What a weekend…… One that has left me a bit speechless. Being the first year hosting the event without Randy Strebig and his wife, Allison Wheaton, the weekend was filled with bittersweet emotions. SEE EDITOR’S NOTE.
Though our hearts weighed heavy missing our fearless leaders, we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to honor their legacy, while making new memories and continuing to share the love of seaplane flying with others, which I believe is exactly what they would have wanted. From that perspective alone, I would say we can call the 22nd Annual Indiana Seaplane Pilots Association (ISPA) Splash-In at Pokagon State Park on Lake James, September 21-22, 2024, a success!
We had a total of 24 aircraft fly in this year. Go figure… We go a month with great weather and no rain, and the weekend of the event, rain moves back into the Midwest. We had numerous arrivals on Saturday, but some were not able to stay for the main show on Sunday due to the incoming weather. All things considered, I think we had a great turnout and I’m grateful for all the pilots who made the trip. I am also proud to report that the 100% safety record for this event continues.
We started off the weekend by hosting the “poker run” on Saturday. A big thank you to Matt Perry and Rick Rumple for coordinating the event. This was our third year doing the poker run, and it has become a favorite among many pilots, as it is a great way to see the many lakes in our area. We had 10 seaplanes participate in the event with Ed Shumway being the overall card winner in his Cessna 180. We also had a spot landing contest on Lake Pleasant. Walt Plentis and his son, Walt, Jr, won this competition in their J-3 Cub. Congratulations to them, and thank you, Sarah Rhodes and Scott Millard, for handling all aircraft and poker run operations at the Potawatomi Inn on Saturday.
Saturday evening, we were happy to keep the BBQ and bonfire tradition going at the runway. My parents, Joe and Adriane Willig, along with good friends, Kelly and Jacob Balyeat, were fortunate enough to purchase Randy’s runway property earlier this summer. A huge shout out to the Balyeats, as well as Nicholas Groen, Erinn Weiss and their crew, for hosting the evening, while the Willig family attended a family wedding. I was able to sneak out of the wedding and arrive back at the runway a little later in the evening, and it was very heartwarming to see so many people enjoying each other’s company and swapping stories, just like always.
Air Indiana Skydiving dropped a load of jumpers into the runway out of their Cessna 182, along with Rick Rumple jumping out of his seaplane. Thank you, Rick, for coordinating this activity and keeping the tradition going, and for an awesome tribute to Randy by using his parachute! We had several campers staying at the runway Saturday night, including Lee Hilbert in his Cessna 170, who flew all the way from New Jersey to join us!
Waking up Sunday morning, I was pleased to see that the rain and low clouds held off until later in the day. Even with the incoming weather, we had more arrivals than I was expecting throughout the morning. I believe we had the largest number of SeaRey aircraft fly in than ever before with a total of five over the course of the weekend. One of the most notable aircraft to fly in was Mike Pratt’s twin-engine Grumman Widgeon. Looking back at past photos, this is the first time we have had a Widgeon fly in for the Splash-In in over 10 years.
Jakob McKenney, who is a walking Wikipedia of all things airplanes, joined us again as our announcer. A big shout out and thank you to Jakob and his mom, Tammy, for making the trip to Lake James. We always love seeing them and listening to Jakob’s stories about the history of various aircraft.
Before we started raffling off rides, we had a short program where I talked about Randy, Allison, and Chuck Marshall, and how influential they were to this event and amongst the seaplane community. I noted how they enjoyed sharing their passion for aviation with others — especially the world of seaplanes — and how they will be missed. I also read “Lessons Learned From Randy & Allison,” which was written by my wife, Grace. (See copy below.)
Following this tribute, we had a moment of silence, during which there was a flyby of three seaplanes over the Potawatomi Inn in their memory: Shawn Avra in his Cessna 180, Rick Rumple and Matt Perry in their Cessna 172, and Mark Fisher in his Piper Super Cruiser.
After the flyby, our members flew four rounds of raffle ticket rides. The generous pilots providing the rides were again Shawn Avra, Mark Fisher, and Rick Rumple. By my count, they gave 30 people rides. A big thank you goes out to these pilots, as giving rides and sharing their love of aviation is what makes our splash-in a favorite with the local community.
Two passengers stood out in particular. One was a veteran who benefited from the services Allison provided at the Fort Wayne-based nonprofit equine therapy organization she founded, “Summit Equestrian.” The other was a 14-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who recently developed a love of seaplanes. Thank you, Shawn Avra, for taking these individuals for a ride they will remember forever!
The weather ended up being almost perfect up until about 1:30 p.m. when the rain moved in. The last seaplane left minutes before, and we had an army of rain-soaked volunteers stick around to help tear down the ramp and control tower. Thanks to those members who helped us get fully cleaned up and leave the park in record time on Sunday.
A big shoutout to Ted Bohman and Nick Brown with the Pokagon State Park DNR for their help in preparing for the splash-in, and to Emily Burris at the Potawatomi Inn for providing the meal vouchers for the pilots. I also want to thank the Steuben County Tourism Bureau and the Lake James Association for their generous donations towards this event. Their continuing support goes a long way in covering expenses, especially since we do not charge pilots a registration fee.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers for helping throughout the weekend. This event could not take place without them, from the ramp crew, boat shuttle crew, on-water safety crew, ramp setup and teardown crew, registration table and t-shirt sales crew, IT and web support crew, and the PA system crew.
P.S. If you have Instagram, checkout the neat video of the event @Thecommercialpilot.
Lessons learned from Randy:
- Live each day to the fullest – before sunrise to after sundown.
- Better not only yourself, but those around you.
- Follow your passions. All of them.
- Work hard and exceed people’s expectations.
- Invest in your community and your people.
Lessons learned from Allison:
- Be no one, but yourself.
- Take time to stop and smell the roses. (And even scraggly weed trees.)
- Care for ALL living creatures.
- Channel joy and positivity. Share both with others.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Please mark your calendar for September 20-21, 2025, for the 23rd Annual ISPA Splash-In.
By Zack Willig, President
EDITOR’S NOTE: Randy Strebig, who was President of the Indiana Seaplane Pilots Association, and his wife, Allison Wheaton, were killed in November 2023 in Ludington, Michigan, while flying their TBM. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. Many thanks to Zack Willig and the splash-in team for continuing the event in their memory: zack.willig@gmail.com
