Local Soaring Awards

The Sancho Panza

The trophy is to be awarded annually to the glider crew who makes the greatest effort or most significant sacrifices to perform retrieve services for glider pilots. The purpose therefore is to recognize the unsung heroes of cross-country flights, the retrieve crews, who are essential for successful cross-country glider flights. Generally, the award is made for some unusual effort such as an extremely long overnight retrieve, or a muddy field situation requiring great effort, or a number of retrieves for an individual pilot or for different pilots, and other situations requiring significant effort.

Past Recipients: 

​1992: Don Patterson
1995: Norb Reinardy
1996: JC Cunningham     
1997: Kathy Ingraham
1999: Mark Cleare
2000: Roger Payne

2002: Walt Johnson
2005: JC Cunningham
2006: Steve Metz
2007: Jim Hard
2008: Kathleen Winters
2009: Roger Payne, Walt Johnson

2010: Paul Esser
2011: Roger Lee
2012: Fred Hewitt, Paul Esser
2013: Roger Urban
2014: Marilyn Meline, Stephen Nesser