Civil Air Patrol recognizes Lake Hamilton School District educators

Submitted photo TIGER MOM: Lake Hamilton Junior High library media specialist Jil'Lana Heard, left, received her certificate of appreciation from former Arkansas Wing commander Col. William Akins May 23 in the Civil Air Patrol "Flying Tiger"Squadron's building at Hot Springs Memorial Field. Her son is a participant in CAP's cadet program in Hot Springs.
Submitted photo TIGER MOM: Lake Hamilton Junior High library media specialist Jil'Lana Heard, left, received her certificate of appreciation from former Arkansas Wing commander Col. William Akins May 23 in the Civil Air Patrol "Flying Tiger"Squadron's building at Hot Springs Memorial Field. Her son is a participant in CAP's cadet program in Hot Springs.

PEARCY -- Representatives from Hot Springs' Civil Air Patrol squadron recently acknowledged the contributions and support of administrators and educators in the Lake Hamilton School District.

Former Arkansas Wing commander Col. William Akins, of Hot Springs, presented certificates of appreciation on behalf of squadron commander Maj. Danny Marsh at Lake Hamilton High School and Lake Hamilton Junior High May 22-23.

Certificates were presented in the high school library media center to honorees Frank Stapleton, principal; Shane Aitken, vice principal; and Diane Hughes, library media specialist.

Junior high honorees J.J. Humphries, principal; Bryan Cook, vice principal; Jil'Lana Heard, library media specialist; and Monica Lingelback, librarian aide, were recognized in the school's library media center.

Heard, Hughes and Lingelback produced posters to explain areas in which students could serve in the Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The nonprofit organization offers aerospace education, cadet programs and emergency services.

The cadet program is designed for teenagers ages 12-18 who wish to learn more about aerospace, robotics, rocketry, search and rescue, communications and military protocols. Programs are also available for adults.

The Hot Springs "Flying Tiger" squadron meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Hot Springs Memorial Field. The squadron has had success in its radio communications capabilities and participation in CyberPatriot, a program sponsored by the Air Force to educate the next generation of cyber defenders.

This year marks CAP's 75th anniversary. It is the newest member of the Air Force's "total force," which considers all available forces to accomplish missions.

The CAP includes more than 56,000 volunteers operate about 550 aircraft assigned to more than 1,500 units stateside. Volunteers for CAP perform about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which credits them with saving an average of 78 lives each year.

They perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. CAP members serve a role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 youth participants in the cadet program.

School on 06/11/2017

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