The BoXX Office

Fly Girls Bessie Coleman Chapter Recognized by Denver Mayor Hancock

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:17:00 +0000

Jacqueline Withers and her students stand in front
of a mural they painted at The Excel Institute

It has been awhile, and I'm still working on getting more interviews for your listening pleasure. Don't count me out yet. In the works now is an interview with the founder of the Fly Girls Bessie Coleman Chapter in Denver, Jacqueline Withers. Her commitment and unfathomable drive to inspire and support young women in all aspects of life through the use of aviation is just awe inspiring. So much so, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has proclaimed March 23, 2013 as "Fly Girls Bessie Coleman Chapter Day."

The following is an excerpt from her blog at Take Flight Leadership Aviation.

"A wonderful organization called Fly Girls Bessie Coleman is teaching young adults how to fly and achieve their dreams in aviation. Founder Jacqueline Withers along with an esteem list of volunteers and sponsors, assist the teenagers in achieving their dreams.
The vision started for Ms. Jacqueline Withers, who is from Chicago, and is the director of Take Flight Leadership, with her painting murals of the Tuskegee Airmen and she wanted to expound on that vision to include children of all races in helping them live out their dreams and expectations.
Through this journey, the Fly Girls have already visited Chicago and Las Vegas just to name a few of the places they have been. The Fly Girls have also won scholarships that have taken them to Alabama, Wisconsin, and Dallas. The Fly Girls are also authors, with self-publishing their first book, which can be found on www.blurb.com."

Click on image for full size view.

If you are going to be in the Denver area on March 23, 2013, you are invited to attend the proclamation. Boys and girls ages 8-17 are eligible to register for the program. Current participants will be there to answer questions and impress. On a personal note, I first came across Jacqueline a year ago, when I saw her girls at a friends graduation. They were impressive from the instant I saw them. Confident, courteous, helpful, driven and full of self awareness. There was no mistaking the girls were destined to change the world. I highly recommend everyone who has ever wanted to inspire a child to greatness, follow Jacqueline. She's has the magic and it's working.

Stay tuned for the coming interview.

It's Intermission...

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Fri, 04 May 2012 05:30:00 +0000

Thank you to our listeners who have been sending emails, messages and other inquiries. We offer our most humble apologies. The BoXX Office is not gone. We are only in Intermission while our host finishes up her classes for this Spring Semester. Her studies have been particularly demanding and as such, she focused on completing her education load.

The guest list for the next couple episodes has been building and soon final requests and confirmations will be going out. Once this semester has ended and all finals are completed, rest assured, The BoXX Office will be back in production. Keep sending in those suggestions and requests for guests. They are much appreciated.

For now, our Facebook page is still continuing the tradition of "This Day in Women's Aviation and Aerospace History" notations. If you know of something we are missing, PLEASE share. We are here for you.

Once again, we thank all our listeners and supporters for the many inquiries and guest suggestions. We've heard them all and will begin making requests very shortly.

Episode 005 - Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:56:00 +0000

Welcome to The BoXX Office. Below are the show notes for this episode providing a brief introduction and links to stories covered in this episode. Also, just below this paragraph is a link to download the audio file in an mp3 format that can be listened to on a computer or other personal music listening device, (iPod, mp3 player, Windows Media player, etc.)

Hope you enjoy the show. Let's burn this candle!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MP3 AUDIO FILE (30.2 MB)

News Reel

Dr. Mae C. Jemison

On January 7, 2012, NASA announced the selection of former astronaut Mae C Jemison, M.D. to be Commander of the DARPA seeded 100 Year Starship (100YSS) program.

Lt. Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger

On Feb. 6, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Lt. Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger to the rank of general, and as the next commander of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC).

Feature Presentation

Originally from the United Kingdom, Suzanne Collins lived in South America before returning to the U.K. to finish her degree in Electrical Engineering. Eventually she immigrated to the United States and found gainful work as an Electronics technician before transitioning into the world of Information Technology and adding another degree to her resume in Business Administration. Her personal drive to continue learning as much as possible eventually led her to the sky. Flying was not a passion she anticipated but she discovered quickly that it was what she was meant to do.

Aviation Accomplishments:

2007       Private Pilot
2009       Instrument Pilot
              Instrument Ground Instructor
                *(2009 AMESF Winner)
              FAA Safety Basic & Advanced WINGS
2010       Advanced Ground Instructor
              FAA Safety Basic, Advanced, and Master WINGS
2011       SeaPlane Single-Engine (Add-On)
              FAA Safety Basic SeaWINGS

Aircraft Flown: Cessna 172N/R/RG/SP/G1000, C177RG, CZAW SportCruzr, Diamond DA20 (A1/C1), DA40, Flight Design CTSw, Piper Arrow/Cherokee/Warrior, Symphony S160.

Aviation Affiliation/Membership:

For more information or to contact Suzanne directly, she can be found on Twitter at @techiepilot

BoXX Office Recommendations

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Unless otherwise noted, music and sounds effects subject to Creative Commons License 3.0. Downloaded from www.JewelBeat.com.

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Episode 004 - Legends and Descendents

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:49:00 +0000

Hope you enjoy the show. Let's burn this candle!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MP3 AUDIO FILE (8.58 MB)

News Reel

Feature Presentation

Amelia Rose Earhart

Monday, December 26, 2011, Amelia Rose Earhart, private pilot, news reporter at 9News in Denver, photographer and a meteorology student at Mississippi State University, will retrace historical 1937 North American voyage of the famed aviator. With her new Instrument Rating, she will be flying a Cirrus SR22, with her Flight instructor John Post of Independence Aviation. Amelia has captured many hearts and fans with her indomitable spirit. To allow people to come and enjoy the journey, she will be maintaining a blog to document the flight.

Fly with Amelia Earhart

Flight plan is as follows:

Dec 26th: Denver to Oakland

Dec 27th: Oakland to Burbank

Dec 28th: Burbank to Tucson, Tucson to Austin

Dec 29th: Austin to New Orleans, New Orleans to Miami

Amelia is on Facebook and you can follow her on Twitter @amelia__earhart

BoXX Office Recommendations

Special Thanks

Yaw Obruni

Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum

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Unless otherwise noted, music and sounds effects subject to Creative Commons License 3.0. Downloaded from www.JewelBeat.com.

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Episode 003 - Aviation and Beyond

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Hope you enjoy the show. Let's burn this candle!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MP3 AUDIO FILE (35.3 MB)

News Reel

The Women in Aerospace Awards were presented to honor seven women for outstanding contributions to the aerospace community.

Illinois issues Military Women’s Veterans License Plates.

Feature Presentation

USAF Capt. Michelle Ruehl on an F-18
Photo courtesy of Michelle Ruehl

Michelle Ruehl, a Michigan native, took after her grandfather from a very young age. Consuming books of airplanes her passion for aviation was evident. With the foresight of a man who can see the future, Michelle’s grandfather set her feet on the path, and she’s never looked back. When her friends went to regular universities, Michelle began her aviation career at the Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs.

Using the skills the Air Force instilled in her, combined with her own enjoyment of aviation, Michelle forged a path that took her around the world and in several different cockpits. She tells how she got into aviation and what the spark that fired her competitive nature was.

Working with orphans in Tanzania Photo courtesy of Michelle Ruehl

Michelle at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro Photo courtesy of Michelle Ruehl

Her story circumnavigates the world and expands not only outside the cockpit, but also beyond the bounds of aviation. For her, aviation is both a passion and a vehicle to explore the many opportunities in the world to give back and teach. In this episode she shares her story which includes extra-aviation activities in Ghana, Tibet and her work with Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center. In a sense her career has come full circle, but like any true circle, there is no end. For Michelle, her story is continuing and has also just begun.

Michelle and Zyola in simulated flight.

BoXX Office Recommendations

Zero to Breakthrough The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals That Matter, By Venice “Flygirl” Armour. Whom before she was thirty had become a decorated naval aviator and also holds the title of America's First African American female combat pilot. She believes that no dream is out of reach if you have the right flight plan. In Zero to Breakthrough, she shares her technique of identifying and achieving your true goals be they aviation related, or not and excelling with flying colors.

Special Thanks

Steve Visscher of Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast

Stuart Stevenson (PilotStu) of the Aviation Media Network

Listeners Mikel Fitterman, Steve Finkelman, Braham Sacks

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Unless otherwise noted, music and sounds effects subject to Creative Commons License 3.0. Downloaded from www.JewelBeat.com.

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Episode 002 - A Voice For Success

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:04:00 +0000

Hope you enjoy the show. Let's burn this candle!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MP3 AUDIO FILE (33.8MB)

News Reel

To the Moon – Professor Zuber becomes the first woman to lead a planetary spacecraft mission.

Roberta Taylor, named the 2011 recipient of the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award, recognizing notable Canadian women in aviation and aerospace.

Feature Presentation

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Rust

Stephanie Rust was born and raised in Southern California, and moved to Colorado five years ago to accept a job at Denver Center as an Air Traffic Control Specialist (ARTCC/ZDV Area 2). Her job is to make sure pilots get home. And yes, that means she’s sent the Sheriff to knock on doors in the middle of the night to make sure a flight plan that wasn’t closed has a “happy ending.”

“I always loved aviation, and even as a child, I preferred watching airplanes or reading about airplanes instead of doing things like playing house. I wouldn't call myself a tomboy, but I have never been a super girly girl, either.”

As a high school graduation present her father paid for her to earn her private pilot’s certificate at a Part 141 flight school at KSNA (John Wayne - Orange County airport in Santa Ana, CA). The experience has given her a better understanding of her job today. However, her path to Air Traffic Controller was not direct including working at an animal shelter.

Originally known as "Smith & Wesson" her
call sign is now "Rusty."
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Rust

Just like pilots earn “call signs” bestowed on them by colleagues, Stephanie is on her second. Originally she known as “Smith and Wesson” but now goes by “Rusty.”

Currently, she lives in Northern Colorado with her husband, three cats and an outdoor pond full of koi and goldfish. She loves all kinds of travel, and has a dream of taking an Antarctic cruise. For fun, she is an amateur photographer, glass artist and mosaic maker. She admits to being in a codependent relationship with caffeine; however she is a low-carb girl who loves her bacon. With the switch to low carbs she’s also lost 90 pounds in the last two years.

“That person you see in oversized sunglasses driving a black-on-black BMW...and you think "how obnoxious is SHE?"...then you hear me listening to Armenian dance music or singing along to Maroon 5. Or Aerosmith. Or Justin Timberlake...and you decide that I am strange, but I might be all right :)”

In this episode Stephanie, discusses her interest in aviation, what led her to the position of Air Traffic Controller, her thoughts on LiveATC and NextGen as well as the the many pluses of her job.

Stephanie Rust can be found on Twitter as RustySunshine

Zyola Mix and Stephanie Rust in the World Indoor Airport
at Metropolitan State College of Denver ~ 9/26/2011

BoXX Office Recommendations

Breaking Through the Clouds: The First Women's National Air Derby is the inspiring true story of 20 women who raced across America in 1929 with just a compass and a road map to guide them. Currently screenings are scheduled through the end of the year. Check the website for locations and to purchase the DVD.

Pearl is the true story of Pearl Carter Scott, whom in 1928 became America’s youngest licensed pilot. For more information on screenings and where to purchase the film, visit the website. It is a story that is inspiring to all ages.

Special Thanks

Robert Cigliano: New Pilot Podblog

Karlene Petitt: Flight to Success

Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast

Metropolitan State College of Denver Aviation and Aerospace Science Program

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Credits....
Excerpt of Phenomenal Woman. Angelou, M. (1995), Phenomenal Woman, Random House
Permission has been given by all persons featured in this program for the exclusive use of The BoXX Office. Any other use is prohibited. © 2011
Unless otherwise noted, music and sounds effects subject to Creative Commons License 3.0. Downloaded from www.JewelBeat.com.

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Episode 001 - Yes, Emily. Girls can learn to fly.

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The BoXX Office. Below are the show notes for this episode providing a brief introduction and links to stories covered in this episode. Also, just below this paragraph is a link to download the audio file in an mp3 format that can be listened to on a computer or other personal music listening device, (iPod, mp3 player, Windows Media player, etc.)

Hope you enjoy the show. Let's burn this candle!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MP3 AUDIO FILE (33.47MB)

News Reel

July 30, 2011, Shella R. Condino, a Physics teacher at Presidio High School, Presidio, Texas, unanimously chosen by the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s selection committee to receive the 2011 A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award

August 10, 2011, Ohio Business Woman, Angela Phillips donated $10K to help save Norwalk-Huron County Airport

August 25, 2011, Arab News reports Rabigh Wings Aviation Academy has been approved to provide flight lessons to Arab women

Feature Presentation

Photo Courtesy of
Capt. Emily Howell Warner

A young Emily Hanrahan, from North Denver, not yet 18 years old, disembarked from a her first airplane ride in a Frontier Airlines DC-3 and began an unlikely career in aviation with the query, "Can a girl take flying lessons?" What happened after that is history. She had logged over 7000 hours at the controls of various aircraft before earning the position and title of the first woman Air Transport Pilot for a Modern, Jet-Equipped Scheduled Airline.

Photo Courtesy of Capt. Emily Howell Warner

January 12, 1973, she took her place in the cockpit of a Frontier Airlines Boeing 737. In 1976 she moved from the right seat to the left seat and on May 24, 1984 she made history again as she captained the "first all female flight crew," colloquially named "The Box Office." She was inducted in the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, her first uniform is on display in the Smithsonian's Institute National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. When she retired she had amassed 21,000 professional flight hours in addition to the 7,000 hours she had prior to adding her name to the history books.

August 24, 2011, Taken at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
(L-R) Zyola T. Mix & Capt. Emily Howell Warner under a DC-3 model
airplane. Similar to the one Emily took her first flight in.

In this first episode of "The BoXX Office," recorded in the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, Capt. Emily Howell Warner shares some funny anecdotes and stories about her journey in aviation from the dream of becoming a "stewardess," instructing young male pilots specifically to fly for the airlines and eventually earning her place in the left seat at Frontier Airlines. She also shares her story of what happened after the first incarnation of Frontier Airlines ceased to be. Her time at United Parcel Service, working with United Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as what she is up to now.

For more information on Capt. Emily Howell Warner's career click on the following links:
Biography: Weaving the Winds
Airport Journals: How Emily Hanrahan Howell Warner Conquered the Male-Dominated Airline Industry
Air Line Pilots Association, International: Cleared to Dream

More Pioneers...
This list is by no means 100% comprehensive. Just the tip of the iceberg.

1906 E. Lillian Todd (USA) - First Woman to Design and Build an Aircraft
1910 Raymonde de Laroche (France) - First Woman in the World to Receive Pilot License

1921 Bessie Coleman (USA) - First African-American (male or female) to Receive a Pilot License
1927 Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie (USA) - First Woman to Obtain an Aircraft Mechanics License
1929 Florence "Pancho" Barnes (USA) - First Woman Stunt Pilot in Motion Pictures
1942 Mary Van Scyoc (USA) - First Woman Air Traffic Controller
1942 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP, USA) - First U.S. Women Pilots to Fly Military Aircraft
1947 Ellen Shaw Carter (USA) - First Woman to Receive a Helicopter Rating
1953 Jacqueline Cochran (USA) - First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier (in a Northrop T-38)
1963 Valentina Tereshkova (U.S.S.R.) - First Woman in Space
1973 Emily Howell Warner (USA) - First Woman to be Hired as an Air Transport Pilot for a Modern, Jet-Equipped Scheduled Airline (Frontier Airlines)
1974 Barbara Allen Rainey (USA) - First Woman Pilot in U.S. Military (Navy)
1983 Sally Ride, Ph.D. (USA) - First U.S. Woman in Space
1984 Svetlana Savitskaya (U.S.S.R.) - First Woman to Walk in Space
1984 Kathryn Sullivan (USA) - First U.S. Woman to Walk in Space
1993 U.S. Department of Defense opens combat aviation to women
1999 Lt. Col. Eileen Collins (USAF) - First Woman Space Shuttle Commander

Special Thanks

Mile High Flyers Podcast
Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast
Ninety-Nines of Colorado
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum

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Credits....
Excerpt of Phenomenal Woman. Angelou, M. (1995), Phenomenal Woman, Random House
Permission has been given by all persons featured in this program for the exclusive use of The BoXX Office. Any other use is prohibited. © 2011
Unless otherwise noted, music and sounds effects subject to Creative Commons License 3.0. Downloaded from www.JewelBeat.com.
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Coming Soon....

TheBoXXOffice@gmail.com (The BoXX Office) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:04:00 +0000

The BoXX Office is a 30 -35 minute monthly show featuring a news reel, the story of a "Plane Jane" and highlighting the future of aviation and aerospace for women. Our first episode is already shaping up to be a nice surprise. It is scheduled to be released the first week of September 2011.

Thank you for your interest, patience and support as we put everything in place for your listening pleasure.