WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

What’s in it for me? Not only a legitimate question, but one typically asked. Sometimes it reveals the sincerity of a person when they ask that. Here at the RAF we often hear that question when dealing with land managers, vendors, and suppliers.


Volunteers may ask, and even that is fair. But you know you have a true supporter when you see them roll up their sleeves, say, “Put me to work,” then set about digging in, never asking, “What’s in it for me?”

Just recently the RAF family lost just one of those people. The RAF does not regularly publish memorials, tributes, or obituaries. However, there is always an exception and such a case existed with Lois Ellis who split her time between Texas and Montana with her husband Scott, an orthopedic surgeon, pilot, and RAF supporter, friend, and volunteer.


But why Lois? Because we came to know Lois through her work efforts during the Ryan building project. Lois was always the first to look for a job. The job didn’t matter, nor whether she might get dirty. I can still see her sitting in the hot Montana sun painting doors for the cabins at Ryan Field. Her only request was for help rearranging her work, or to bring her a cold drink.

Lois was not a pilot herself but loved what she was doing because she simply wanted to make it better for others to enjoy.


By now you’re probably wondering, why is Lois so different? It‘s because at a younger time in her life she was diagnosed with MS which confined her to a life of limited mobility and eventually a wheel chair. She did not ask for this disability, nor did she let it define her or limit her ability in ways she could control. Trish often said, “When I look at Lois, I never see a wheel chair. I only see an awesome lady who is willing to pitch in and help.”


Lois reminded me that much of the work of the RAF is not about any one of us. It is for all of us. Lois simply found joy in helping, and being around people, doing it with purpose and a smile.

So next time you get asked — or find yourself asking — “What’s in it for me,” perhaps Lois might pop into your thoughts and you’ll find the right answer.


If that answer is to do it for others without regard for self, then I know that will keep the smile on Lois’s face.

-John McKenna, RAF Chairman

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By Taylin Trafton • December 11, 2025
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.