Please meet our extra-dedicated members who volunteer their personal time to oversee club operations.
Gil Kirkpatrick
I started flying gliders in 1980 in Warrenton, VA. After a brief flying hiatus, I got my private glider certificate and later worked weekends as a commercial pilot and CFI-G at the Plymouth, MA airport during the 80’s and 90’s. After getting married and moving to Phoenix, AZ in 1994, I got my SEL certificate flying Cessnas out of Sky Harbor. I raced gliders cross country from the Sonoran Desert all the way up to the Grand Canyon, and I was President of the Arizona Soaring Association for a while. My wife and I (now with three kids) moved to Australia in 2009 where I flew LSAs and ultralights, and also served as the Vice President of the South Coast Recreational Flying Club based at Jasper’s Brush, NSW. Personally, Kiry and I have been married for 27 years, and have three children. Molly and Scott are attending the University of Wollongong in Australia, and my youngest, Ryan, is attending the University of Idaho up in Moscow. Professionally, I’m an executive for a small software company based in Australia specializing in network security, identity, and access control. I've served on the PAC Board for the last two years and have developed a good working relationship with Janna and the other Board members. We've had good success getting our financial and administrative house in order and can now look to the longer-term health and growth of the club. My two main areas of interest are to 1) increase the amount of social flying we do (as distinct from training flights), particularly to back country or near-back country strips, and 2) to increase the selection of aircraft we have available to club members.
Read MoreShawn Dulin
Like many people, I have had a lifelong desire to be a pilot. In 2017, I decided it was time to make it happen, so I joined Ponderosa Aero Club and began my journey. With the help of our knowledgeable instructors, and the support of my lovely wife, I received my Private Pilot’s License on January 20, 2018 in Cherokee 2171Y.
Since that time, I have received my complex and high performance endorsements and am currently working on my instrument rating. With the opportunities Ponderosa provides, I hope to continue to learn and enhance my back country flying skills. Ponderosa has helped me achieve this lifelong goal, and I will use my new position as a board member to give something back to the club.
Professionally, I am the Lead Airport Designer for a local civil engineering firm where we serve as airport engineers for numerous airports in Idaho and neighboring states. I am experienced in all aspects of airfield design as well as airport master planning. Being involved in many different local airports provides me with a broader understanding of the challenges GA faces, as well as insight into how other communities address similar challenges.
I am excited for the opportunity to share my perspective and expertise with Ponderosa.
Michele Kemper
I come from the heart of Ohio, but if I had had a choice, I would have grown up in the mountains of Idaho! I made the best of my time in the Midwest, including playing Division 1 ice hockey for THE Ohio State University.
Inspired by my family of military aviators, I took my first flight and the stars aligned: I knew I wanted a career in aviation. While earning my private pilot's license in Ohio, I honed my navigation and pilotage skills flying from one farm field to the next. I pursued my instrument rating while getting a taste of density altitude in Colorado, and then found my way to Idaho in 2015 when I became Store Manager for The North Face and joined Ponderosa! I finished my instrument rating at KBOI, followed by commercial, then CFI. I trained with Tom Mahoney in the backcountry, and enjoy mountain flying with the narrow strips and short approaches!
I spend my free time flying, hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, skiing, running, upland hunting or big game hunting with my husband in the mountains. Sometimes we do a combination of these at the same time! I am eager to pass on my knowledge and passion for aviation while flying smart and safe.
Ben Winn
I grew up on a small farm in North-east Oregon. I remember being so fascinated by the crop dusters working the fields around my home and hearing my father talk about flying.
I went on to pursue a career in healthcare as a registered nurse, moving to Boise and working for St Luke’s for 10 years. In my spare time I enjoy skiing, kayaking, rafting and camping.
I was encouraged to pursue my lifelong interest in aviation by my wife in the fall of 2018. I left healthcare and began training at Silverhawk Aviation in Caldwell. Roughly 14 months later I had achieved my Private, Instrument, Commercial and CFI certificates. I then went on to obtain CFI-I, Multi-Engine and MEI certificates over the next year. I am also high performance and tail wheel endorsed.I truly love to teach. I strive for the moment with a student where everything drops into place and confusing concepts become clear. I look forward to helping pilots continue to improve and fulfill their dreams.
If elected to Ponderosa's board, I promise to advocate for aviation safety through education and remain committed to listening to members' concerns and suggestions about the club.
Jennifer Steffen
I grew up near Seattle, and was surrounded by airplanes from a young age. My dad and I took a few glider lessons together in eastern Washington, and my bedroom walls sported a really cool 747 cockpit poster and, of course, the ubiquitous Top Gun magazine tear-outs (it was the 80s!)
I began flight lessons during our year at Osan Air Base in Korea. It was very different flying, I would later find out: lots of special VFR, poor visibility, and lining up to wait for A10s, F16s, and U2s. We moved to Tucson, AZ, before I was able to complete my private pilot’s license, but once we were stateside, I found a flying club at Ryan Field and resumed training.
Arizona flying was completely different from Asia flying, and I was so thankful to see the mountains from 100 miles away. My new instructor found it humorous that I had more actual instrument time than she did! I got my license when I was 6 months pregnant with my first child (you can imagine my DPE's reaction when he met me for my checkride!) and then took many years off from flying.
We moved to Boise in 2018 after my husband retired from the USAF, and I picked up flying again in 2020 at Ponderosa. I plan to teach here and work my way to bigger airplanes with more buttons and switches.
I hope to see you at a PAC event soon. Blue skies!