Meet Our Board of Directors | Ponderosa Aero Club

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.

Ken Hosac

Both my father and my maternal grandfather got their pilots license in their early 20s. I went a different route, however, owning a sailboat in the SF Bay Area and Seattle for over 15 years. That changed when I moved to Boise in 2005, joined Ponderosa in 2008, and learned to fly, including private, instrument and backcountry.

I purchased and put into the club a Cessna T210 that is the same year as the CT210 that my father Steve purchased new from the factory in 1977 with the tail N886SH (his initials). Tail number N886KH carries on his tradition with my initials.

I’ve been passionate about the club during my years of membership. In addition to the flying, I’ve volunteered time to set up the club’s networking equipment as well as the LiveATC and FlightAware feeds. I’m ready to contribute more, to help continue the club’s long history of solid leadership and direction.

In addition to my experience as a club member and aircraft owner, I have a strong business background in companies both large and small. I spent 9 years at HP in the Bay Area, 8 years in two Seattle tech startups, 3 years here in Boise developing real estate with my father, and over 10 years at Cradlepoint. I’ve served as president of 3 separate commercial and residential owners associations, and currently manage the finances for 6 separate LLCs and associations, mostly real estate.

The club’s priorities have always been safety, fiscal responsibility, education and enjoyment, and I feel that I have the background as a member, owner and business exec to carry on that tradition.

John Blanchard

Hey everyone! I'm an Owner/member with a diverse background in aviation, and I want to use that experience to give back to the incredible community here at PAC by serving you on Ponderosa's board. I've owned two 172s, a Mooney, and now the 150 (N3699J). I've been an A&P mechanic for over a decade, and I've wrenched on small GA planes, private and corporate aircraft, and commercial airliners. As a pilot, I've flown all over the western hemisphere as med-evac and for private jet owners, including hundreds of hours in the Alaskan bush. I want to be a board member so that I can support the club and you, its members, in continuing to have access to safe, varied, capable aircraft so you can pursue your aviation goals and enjoy Idaho's beautiful and challenging backcountry.

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.

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!