Earlier this month, Michigan Tech’s squadron of Arnold Air Society and chapter of Silver Wings hosted the 2017 Area VI Conclave, an annual meeting made up of Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings members. Attendees came from 14 different schools across Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio to this year’s event held at Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island.
The TSgt. Robert E. LaMotte Squadron and Dotsie Stewart Chapter of Michigan Tech put in their bid to have the conclave held at Mackinac Island during last year’s Area VI Conclave, where they gave a presentation proving the access to a venue and manpower capabilities needed to host an Area Conclave.
The event has been in the works since last September and was held the weekend of Oct. 6. This is the first time that the TSgt. Robert E. LaMotte Squadron and Dotsie Stewart Chapter of Michigan Tech have hosted an Area VI Conclave, due to the lack of venues in the Upper Peninsula and low participation numbers.
This year’s event included two distinguished guest speakers, Dr. Todd I. Stewart and Joanne Gray. Stewart was commissioned in 1962 from Detachment 400 at Michigan Tech and currently serves as Director and Chancellor at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Gray currently serves at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Soo Locks facility in Sault St. Marie.
Attendees were also able to enjoy the sights of Mackinac Island via carriage tours and bike rentals. “We wanted to do something that was distinctly from the Upper Peninsula…The rest of our area is pretty much geographically in the same spot,” said Emily Passmore, deputy commander of the TSgt. Robert E. LaMotte Squadron at Michigan Tech, “we wanted to make it accessible to people, but also kind of belonging to us.”
Michigan Tech’s Arnold Air Society squadron also held last weekend’s POW/MIA run, a 5k event honoring Prisoner of War and Missing in Action service members.
Arnold Air Society holds several events in conjunction with Silver Wings throughout the academic year, including volunteering during Make a Difference Day and selling grilled cheese sandwiches during the Winter Carnival All-Nighter.
Although Arnold Air Society is only open to Air Force ROTC cadets, Silver Wings is a national professional organization open to all students that focuses on personal development, professional development and civic awareness of Air Force issues. Students interested in joining Silver Wings should contact silverwings@mtu.edu.
