Flying high

WASILLA — It took some convincing Sunday before the wife of Nathan Anderson would believe her husband had just won an airplane.

The Anchorage resident wasn’t at home when representatives of Valley-based Veterans Aviation Outreach (VAO) called to say Anderson has just won a $40,000 kit-built SeaRey amphibian. Sunday’s drawing at the AmVets lodge culminated more than a year of work and fund-raising for VAO, which matches military veterans living in Alaska’s Bush areas with the services they’re entitled to.

The plane raffle was the largest undertaking for the organization to date, said VAO founder Maurice Bailey, a veteran and airplane mechanic.

“We wanted to make somebody really happy and maintain our credibility at the same time,” he said. “It’s a plane; that goes right with our mission.”

Overall, VAO sold 1,060 tickets at $25 each to raise $26,500, Bailey said. The plane, donated by Wasilla resident Mark Callahan, is worth $40,000, but Callahan donated half the plane’s value to the effort — $20,000 — leaving $6,500 profit for VAO.

“We need to have the money so we can go to places like the village of Emmonak,” Bailey said. “They were hit pretty hard there by the economy, and they have 85 veterans in that area that need help.”

Bailey has been working on Callahan’s personal aircraft for years, so when he saw an opportunity to help VAO, Callahan said he decided to donate the SeaRey.

“Basically, (Bailey’s) just a great guy,” he said. “He puts his heart into whatever he does. Hopefully, we can get a little attention for the VAO and the work (it does). The more I learn about it, the more I like it.”

The money raised by Sunday’s raffle will be used primarily for fuel and costs associated with flying to Bush locations, Bailey said. For example, he knows of a veteran near Skwentna who has problems, is possibly armed and distrusts the government. Bailey hopes to go visit the man, take him some food and convince him to come back for medical attention.

“People are getting to know about us, that’s for sure,” he said. “Like that veteran near Skwentna. He lives off his dividend, about $900 a year. He’s eligible for Social Security, but doesn’t trust the government.”

Although VAO tends to fly under the publicity radar, the group’s work earned Bailey the 2007 Governor’s Veterans Advocacy Award. The idea sprung from his own 20-year military career and the realization that there are many veterans living in remote areas who don’t have access to or knowledge of the benefits they’re entitled to. Improving their quality of life is also a priority, Bailey said. He started VAO in 2003.

“We like to go around to these villages and see it they need assistance making their living areas better,” he said. “We’ll do whatever’s needed. If they need a new roof, we’ll try to make that happen. If they need a ramp built, we’ve done that.”

Although Sunday’s informal giveaway ceremony at the AmVets post was about promoting VAO, many in attendance used the gathering as an opportunity to tout Bailey, who continues his efforts for veterans while dealing with a serious health issue of his own.

Bailiey’s wife Ann said seeing her husband continuing to set his focus on others while fighting leukemia has been an inspiration.

“I’m just really, really proud of him,” she said. “I’m so proud to see what he does and how he helps.”

Ruth Jameson, a VAO volunteer, said there are veterans in the Bush who owe their lives to Bailey and VAO.

“If this man, Maurice Bailey, hadn’t gotten in his plane and brought some of those guys in, there’s no telling what might have happened to them,” she said.

That dedication to veterans and their individual needs is what impressed Callahan to make his donation.

“He’s just a selfless guy,” Callahan said of Bailey, “He’s got a lot on his plate, yet he’s all about his buds.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.