country was locked-down following the disasters back East, Bob flew the empty skies with an emergency transport of blood on-board from the South Bay to San Diego. It wasn’t until later than he became fully aware that he had an F-15 escort circling above the whole way. “Can you tell that guy to speed up?” the F-15 pilot asked flight control. “He’s doing 180 knots in a Cessna 182,” was the reply. “He’s going as fast as he can.”

There was nary a dry-eye in the house by the end of Bob Tucknott’s presentation. Other organizations, such as the Central Coast Claims Association in San Jose, now make Angel Flight West a priority in their charitable contribution focus. In fact, the CCCA is holding their eighth annual Bowling Tournament Thursday, October 8th in Morgan Hill - a benefit for Angel Flight West. The group has raised a total of nearly $10,000 over the past two years on behalf of Angel Flight. Definitely a worthy cause.

Mr. Tucknott kept the crowd engrossed with his talk about helping those in need with Angel Flight West.

L-R: Jennifer Diaz, Marine Claims Services, Inc.; Lowell Cunningham, Mountain Valley Appraisers; MVCA VP Barbara Hall, MCS; JoAnn Dean, RMC; Geoff Jolliff, JM Environmmental; and Barbara Larson, Cunninghma Lindsey are all locked-in to Tucknott’s talk.

Sherry, Marv & Steve Wenograd at the August meeting.

L-R: Farmers’ Ins. guest; Deena Lucero, ServiceMaster Stockton; Lynsey Camara, PuroClean; Rick Boggs, 1-888-4-Abatement, Inc.; Michael Moniz, LaborMax; & Andrea Latimer, 1-888-4-Abatement.