Bernald Smith of Fremont, California has served with distinction on the Soaring Society Board of Directors for over 30 consecutive years.During this time he has held a wide variety of offcial posts. He first joined the SSA Board in 1963 and quickly rose to the presidency of the organisation for the years 1969 and 1970. It was during this second year as President that Smith came to the international soaring scene. Under his leadership, the SSA hosted the successful 1970 World Soaring Championships in Marfa, Texas. In addition to his responsibilities as President of the Soaring Society, Smith also served as a Steward for the Championships. After his terms as president, Smith assumed various roles within the Soaring Society including Chairman of the Publications Board for 12 years. This important post is responsible for oversight of SSA's most visible product, SOARING Magazine. Smith also served as Chairman of the SSA Insurance Committee and as co-Chairman of two SSA National Conventions. He is presently assuming an active role in the planning for the 1995 SSA Convention set for Reno, Nevada. Smith's current activities on the international scene have brought him acclaim from beyond the soaring community. Due to his active leadership in the development of GPS (Global Positioning System) applications for sport aviation, Smith was asked to make presentations to both the International Hang Gliding Commission and the CASI of the FAI. Smith is the official Soaring Society representative to the RTCA, the body responsible for development of technical standards for avionics and support equipment. After his service on behalf on the 1970 Championships, Smith began to serve the SSA as alternate delegate to the IGC standing behind the long and able service of Bill Ivans as US delegate. When Smith assumed the duties as full delegate to IGC, he was quickly elected to the IGC Bureau as a Vice-President of the body. He served the 1983 World Soaring Championships as Deputy Director of the Championships for the successful event held on short notice in Hobbs, New Mexico. In 1991 he rose to the post of Director of the Champinships for the 22nd World Soaring Chammpionships held in Uvalde, Texas. Smith presently serves as a member of the OSTIV Board and as US Delegate to OSTIV. He was instrumental in negotiating the agreement for publication of all OSTIV papers in Technical Soaring. In partial recognition of his entirely volunteer work, Smith has five times received SSA's Exceptional Service Award. His repetitive receipt of the Soaring Society's second highest award is highly unusual and is strong testimony to the high regard in which he is held by his peers. in 1977, Smith received the SSA's highest award for volunteer work, the Warren E. Eaton Memorial Trophy. In 1984 he was elected to the United States Soaring Hall of Fame in Elmira, New York. Bernald S. Smith has served tirelessly and without compensation on behalf of soaring and sport aviation for over three decades. He well deserves the Lilienthal Trophy on behalf of Soaring Society members worldwide and on behalf of the international sport aviation community in recognition of a lifetime of singular and unselfish commitment to soaring. Smith's service is an inspiration to all who know him.
<p>In recognition for his lifetime contribution to the sport of gliding and his long national and international service work during several European and World Championships among other things as steward and chief steward. His dedication and professionalism in the world of gliding and national/international airsports (Royal Belgian Aero Club, IGC and EGU) has been very valuable.</p>
Oran Nicks trained as an aeronautical engineer at Spartan College of Aeronautical Engineering and at the Universities of Texas, Oklahoma and Southern California. He spent two years in the Army Air Corps, 12 years as an engineer for North American Aviation and Chance Vought companies, 20 years as program-center director for NASA and 16 years as research engineer-center director at Texas A&M University. His publications include two books on space flight and over 100 papers and reports on aerodynamics, aircraft and spacecraft design and applications. He first began flying in 1941 and obtained his pilot's licence in 1945. He was a Certified Flight Instructor and owned and flew a Cessna 182 and a Standard Class Sailplane. An avid soaring enthusiast, he flew in regional and national competitions and was a holder of the FAI silver, gold and diamond badges. He served as Chairman of the Technical Board of the Soaring Society of America, US delegate to the FAI-OSTIV Sailplane Development Panel and member of the World Class Management Committee of the International Gliding Commission. In addition, he was volunteer Director of the Soaring Society of America for many years. He invented a total energy sensor used on sailplanes throughout the world. Having obtained a licence to construct a World Class Glider, he worked for three years to build from scratch a beautiful glider. His handcrafted wing moulds were displayed at the SSA's national convention in Portland, Oregon. Oran Nicks was one of the greatest supporters and proponents of the World Class Glider. It is somehow ironic and yet appropriate that the accident that claimed his life in September 1998 was in the glider he built with so much effort and love.
<p>Terry Delore has always been interested in anything that flew, and started gliding in 1969 at the age of 10. Regulations dictated that he was not permitted to fly a glider solo until the age of 16, so at the age of 13, he started hang gliding. He entered the first New Zealand Hang Gliding Championships at the age of 16 and subsequently entered numerous competitions in New Zealand and Australia. He was New Zealand Hang Gliding Champion for three consecutive years and at the age of 17 won the first World Hang Gliding Championships which were held in 1976 in K�ssen, Austria, competing against pilots from 25 countries. Delore returned to serious gliding in 1979 and completed his Gold "C" Award in 1980. His first gliding championships in 1981 (Sports Class) saw him gain first place, the first of many New Zealand contests that he has won, primarily in the 15 metre and Standard class. Following the footsteps of New Zealand's soaring pioneer Dick Georgeson, he flew a distance flight of 1000 kms for his "1000 km Diploma" in 1984 (Number 48). Delore represented New Zealand at the 1985 World Gliding Championships in Italy. A year and a half of solid training of over 600 hours nearly paid off with a final placing of 12th in the Racing 15m Class. Next came the 1987 World Championships in Australia followed by the pre-world Open Class Championships held in Minden, Nevada 1990, and the World Championships in Texas, USA. With a young family and small retail business, cash resources became limited, so he then started imparting his knowledge and experience back into the New Zealand gliding movement and has been a "B" category gliding instructor for nine years. Many of the pilots he has trained are now out competing against him and winning competitions. On November 5, 1994, he broke the current world record for distance and completed a flight of 15 hours over 2048 kms. He is the second person in the world to have flown in excess of 2000 kms. He flew the highest speed at the 1995 World Championships in Omarama of 148 kph. He is held in the highest esteem by his colleagues in New Zealand.</p>
