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Volunteers honored for service at National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

  • Published
  • By Ken LaRock
  • NMUSAF/MUP
DAYTON, Ohio --  The National Museum of the United States Air Force Volunteer Program celebrated its 33rd anniversary by honoring more than 500 volunteers during a Volunteer Appreciation Banquet on May 1.

Adam Zengel of Centerville, received the 2014 Director's Award for Volunteer of the Year for his dedication and excellence in serving the museum and the U.S. Air Force.

Zengel was nominated by the Restoration Division for sharing his lifetime skills as the owner of a home construction business. He has constructed custom-fit storage units to preserve artifacts and fabricated unique shipping fixtures for other historic pieces. His efforts have saved the museum thousands of dollars and helped protect the collection.

Other Volunteer of the Year nominees included David Hills of Miamisburg, nominated by the Education Division; Wil Davis of Huber Heights, nominated by the Special Events Division; and Karen Pittman of Beavercreek, nominated by the Research Division.

Additionally, 14 volunteers received special recognition during the banquet. Earl Becker of Dayton, Beatrice Downey of Beavercreek, Bobbette Fluck of Huber Heights, Larry Hadley of Fairborn, Ron Hunt of Beavercreek, Janet Johnston of Centerville, Wendell Miller of Arcanum, Ray Moorman of Centerville, Steve Pratt of Eaton, Jim Sendelbach of Vandalia, Paul Stover of Bradford, Sostenes Suazo of Beavercreek, and Fred Tegarden of Liberty Township, received the President's Volunteer Service Award, which is awarded to those who have completed 4,000 hours or more of volunteer service. In addition, Mike Benedetti of Blue Ash, and Peter Unitt of Fairborn were recognized for 25 years of service.

The museum also acknowledged 93 volunteers for reaching milestones of 1,000 to 24,000 hours of volunteer service. Overall, volunteers contributed 100,000 hours of service to the museum in 2014.

For more information about volunteering at the museum, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/volunteer/index.asp.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world's largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.