District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Jim Tiller
Vice President
jtiller@hotmail.com
Box 828, Custer SD 57730
(605) 390-3878
“When we invest our time with young people it is an investment in our own future.” Once in a while, you get that bit of good news that proves this often-used mantra comes true.
In 2014, my first year as your District IX vice president, I published a picture in my September column. While at a flying event at the Western Flyers field in Mead, Nebraska, I was impressed by “Team Sucha.” Grandfather Don Sucha taught his grandson, Thaddeus, how to fly at age 3, and by the time the top photo was taken, both were accomplished RC pilots who tore up the sky during the event. It was so great to see this pair sharing a mutual joy of our hobby and aviation. I finished by stating, “I’m sure we will hear more from this dynamic duo in the future.”
Fast-forward eight years to 2022 and a second picture. Their shared love of aviation came full circle when Thaddeus chose his grandfather to be the first passenger he carried aloft after completing the requirements for his pilot’s license. Thaddeus is in his second year at the University of Nebraska Omaha, working toward a degree and a commercial pilot’s certificate.
We’d sure like to hear more about Team Sucha.
The Sioux Falls Sodbusters auction in South Dakota is one of my annual stops. First, because I usually have a hefty stash of white elephants that I want to trade for other white elephants,
The auction block at the Sodbuster’s auction.
and second, because it is a well-run, well-attended event.
I was unable to attend last year, so this was my first visit to the new venue in the Denny Sanford Event Center in Sioux Falls. This is a huge room—I’m told it’s roughly 18,000 square feet. There is plenty of space, so it was easy to peruse the 400 or so pieces that were offered for sale.
I spent some time with Marv Rozeboom, who told me the story of how the club managed to score this great location at an affordable price. I plan to elaborate on that in another column.
Another secret to the club’s success is having the services of Terry Brick, a professional auctioneer. Using Terry’s expertise, those hundreds of pieces crossed the auction block in roughly four hours. Kudos to the club for engaging the local Civil Air Patrol chapter to help with the event. They greeted people and carried in awkward items from the parking lot and through the entrance doors. They also did all the staging by moving items from the tables to the auction block, and then on to the sold item impound. Great work by that crew of young people.
