Bahamas Habitat

We are excited to share with you that Bahamas Habitat has been selected as one of twenty finalist in the Lightspeed Aviation Foundation’s Pilot’s Choice Award Finalist. Now we need your VOTE to be selected as a recipient of one of the $10,000 awards and further the work of Bahamas Habitat.

Bahamas Habitat promotes and develops servant leaders with a global world view by providing educational, economical, community and spiritual development programs that improve the lives of the Bahamians. The organization supports home repair and disaster relief work while introducing pilots to mission flying opportunities in The Bahamas and the Caribbean. Bi-annual Fly-In & Help Out Events promote mission experiences for pilots, aircraft owners, volunteers and aviation organizations in the US and Canada. Consider joining us for the next mission planned for Oct. 25-28, 2012.

Bahamas Habitat also took the lead in raising funds and recruiting volunteers to build the Zion Children’s Home for abandoned and abused children on Current Island in The Bahamas. The Children’s Home is scheduled to open its doors in the very near future to provide 16 children with a safe place to grow, learn and experience love, perhaps for the first time in their lives.

The organization’s newest and very exciting project is the start of a Skills Training Center to be located on the Bahamas Methodist Habitat Camp Symonette site in James’ Cistern, Eleuthera. A recently donated warehouse will be used to to establish this vocational training center that is designed to give the Bahamians marketable construction trade skills. The target population for the Center is anticipated to be at risk youth within the community. Bahamas Habitat has already begun coordinating plans to prepare the new site, relocate and redesign the structure for its future destination and purpose. This promises to be a very exciting program and you are invited to get involved.

The Lightspeed Aviation Foundation is in its third year of partnering with the aviation community to identify and support worthy aviation causes.

All supporters and aviation enthusiasts are invited to vote in the Pilot’s Choice Awards. The top five charities, as chosen by the aviation community, will receive a cash award for no less than $10,000 to help fulfill their mission.

Bahamas Habitat is supported exclusively by the generous contributions of its volunteers and donors  You can also make a contribution to Bahamas Habitat via the Bahamas Habitat website.

Bahamas Habitat is now listed and featured on a new charity website known as www.flyingforgood.com.

The site highlights worthwhile public benefit flying organizations and is published by Charles Stites. Charles has been a great supporter of Bahamas Habitat. He in fact, was on board N74EM on its first trip into Haiti in January 2009 and has numerous harrowing stories from that first flight.

As a widely published freelance journalist, Charles has been supportive of our cause by writing wonderful articles about Bahamas Habitat, several of which have been published in major industry publications.

Also featured on Flying For Good is our very own, Gene Schmidt, for his flying in support of our Haiti Relief operations. The recognizes Gene for his numerous generous acts along with his 2010 Distinguished Pilot Award.

We applaud Charles for publishing this great new site and look forward to his continued coverage of ongoing missions at Bahamas Habitat and all the public benefit flying missions.

Charles, make room for more profiles of all the great pilots and volunteers that make our mission possible!

ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZED IN MULTIPLE CATEGORIES

Distinguished Volunteer Pilot -
Bahamas Habitat Volunteer Pilot, Mr. Gene Schmidt

Outstanding Achievement in Public Benefit Flying -
Bahamas Habitat

Public Benefit Flying Teamwork Award  -
Bahamas Habitat, NBAA & Aero Bridge

The Bahamas Habitat Team Receives Multiple Awards
Left to Right: Henry Knowles, Frank Moses, Gene Schmidt, Steve Merritt,
Abraham McIntyre, John Armstrong, Matt Hansen, Cameron King,
Jim Lee, and Sam Frasier

September 17th, 2010 Washington DC – Since 2003, the Public Benefit Flying Awards presented by the National Aeronautic Association in conjunction with Air Care Alliance have honored organizations and individuals who are committed to flying in order to serve others.

On September 16th the National Aeronautic Association presented at their Above and Beyond Presentation the Public Benefit Flying Awards at the National Capitol building in Washington DC.

This year one organization, Bahamas Habitat, was recognized in multiple categories for the 2010 National Public Benefit Flying Awards. The Distinguished Volunteer Pilot award was presented to a Bahamas Habitat Volunteer Pilot, Mr. Gene Schmidt. The Outstanding Achievement in Public Benefit Flying was presented to the Bahamas Habitat organization.

Further, all volunteers of Bahamas Habitat and all organizations that participated in the Haitian relief efforts were also recognized with the Teamwork Award, which was presented jointly to Bahamas Habitat, NBAA and AERObridge (previously CARE). The Distinguished Volunteer Award was presented to Justin Ogden, Captain, Civil Air Patrol, Southwest Region, Arizona.

Gene Schmidt responded to Bahamas Habitat’s call for pilots at the beginning of the Haiti earthquake disaster and proceeded to fly a portion of every week for over a month and a half in support of the mission delivering supplies and helping to extract people from the hardest hit areas of Haiti.

Bahamas Habitat Team Recipients of the
Outstanding Achievement Award
Left to Right: Sam Frasier, Gene Schmidt, Steve Merritt,
Abraham McIntyre, John Armstrong, Cameron King, Matt Hansen,
Henry Knowles, Jim Lee, and Frank Moses

Bahamas Habitat and their 125 plus volunteer pilots like Gene Schmidt, were extensively involved in Haitian relief efforts through the use of general aviation aircraft. The organization responded with a command center in Nassau coordinating hundreds of volunteer aircraft to deliver hundreds of thousands of pounds of relief aid as well as transporting doctors and emergency volunteers to Haiti after the earthquake. Volunteer pilots came from all over the US and Canada to fly with Bahamas Habitat demonstrating the amazing potential available from the public benefit flying sector.

NAA Presents Bahamas Habitat, NBAA and AERObridge the
Public Benefit Flying Teamwork Award
Left to Right: Rol Murrow, John Armstrong, Ed Bolen,
Marianne Stevenson, John Gaffney

“It was an honor and a privilege for me to receive on behalf of Bahamas Habitat, as an organization as well as on behalf of each of our volunteers, these awards of recognition for their selfless service. Those of us that served know ‘its not about us’. I was pleased that we had the opportunity to take a moment during the presentation to remember those that we served and those that are still suffering. I am so proud of each and every one that served and that was recognized by these awards.”

-John Armstrong, President & Chairman, Bahamas Habitat