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Ocalan named Angel Flight SE Pilot of Year
Ocala Star Banner
By Marian Rizzo
Correspondent
In 2005, David Walker turned a fun pastime into a ministry when he decided to be a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight Southeast, a Leesburg-based charity that helps patients get to treatment facilities that are far from home. Over the years, Walker has flown 351 missions, including 54 this year, sometimes getting up at the break of dawn to fly to a fixed-base airport with a patient in need.
Walker recently was named Angel Flight Southeast Pilot of the Year for the Central Florida East region. An awards ceremony was held Nov. 10, honoring pilots and nominees for the nonprofit group's six regions in Florida.
 David Walker of Ocala was named 2013 Pilot of the Year with Angel Flight Southeast (out of more than 600).
Doug Engle/ Ocala Star-Banner
Walker, a resident of Leeward Air Ranch, previously received Pilot of the Year awards for 2007 and 2011, and an award for being nominated in 2012.
During his time with Angel Flight, Walker has witnessed numerous success stories and some tragedies.
"I like to fly, and it's my favorite charity," Walker said. "It's a good reason to fly. People are out there who have all kinds of things wrong with them. Some of them are pretty young, too. When I fly these young people around with so many medical problems, it gives me a greater appreciation for my own health."
A retired electrical contractor, Walker, 79, learned to fly when he was 28 years old. He and his older brother, Jack, teamed up with a friend to purchase an Aeronca Champ for $350 apiece. Later, Walker bought other airplanes, which he used for business trips.
Among Walker's most treasured passengers, little Aubrey Duffey started taking Angel Flights when she was 3 months old. Born with head and neck deformities, Aubrey had been fitted with a helmet that had to be adjusted weekly. The only facility that could handle her case was in Miami.
Since the Duffeys lived in the Panhandle, the trip was broken down into two parts. Various pilots would fly Aubrey and her mom, Andrea Duffey, to Leesburg, where Walker would pick them up and transport them the remaining distance to Miami. Sadly, during that time, Aubrey's father, Adam Duffey, was killed in a motorcycle accident. Now 18 months old, Aubrey is doing well and no longer needs a helmet or the flights to Miami, said her maternal grandmother, Debbie Freeman. "You would never know that she had any of the challenges she had," Freeman said. "She's walking and talking above her age range. She's going to have normal appearance and abilities. Without the transportation, she would not have been able to finish the course of treatment. She would have had cranial skeletal deformities that would have impacted the rest of her life. I am so glad that Dave won the award, because he is definitely Aubrey's angel." Angel Flight Southeast is celebrating its 30th year in operation. CEO Steve Purello said the charity was started by pilot Mary Webb, who coordinated mission trips at her kitchen table at her home in south Florida. Today, Angel Flight Southeast has 650 volunteer pilots who handle a variety of humanitarian transports, including medical patients, organ transplant candidates, victims of abuse seeking relocation and disabled children going to summer camp programs. The Pilot of the Year awards are based on 14 criteria, such as number of missions, feeding the sick and last minute transportation requests, Purello said. Walker is one of those pilots who goes above and beyond the call, he said. "Dave is great about not only flying the passengers, but he will take missions he can do round-trip. He drives the patient to the airport, drives them to the hospital and back, and sometimes he'll even pick them up at their house" Purello said." "These are pilots that are not doing it for an award. They really want to do it. They're not only financial contributors, because it's expensive to fly an airplane, but they also give their time," Purello added. For more information about Angel Flight Southeast, call 326-0761 or visit www.angelflightse.org. Online article here This article also appeared: Leesburg-based charity recognizes pilot Daily Commercial Walker recently was named Angel Flight Southeast Pilot of the Year for the Central Florida East region. An awards ceremony was held Nov. 10, honoring pilots ... Volunteer pilot honored for numerous charitable flights Gainesville Sun David Walker of Ocala was named 2013 Pilot of the Year with Angel Flight Southeast (out of more than 600). Walker, 79, has flown 58 volunteer flights this year ... Congratulations David! |
