West Virginia’s Pilot of the Year, Cleve Benedict, is an angel of mercy.

The pilots who fly for Angel Flight are exceptional in every way—passionate flyers, passionate humanitarians. It’s always rewarding to see them at the annual banquet in Virginia Beach. Last Saturday’s Gathering of Eagles was a heartwarming celebration of their service.

I wish I could tell you about each pilot, but there is neither space nor time to do so. Since I’ve gotten to know him through the years, let me mention Cleveland Benedict, who has come to the banquet with his wife, Ann, in past years as well as this. Cleve is a dairy farmer from West Virginia. He and Ann are very active in community affairs in their charming mountain town of Lewisburg. Their son, Pinckney, is a famous fiction writer.

With his shock of white hair and kind smile, Cleve commands attention.  His character is even more impressive, for this former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Commissioner of Agriculture rents the aircraft he uses to fly patients to distant, specialized treatment.

Cleve is West Virginia’s Pilot of the Year, an award he has won for five consecutive years. In 2009, he flew 31 patient missions. We salute Cleve and all our other Angel Flight heroes. Visit www.AngelFlightMidAtlantic.org.

The Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic program is administered by Mercy Medical Airlift.

One Response to “Celebrating Service”

  1. Katy Says:
    May 10th, 2010 at 8:29 am

    It is wonderful to see these veteran pilots recognized for their service, thanks to this compassionate organization. Thank you for this blog and for producing such an excellent Web site and blog.