Our volunteers are the lifeblood of Wings of Hope. Whether they are in the hangar working on planes or in the front office managing administrative tasks, we depend on them to do mission-critical work that keeps our wings in the air and our operations running smoothly.
REMEMBERING JIM DeVRIES
Jim DeVries could fix just about anything.
As a sheet metal and aircraft maintenance support volunteer for Wings of Hope since 1990, Jim logged over 7,300 hours in the Wings of Hope hangar. Sadly, Jim passed away from cancer this past April.
Wings of Hope CFO Beth Campbell remembers Jim as “a big presence in the room with a heart of gold.”
“I’m going to miss him personally and Wings will miss his skills — because he could fix anything,” she said.
He could also build anything. Wings of Hope volunteer John Heilmann said he was “very impressed with his sheet metal skills.”
One day, Jim told John that he was going to make a lower cowling for an airplane in the hangar.
“I said that’s almost impossible to do. There are multiple curves. It’s very, very difficult,” said John. “A couple of days later, I came into the hangar, and it was on the airplane. I couldn’t believe it.”
John McManamee, a former Wings of Hope pilot and friend of Jim’s for more than 20 years, called Jim “a brilliant engineer — but with no degree.”
“I couldn’t believe how talented he was.”
As Jim’s cancer progressed this past spring, he told John McManamee he’d love to make one last trip to Gaston’s fly-in restaurant in Lakeview, Arkansas.
“That was his favorite place, and it’s beautiful. It’s right on the White River,” said John McManamee.
So he called Lena Pak, director of administration at Wings of Hope, to see if she could tap into the Wings of Hope family to help make it happen. Lena approached John Heilmann, who also happens to be president of the local EAA Chapter 1675, and he had the idea to make Gaston’s the chapter’s next monthly fly out.
“There was a time in the past where I was asked to do something similar and I thought I had more time, but the individual passed away — so I said, ‘We’re going to jump on this quick,’” said John Heilmann.
A member of the St. Louis Flying Club, John Heilmann knew they could use the club’s Cessna. But he still needed someone to fly the plane.
“All of the sudden, Damian (Mahoney) walks into the room,” he recalled. “He’s an EMT, and he’s bigger than I am so he could help get Jim (who was in a wheelchair at that point) into the plane.”
Damian, a volunteer pilot for Wings of Hope, was happy to help. Gaston’s was already on the chapter’s list of future fly outs, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
“We had a meeting coming up, so I gave a little presentation on getting in and out of Gaston’s because it is grass — it’s a unique airport to get into,” said Damian.
All told, six planes and 14 people, many from Wings of Hope and others from EAA Chapter 1675, made the trip to Gaston’s.
“Jim had a blast,” said Damian. “He was having a good time, talking, telling stories.”
“When we got there and were all sitting at the table, he dinged his glass and said, ‘I’m just really overwhelmed that all you guys would come down for this,’” said John Heilmann. “I’m glad it worked out, and that we did it when we did. It was a beautiful day.”
His friend John McManamee, said, “Jim was just about as happy as I’ve ever seen him.”
MIKE AND CARIE SHANNAHAN
By any definition, Mike and Carie Shannahan are an aviation family. Mike is a pilot, and two of their three children have their pilot’s license.
“My son soloed the same week he got his driver’s license, and my youngest is taking her FAA commercial next week — she wants to be a commercial pilot,” said Carie.
When all three kids “flew the coop,” Carie started volunteering as a driver for ITNGateway, a nonprofit that provides transportation for older adults and people with mobility challenges. Eventually, she wanted to do more — and she was familiar with Wings of Hope.
“I had been buying raffle tickets for about 10 years, hoping to surprise Mike with a plane — but I didn’t win,” she said.
When she was looking for a new volunteer opportunity, “I just pulled up their website and saw they had a need for a receptionist — and I’m on my third year.”
Carie quickly got her husband involved helping with special events such as the annual plane pull. Last fall, she told him about a guest speaker she thought might interest him who was coming to the SOAR into STEM program.
“I came to listen to the guest speaker and stayed the whole day,” Mike recalled. “Then Lee Ann (Nolte), who runs the program, asked if I would want to be a mentor.”
Mike signed on as a volunteer mentor for the spring 2026 SOAR into STEM program. As a pilot who owns an engineering and design company, he is ideally suited to offer his advice to students exploring STEM and aviation careers.
“Some of these kids are going to be pilots, and some are going to get engineering degrees,” he said.
His favorite part of being a mentor is sharing words of wisdom that he wishes someone had offered him when he was younger.
“I went the path that a lot of these students are going to go,” he said. “I got my mechanical engineering degree before working at Boeing and then in the private sector. I look back, and I would have done a lot of things differently had I known one thing or another. They may or may not listen, but I can at least tell these kids, ‘Here’s what you’re going to see, here’s what’s going to happen, here’s what I could have done better.”
Mike said working with the students bolsters his faith in the future of aviation.
“They’re teenage kids, but they’re motivated to come here — and there’s a lot of value in that. They know what they want to do and where they want to go, and that’s a great start.”
As for Carie, she finds it rewarding helping people in their time of need, whether it’s greeting patients and families as they come in for a medical flight or providing support over the phone.
“A lot of times when people call in, they’re crying because of their situation,” said Carie. “But if I listen to them for 10 minutes, I might turn their day around.”
In addition to volunteering at Wings of Hope, Carie volunteers in a memory care center.
“I’m a better person when I’m busy,” she said.