LOCAL AREA CHAPTER (LAC) NOTES
Local Area Chapters offer members of the Golden Eagles a way to greatly improve the fellowship and camaraderie of membership by dramatically increasing the chance to meet both old and new pilot friends who are members of the Golden Eagles. LAC's are loose confederations of members of the Golden Eagles who agree to meet with other members living within a local geographic area on a regular basis. Typical LAC's meet for breakfast or lunch at the same restaurant on the same date of the month, week, or other periodic meeting format with no agenda except to have fun visiting with other retired or senior working pilots of either the former Continental Airlines or United Airlines.
Each LAC makes its own meeting choices, selects its own leaders, and conducts its own affairs however its LAC members see fit... The intent is to simply provide a place where members can enjoy the company of fellow pilots on a more frequent basis than just our annual convention. All we ask is that LAC's maintain a reasonably high percentage of Golden Eagles members in good standing, and that each LAC remain 0pen to any Golden Eagles member in good standing.
Starting a Local Area Chapter is not difficult provided you live within a general area where at least 20-30 other former CAL or UAL senior working or retired pilots reside. Captain Bill Chambers faced retirement in 2009 with a concern that all the friendships built over 30+ years with Continental Airlines would quickly fall away since there was only the annual Golden Eagles convention to meet other CAL pilots. Without a meeting structure on a frequent and predictable basis, he knew that many old friendships would be lost. We all know that isolation, depression or worse can follow retirement and that airline pilots do not live as long as the normal retiree.
Bill started with his Golden Eagles member roster, calling many of his CAL buddies and proposed that everyone meet on the same day, place and time each week. The Kingwood retired pilots now would have an easy to remember place to meet and visit with other pilots. The members of this fledgling group agreed to meet EVERY Tuesday around 0830 at the Kingwood La Madeleine restaurant. All were all asked to tell any potential new members they might know to give us a try. If weekly meetings sound excessive, Consider the Conroe, Texas Golden Eagles, a group that meets EVERY MORNING ... they say that most of their members have learned that nothing is more enjoyable than spending time with their pilot friends.
We learned that another group of mostly Golden Eagles members had been meeting every Monday at Hooter's in the Woodlands, so we started meeting once a month with all three groups. We are still working to find a good place and time for these North Houston lunch meetings. The three groups are natural Golden Eagles LAC's since most members are also Golden Eagles who enjoy meeting on a frequent basis. We have had more success building our local groups, which could not be referred to as Golden Eagles LAC's until the bylaws were changed to provide for such a group. The bylaws were changed to support Golden Eagles LAC's in October 2012.
With about 50 active members on the Kingwood, Texas Local Area Chapter roster, we are blessed with enough of a following that 18-20 retired and senior working pilots will show up on any given Tuesday. The same day format makes any sort of preparation unnecessary provided someone gets there early enough to move four tables together. We arrange for the meeting by providing a place, then we just get out of the way.
Meeting on the same day each week was tough at first. A couple of meetings included only 2 or 3 attendees, but in time we all realized that the friendships built during these impromptu gatherings were exactly what we needed. We have lots of laughs, share experiences, gain perspective on issues that are unique to retired pilots, relive old times spent flying the line, and generally have a great time with good friends. In 2014,we brought aboard the Denver LAC. It is headed by Roger Hill. His phone number is on the roster provided on the web site. Call Don Gentry if you have questions.
If you live in an area where a LAC might work, we can help with advice and tools that should make your task easier. We know that the last thing a senior or retired airline pilot wants is a bunch of arrogant bureaucrats telling you and your friends what to do and how to do it. Each LAC has their own leaders, sets their own meeting dates and times, decides whether to have meetings with other LAC's like our north Houston groups, and any other matters of interest to your LAC. We only ask that your LAC include a reasonably high percentage of Golden Eagles members who pay their dues each year, and that your LAC remain open to all eligible UAL pilots, regardless of background.
Submit your LAC photos to the webmaster (see email below, 20MB max file size).
Click on submenu items for each LAC location!
Each LAC makes its own meeting choices, selects its own leaders, and conducts its own affairs however its LAC members see fit... The intent is to simply provide a place where members can enjoy the company of fellow pilots on a more frequent basis than just our annual convention. All we ask is that LAC's maintain a reasonably high percentage of Golden Eagles members in good standing, and that each LAC remain 0pen to any Golden Eagles member in good standing.
Starting a Local Area Chapter is not difficult provided you live within a general area where at least 20-30 other former CAL or UAL senior working or retired pilots reside. Captain Bill Chambers faced retirement in 2009 with a concern that all the friendships built over 30+ years with Continental Airlines would quickly fall away since there was only the annual Golden Eagles convention to meet other CAL pilots. Without a meeting structure on a frequent and predictable basis, he knew that many old friendships would be lost. We all know that isolation, depression or worse can follow retirement and that airline pilots do not live as long as the normal retiree.
Bill started with his Golden Eagles member roster, calling many of his CAL buddies and proposed that everyone meet on the same day, place and time each week. The Kingwood retired pilots now would have an easy to remember place to meet and visit with other pilots. The members of this fledgling group agreed to meet EVERY Tuesday around 0830 at the Kingwood La Madeleine restaurant. All were all asked to tell any potential new members they might know to give us a try. If weekly meetings sound excessive, Consider the Conroe, Texas Golden Eagles, a group that meets EVERY MORNING ... they say that most of their members have learned that nothing is more enjoyable than spending time with their pilot friends.
We learned that another group of mostly Golden Eagles members had been meeting every Monday at Hooter's in the Woodlands, so we started meeting once a month with all three groups. We are still working to find a good place and time for these North Houston lunch meetings. The three groups are natural Golden Eagles LAC's since most members are also Golden Eagles who enjoy meeting on a frequent basis. We have had more success building our local groups, which could not be referred to as Golden Eagles LAC's until the bylaws were changed to provide for such a group. The bylaws were changed to support Golden Eagles LAC's in October 2012.
With about 50 active members on the Kingwood, Texas Local Area Chapter roster, we are blessed with enough of a following that 18-20 retired and senior working pilots will show up on any given Tuesday. The same day format makes any sort of preparation unnecessary provided someone gets there early enough to move four tables together. We arrange for the meeting by providing a place, then we just get out of the way.
Meeting on the same day each week was tough at first. A couple of meetings included only 2 or 3 attendees, but in time we all realized that the friendships built during these impromptu gatherings were exactly what we needed. We have lots of laughs, share experiences, gain perspective on issues that are unique to retired pilots, relive old times spent flying the line, and generally have a great time with good friends. In 2014,we brought aboard the Denver LAC. It is headed by Roger Hill. His phone number is on the roster provided on the web site. Call Don Gentry if you have questions.
If you live in an area where a LAC might work, we can help with advice and tools that should make your task easier. We know that the last thing a senior or retired airline pilot wants is a bunch of arrogant bureaucrats telling you and your friends what to do and how to do it. Each LAC has their own leaders, sets their own meeting dates and times, decides whether to have meetings with other LAC's like our north Houston groups, and any other matters of interest to your LAC. We only ask that your LAC include a reasonably high percentage of Golden Eagles members who pay their dues each year, and that your LAC remain open to all eligible UAL pilots, regardless of background.
Submit your LAC photos to the webmaster (see email below, 20MB max file size).
Click on submenu items for each LAC location!
