The 14 dedicated volunteers spread 15 tons of stone around a second fire pit, built a firewood shed and cut, split, and filled it with nearly two cords of wood. They removed ten trees and cleared a large section of brush from the runway border. “This work party was one hundred percent funded by money raised during our Annual Mount Toberfest Fly-In,” Thomas emphasized.
VOLUNTEERS ACCOMPLISH MORE THAN PLANNED AT MOUNT TOBE
“What a difference a weekend makes,” RAF Connecticut Liaison Brian Thomas said about this year’s fall work party that he’d organized at Mount Tobe Airport, N41. The weather was perfect both Saturday and Sunday, September 20-21. “The large volunteer turnout allowed us to complete far more tasks than we originally planned for,” Thomas said, adding, “We also had a very generous donation of a full tri-axle dump truck load of stone kindly provided by Billy Segalla of Segalla Sand and Stone.”
“A huge thanks goes to RAF Connecticut Ambassadors Greg Delp, Dan Caposella, and DJ Nicholson; and RAF New York Liaison Doug Turnbull for their help, and a hearty thanks to all those supporters who volunteered their time and labor for the work party,” Thomas said.
Folks came from as far away as Rochester and Poughkeepsie, New York. Also attending both days were three of the four Mount Tobe airport owners, Jim Ouellette, Bob Lagasse, and Chris Carmen. “This could not have been done without the support of so many,” Thomas added.
For more about Mount Tobe Airport in Waterbury, see the Airfield Guide and our Featured Airstrip story. The 2025 Mt. Toberfest event will be October 10-12.
Submitted September 26, 2025
Posted in News
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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.
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This guest editorial is by Stef Goza, a pilot and an RAF Alaska liaison.
Bill credits aviation for much of his success in business and the ability to serve his companies and family. What began in a Champ, and a Tri-Pacer owned by five people, turned into what Bill calls, “a key business tool” in which he accumulated 9,000 hours – in a Cheyenne, a Pilatus, and a TBM, where ninety-five percent of his flying was for business. “My retirement enabled me to recall ‘Why I Learned to Fly’, a slogan from an old RAF video.” Bill’s son, Patrick, purchased the C185 they now share. “While attending a business function, some associates arrived in corporate jets. As they joined up on the tarmac, the jet pilots gathered around Patrick’s 185, and one of the passengers asked, ‘What’s special about this?’ No explanation needed for this RAF audience,” Bill says. “My involvement in the RAF is, in a partial way, repaying the rewards aviation has endowed me with. Having been involved in many worthwhile nonprofits, this is one where financial support is only part of the picture. Physically participating in great projects that have a lasting effect, with good people, returns a great personal benefit,” he says. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there at the start.” Bill and his wife Jane are privileged to be able to split time between their long-time home in eastern Nebraska and Scottsdale, Arizona. While still serving on several boards, he enjoys golf “about every third shot,” biking, cars, and reading, but always looks forward to the time he can be involved in the RAF. “It’s flying with a purpose,” he adds. Bill can be reached at bdugan@theraf.org
AR Ambassador
A Christmas gift of flight lessons from his parents started Scott Anttila’s aviation journey in 1985. “I learned at Johnson Field, a small grass strip tucked into the woods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and that early exposure to simple backcountry flying stuck with me,” Scott says. Growing up in the U.P., he spent a lot of time outdoors and found that flying was another way to get to the places he liked to explore—especially the ones most people never saw. As he earned more ratings and eventually moved to the Detroit area for work, Scott realized he needed a way to stay connected to northern Michigan. He bought an airplane and used it to get back to the smaller airstrips and lake country he enjoyed. Along the way, he also flew gliders out of Frankfort, soaring along the Sleeping Bear Dunes and towing sailplanes over the Great Lakes. “Those flights gave me a different appreciation for the landscape and made me even more interested in the small, out-of-the-way airports scattered around the state,” he says. Visiting those kinds of places, Scott first came across the Recreational Aviation Foundation. He started using RAF-supported airstrips both inside and outside Michigan. “I noticed how well-kept they were and how much access they opened up,” he says, adding, ”Over the years, I’ve watched a number of grass strips close, which made the RAF’s mission feel especially important to me. Maintaining these airstrips keeps aviation connected to the outdoors and makes it possible for more people to reach the quiet, remote areas that inspired me to fly in the first place.” Scott joins the other two RAF Michigan Liaisons, General Grant and Tanmoy Ganguly. He can be reached at santtila@theraf.org . Submitted December 11, 2025.
