Dream Flights Founder, Dayton local receives Ford Oval of Honor Award for honoring seniors and veterans
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Fri, 08/12/2022 - 9:35am
Darryl Fisher, a Dayton, Nev. resident and founder of Carson City, Nev.-based nonprofit Dream Flights, was awarded the Ford Oval of Honor Thursday night, July 29, 2022, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Museum, Vandalia, Ohio.
He was among four recipients, including ret. U.S. Air Force Colonel Colleen Ryan, ret. U.S. Air Force Colonel Cassie Barlow, and ret. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Richard V. Reynolds.
The Ford’s Oval of Honor award recognizes common citizens for uncommon commitment to defend the cause of freedom. Fisher is only the second non-veteran to receive the award. On the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Dr. Paul Ambrose was the first non-veteran recognized. He was US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop's second in command and was killed on American Airline Flight no. 77 on Sept. 11.
Fisher received the award for honoring more than 5,300 seniors and veterans through Dream Flights, the nonprofit he founded with his wife, Carol, in 2011. In addition, during last year’s historic 61-day Operation September Freedom tour, Dream Flights landed in 333 cities and 47 states to honor 891 World War II heroes with free flights of a lifetime in restored WWII-era biplanes.
Fisher is a third-generation aviator, senior living leader, and president of Carson City-based Mission Senior Living. This past week in Reno, Fisher honored a group of veterans with Dream Flights at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Among them was 95-year-old Eleanor Smagala, who served as a member of The Cadet Nurse Corps during WWII and worked as a nurse for the next 42 years.
“Never in a million years does a 90-year-old think they’ll be able to climb into a biplane,” said Fisher. “But they do, with the help of our pilots and crew members. When they land 20 minutes later, they feel a burst of energy they haven’t felt in a long, long time. It’s pure magic.”
To receive the Ford Oval of Honor is, said Fisher, “a humbling recognition, one that I share with our dedicated team of volunteers, sponsors, and supporters.”
Dream Flights’ pilots are active and retired military and commercial pilots who volunteer their time and participate in mandatory flight training each year at Dream Flights University, Castroville, Texas. According to Fisher, volunteers are also used to schedule approximately 500-800 individual Dream Flights each year at hundreds of local airports nationwide.
Fisher extends gratitude to Sport Clips for believing in its mission. Since 2014, Sports Clips has served as its primary sponsor and its franchisees have provided onsite volunteer support at Dream Flights’ events nationwide. Additional national sponsors include Veterans United Home Loans, American Airlines, and the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.
Dream Flights are always free, explained Fisher, and that's only possible because of the "generosity and support of sponsors, donors, and individual donations."
Scott Buchanan, CEO of The Ohio Masonic Home, shared, “The Ohio Masonic Home has been a regular participant of Dream Flights. Our community members look forward to these flights every year. Even when the flights have landed there is still such excitement as the flyers share their stories with other community members.”
Donations can be made at www.dreamflights.org/donate. Follow Dream Fights on Facebook and Instagram @DreamFlightsOrg. Subscribe to Dream Flights Journey on YouTube.
