Rick Kidd recognized for outstanding dedication to Heritage in Flight Museum

 

[April 17, 2019] 

At the April 13th meeting of the Heritage in Flight Museum Board, member Rick Kidd was recognized for his devotion to HIF and its members, as well as the flying community. Kidd was named this year’s recipient of the Heritage in Flight Eagle Award.

The award is given annually to one person who is considered to have gone above and beyond for the good of the organization. Kidd was awarded a certificate presented by HIF member Art Williams. Kidd’s name will also be added to the Eagle Award plaque on display at the museum.

Kidd is the current president of HIF Museum, a position he has held for the past three years. He does a lot of the work around the HIF building and grounds and he also volunteers to represent HIF at various events and activities aimed at educating the community about the museum specifically and the history of flight in general.

The HIF is the proud owner of an authentic World War II searchlight. The searchlight travels to events outside the airport on a regular basis. Rick sees to it that the light is safely delivered to its destination, and also makes sure it comes back to Lincoln safely.

He spends a lot of time with the children’s flight simulator, operating the fun youth activity at the airport and also at other venues such as the Third Friday events in downtown Lincoln.

Kidd is a veteran pilot and flies the HIF’s Cessna Skyhawk.

While he lives in Williamsville, Kidd makes several trips a week to the HIF Museum in Lincoln to serve and just check things out and make sure everything is going okay. He is consistently on call and available when there is a need for tour guides at the museum.

Rick Kidd and Art Williams

In addition to being a great volunteer and leader at the HIF, he is also a good friend to his fellow board members. As an example of how Kidd goes above and beyond, HIF member Curtis Fox shared the following story.

“This story came up about Rick on Saturday during his presentation. A Heritage in Flight member's wife had an accident in Bloomington while her husband was volunteering at the Lincoln Airport. She could not get in touch with him because his phone was dead, and he never carries it with him. She had Rick's phone number, so in a panic called him.

Rick dropped everything and drove to Lincoln to tell her husband to dash home to help his wife. She did require a visit to the emergency room, but is fine.”

Fox concluded, “He is just a super person, dependable to the max.”

Congratulations to Kidd for his award, and congratulations to the HIF for having such an outstanding person within your organization.

[Nila Smith with Curtis Fox and photo by JoAnne Marlin]