As Flight for Life Colorado celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver has named the hospital-based air ambulance organization its2017 Spreading Wings honoree.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be this year’s honoree,” said Flight for Life Program Director Kathleen Mayer. “I looked up some of the past honorees at this event: Gene Cernan, Buzz Aldrin, Steve Fossett, Chuck Yeager, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the American Fighter Aces, just to name a few. We are in some pretty elite company and we do not take that for granted.”
Inspired, partly, by the experience of pilots who flew in Vietnam, Flight for Life Colorado was founded by two administrators at St. Anthony Hospital, Nick Ditirro and Jack Goetzinger, and two doctors, Dr. Henry Cleveland and Dr. Boyd Bigelow. It is an air ambulance service dedicated to critical care transport.
Known for the bright orange paint scheme on its aircraft and ambulances, Flight for Life Colorado has transported more than 125,000 patients.
Each year, Wings Over the Rockies hosts its Spreading Wings gala to honor a significant aviation or space industry contributor, and this year is no different, said Benjamin Theune, director of marketing for Wings Over the Rockies.
“It’s really a way for us to showcase the organization, inspire kids and show others how a particular organization or individual is connected to the aviation and aerospace community,” he added.
The Spreading Wings Award will be presented to Flight for Life Colorado at a gala event, open to the public, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, at Wings Over the Rockies’ historic Hangar No. 1.