IF WE COULD . . .
At about this time, every year, we have this conversation at the RAF about what our year end letter (code for asking for your financial support) should say to you, and about the RAF and the accomplishments of the past year.
We try to keep the message to the point, not loaded up with things that seem to just blow our horn. At the same time, we want you to know what we have been up to with the support you have given us thus far. To say the RAF has been busy with its nearly all-volunteer crew would be an understatement, but it is the kind of busy that we love here at this organization. The RAF knows one thing for sure. We are on the front lines of preserving, protecting and creating aviation access to special places.
If we could listen to each of you around a campfire, across your kitchen table, on the ramp, or in the boardroom, we surely would. What you contribute in the way of monthly and annual dollars gives us the confidence to run the RAF day to day. What you then pitch in to fund special projects has allowed us to do some pretty big things; then there are people who are including us in their legacy, financial, and estate planning. Those legacy dollars give the RAF the confidence to look way over the horizon, something that we tend to believe is important. If you would care to discuss how you can support your favorite project, or strategies pertaining to your giving, please do reach out.
So to fulfill our pledge to engage personally if we could, please reach out with your questions or comments. We believe having a direct line to us is more valuable than sending you those pie or bar charts that often appear in these kinds of letters.
If you are new to the RAF, perhaps you are not familiar with how we operate. With no formal dues structure, we send this annual one time request for support. For those who know us a little better, you know we only ask once at year end. Finally, for those who are just watching, we truly would like to earn your support. If we could, we would talk to each of you and hopefully through that conversation encourage you to help out.
So, support from you is vital to the work we do, and without it we would just have to do less. The less part is not something that we are very good at. We simply try to do work that matters for people who care. With this being the only time of year we ask for your support, we hope you know just how vital this is to the continued future of the RAF Mission.
Sincerely,
RAF Board of Directors:
John McKenna Chairman
Bill McGlynn, President
Tim Riley, Vice President
Mike Perkins, Treasurer
Bill Brine Joe Brown Matt Foster Jeff Russell Steve Taylor
Some of our projects through the year . . .
Find these airstrips in the Airfield Guide.
A few RAF accomplishments in 2025:
- Donation of High Rock Field, MD received
- More recreational airstrips added to the RAF Airfield Guide
- Safety and Education added as an additional focus to the Backcountry Etiquette Team
- Four successful volunteer educational conferences held across the country
- RAF/USFS MOU renewed for five additional years
- Approval obtained to rehab/open recreational airstrips including Taylor Flat, UT, Walker Ridge, CA, and Monache Meadows, CA
A few RAF grants awarded in 2025:
- Alaska – Black Bear Lake Cabin: Reconstruction and Repairs
- Maine – Estcourt Station: Outhouse, Picnic Table, Shelter, and Fire Ring
- Maine – Ragmuff: Fire Ring and Picnic Table
- Oregon – Pacific City: Loaner Bike Shed
- Utah – Moab and Monticello Airstrip Cultural Surveys
- Washington State – Olympic Airfield: Information/Solar Charging Kiosk
. . . thanks to your support!
Submitted December 2, 2025
Main photo by John Berry, Schafer Meadows, MT
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