Capital Commentary
by Chris Needels, USPA Executive Director

In late November, longtime USPA member and drop zone operator Gordon Riner, D-1290, left a voicemail at headquarters that Tom Baldwin, D-419, an early Midwestern skydiver and U.S. Team leader in the late '60s, had passed away. We get all too many of these type calls these days. As Gordon so poignantly stated, "The old guard is slipping away."

We also increasingly get calls saying that a grandfather or great uncle has recently died, and the caller wants to know what to do with the parachute he found in the attic. Most often, it's a Para-Commander or perhaps a Wonderhog container-parachute gear from the '60s and early '70s. Some gear is even older-B-4 containers and C-9 canopies modified on old government surplus 111-15 or 97-10 sewing machines in someone's garage. Most of the callers assume that USPA has a museum somewhere. It doesn't.

Skydiving is now at that point where those who started our sport are, in fact, "slipping away." While we will always lose skydivers as time goes by, we will never again lose our founders. They only come around once. For skydiving, they are "our greatest generation."

But just because generations pass on doesn't mean the memories and the history have to go with them. That's why people build museums, and skydiving is no different. And although USPA does not have a museum, the American Museum of Sport Parachuting and Air Safety (AMSPAS), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit association, soon will have one if we all get behind it.

The National Skydiving Museum, as the AMSPAS trustees now call it, was an idea former USPA executive director Bill Ottley, D-298, had nearly two decades ago, already sensing an impending need. Now, the museum has assets worth more than $1 million on its way to the necessary $5 million to construct and maintain the facility.

The lead donors have been extraordinarily generous but are far too few. So, now we need to expand the base of giving. For skydivers who have been dealt a good financial hand in life, this is the perfect opportunity to leave a legacy or to just—in a big way—say thanks for the memories. Better yet, these skydivers should also consider becoming volunteer leaders for the fundraising effort.

But even volunteers can't do it alone. There needs to be a person at AMSPAS, even if only part-time. To this end, the museum trustees are seeking a dynamic skydiver to tell the museum story to a wider audience. They are looking for someone on contract or on the payroll who can help find the additional support needed to pull it all together.

Meanwhile, USPA isn't just sitting on the sidelines. Its volunteers continue to keep the museum books, make sure the taxes are paid, receive the occasional substantial donation check and keep the grass cut on the four perfectly-suited-for-a-museum acres in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Those four acres, incidentally (and not coincidentally), are contiguous with the one acre upon which USPA will construct its new headquarters in 2005. Wouldn't it be great to have it all together—the National Skydiving Center?
Someday soon, we at USPA would like to be able to forward the calls about old gear and passing jumpers to an association that can provide answers the caller wants to hear.

Skydivers young and old need to act quickly. Our history is, sadly, slipping away. For questions about becoming a lead donor or being the new museum front man, e-mail.

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