By Dan Vanevenhoven, EAA 503226
To celebrate 50 consecutive years of fly-in conventions in Oshkosh, we’re featuring Stories of Oshkosh told by attendees remembering their special moments at EAA’s long-standing home. If you or someone you know would like to share your own Story of Oshkosh, email editorial@eaa.org.
My EAA Oshkosh story starts in 1976, the year I originally joined EAA. My dad and I went down to Oshkosh to look at some planes — I had the aviation bug. When we got there, we pulled in this parking lot and we started watching planes go by when a man exited the building. He walked over to us and asked if we were pilots, my dad and I both said no. He then asked, “Why not?” He looked at me and asked, “Ever fly in a plane?” I said no. He asked if we had ever heard of EAA. We both had heard of it but never had been to it. He talked to us about airplanes for about an hour, and as he left, he looked at me and said, “You should talk to your dad about joining EAA,” and he gave me a paper with his phone number on it. That man was Paul Poberezny.
The following year I started volunteering at Oshkosh. Other than when I lived in Florida from ’85-’90, I have never missed an AirVenture.
In 1991 I started volunteering again at EAA Oshkosh, bouncing from place to place for a while, until I started in admissions at the brand new Gate 346. I was there for a while, then I was asked to be the vice chair at E17 (the little gate that could). A few years later the chairman of E17 retired and I took over. Since then our building has expanded, moved, and been renamed to the theater gate.
The reason I love AirVenture can be summed up like Paul always used to say — your first year you come for the planes, after that you come for the people. I have seen so many interesting planes over the years. Every year is more interesting than the last. But, the people are what make it so much fun. A friend of mine I first met at AirVenture a few years ago was a young VFR pilot looking to graduate from high school, now he is an airline pilot. It’s so much fun meeting people at AirVenture and keeping up with them over the years.