By: Sarah Schoensee, guest blogger It started as a sendoff to the 2023 Birds of Paragon – Lauren Ramage (pilot/captain) and Paragon Flight students Jen Adams (co-pilot) and Gina Willaford (team member) – as they prepared to participate in the all-female Air Race Classic (ARC) from June 20 to June 23. But we couldn’t stop there! Ultimately, we hosted nearly 200 people at Paragon Flight on Saturday, June 10, while saluting women in aviation and providing education on the variety of aviation careers available for women. There were so many highlights of the day: Perhaps most importantly, we gathered as a tight-knit aviation community, committed to advancing the industry, creating opportunities for all and celebrating the hard-working, motivated individuals who have made their mark in aviation – or are getting ready to do so. The Paragon Flight staff really hit it out of the park in organizing the event (so many details!) and serving as ambassadors on event day to ensure that all of our guests felt welcomed. To the Paragon Flight instructors who flew the discovery flights – your impact was immeasurable. This event was possible due to our generous sponsors, notably presenting sponsor Piedmont Airlines – also supporting the 2023 Birds of Paragon – and Piper Aircraft. There were so many other local sponsors to thank, too. They are Florida International Airshow, Flight Ninja, Lycoming, Flight Club 502, CapAir, Page Field Base Operations, STS Properties, Anytime Fitness, 5 Day Plantation Shutters, Power Stroke Performance, My Shower Door, Gulf Coast Smiles, Viruet Periodontics, Restore Medical Partners, PRMG Dream Home Lending Team, Sweet Dreams Anesthesia, First Service, and Fort Rock. Thanks also to John Paluzzi for his fabulous photography! Sarah Schoensee is a co-owner of Paragon Flight Training and serves as Administrative Director.
