Dear friends, pilots, volunteers and donors, as you know, for the past two years I've been honored to hold the position of President/CEO of Mercy Flight Southeast.  What a wonderful experience I've had getting to know many of you, working with our patients, speaking to groups around the region and leading the organization during a tough time in our economy. We were able to make it through some tough times, but we all feel having someone that is not commuting back and forth from Alabama to Florida is important for our continued success.

I would like to report that after a search for a new leader, the board has selected Steve Purello, current board chairman, as the person to continue on in the position of President/CEO. Steve lives close to the main office and has been a part of the organization for many years and knows the mission well.  We've been working together closely in order to assure Steve a smooth transition and to make sure nothing is lost in this transition that is underway.

I look forward to supporting the organization as a volunteer again and helping in anyway I can.  I hope that Steve receives the same warm reception that I had when I left the board in order to run the day-to-day operations of the company.  I know I say it often, but without our volunteer pilots and earth angels, this charity would not exist.  Each of you are important pieces in making this puzzle come together, and I look forward to seeing the organization continue to grow in every aspect.

Best Regards,

Blake Mathis

Outgoing President/CEO

Blake@MercyMail.org

First of all, we want to recognize Dr. Carl Morgenstein who plays a vital role in assisting some of our patients to get a medical release form from their personal doctor.  When their doctors are not familiar with general aviation flying, Dr. Moregenstein takes time to communicate with other doctors about flying in un-pressurized airplanes and other important facts about our missions.  This helps the patients get their release form signed and allows them to be eligible for a mission.

We are currently looking for additional physicians who can help us during times that Dr. Morgenstein is away or unavailable.  If you know of a physician that is knowledgeable with general aviation and that might want to assist in this process, please have them contact our office.

We would like to say "Thank You" to the team at Flying Colors, based beneath the Mercy Flight SE main office in Leesburg, for helping prepare our building and common areas for this weekends board meeting.  Their team pressure washed the building and walkways and helped spread mulch to make the property look nice.  They re-blacktopped the parking lot as well.  Thanks for the help from Flying Colors aircraft paint shop.

SHELTAIR extends fuel discount to Mercy Flight Southeast missions that purchase fuel at the Daytona Beach (DAB) location.  Any pilot passing through while on a mission can ask for a $1.00 off per gallon.  This can be a big help with transporting families in need.  Many FBOs offer this type of support and we will do our best to let our volunteer pilots know which FBOs to use while on missions.  

Plans are coming together for the October planned event in the Bahamas.  The weekend will include the quarterly board meeting and an Island fund raiser that will be approximately $99 per person.

For pilots who have never flown to the Bahamas before, we are looking into offering an orientation class, possibly with Banyan Aviation at FXE.

More details will be appearing on our website soon, but its not too early to mark your calendars and prepare for a great event in October.  If you think you might want to attend this event, please click HERE and indicated your level of interest to help us get rough counts for the event.  Thanks!

The P-51 Mustang flight raffle is going great!  Each week, we remind you that this event is underway and it's not too late to get your tickets for your chance to fly an airplane that helped win World War II.  For only $20, your name is in the hat to FLY Crazy Horse, a P-51 Mustang.  Thanks to the team at Stallion 51 for partnering with us on this project for charity.

You can get full details and buy your tickets at our website, www.MercyFlightSE.org

October 9 - Poker Bike Run, Palm Coast

October 15-17 - Board Meeting/Fly-out to Bahamas

November 4 - Golf Tournament, Leesburg, FL

November 12-13 - Stuart Air Show