DAVE’S PASSION FOR THE MUSEUM

 

It all began when he promised his father, Lee Douglas that he would publish his autobiography. His mother, Sabina, wouldn’t allow publication of the original manuscript. After his father died, David convinced her that we would edit and remove any objectionable material. I added photos to make the dry material more interesting and with his mother’s approval the “Memoirs of a Helicopter Pioneer” was published by Infinity Publishing on October 20, 2005.

His next goal was to promote the book and his father’s legacy. When he googled his father’s name, he was appalled that Lee L Douglas was unknown.  He discovered that Igor Sikorsy’s name popped regularly as a helicopter pioneer. But on Wikipedia’s section describing the Boeing CH-47, his father’s name is not mentioned at all.

David had visited the American Helicopter Museum before with his father and mother while they were alive.  He decided to return and learn more about its mission and goals. Next he talked with his mother, Sabina and family to come up with a plan to create a memorial of some kind for his father at the museum.  He encouraged the family to donate some of his father’s mementos and photographs to the museum. David spent many hours going through his father’s papers to decide which historical documents to donate.  David donated a lighted cabinet to house some of his father’s memorabilia. His family donated a fund towards the “Lee Douglas Pioneer Hall” planned to open in the fall of 2016.

 Bob Beggs approached David in May 2010 to serve on the Museum’s Board of Trustees, and he began working on the Pioneer Family campaign which was focused on approaching families of helicopter pioneers to see if they wanted to memorialize their Patriarch at the Museum. David was approved as a Trustee in September of 2011. Bob said, “As you know, he wanted to honor his father and being on the governing Board of the museum gave him the opportunity to influence museum strategic planning.  And, It was great for the museum to have the Douglas name involved.   Dave stayed on the Development Committee expanding his role over the years until ultimately he was the Committee Chairman.”

Marc Sheffler remembers David’s contribution to the American Helicopter Museum with these thoughts: “He led the Development committee constantly looking for new donors, how to get more from existing donors and searching for new and creative ways to raise money.

Dave spearheaded the efforts to sell some of our spare helicopters that have resulted in significant new funds for the museum.

 

He was a tireless docent. Not only would he volunteer to host parties and lead tours, but if he just happened to be at the museum and nobody was taking visitors around he would drop what he was doing to greet visitors and give them a tour.

He was forever looking at ways to do things more efficiently. His creativity contributed to innovative approaches to maintenance and repair, utilities, and programs. His review of the roof leaking problem along probably saved the museum tens of thousands of dollars.

Behind the scenes he was a peacemaker, working to smooth over tensions that sometimes arose between some of our long time volunteers who hold strong options on how things should be done.

His financial support directly resulted in us being able to hire a Development Professional and purchase the Chopper Spotter, dubbed the ‘Lee D. Lifter’.  The chopper spotter has saved countless hours and allows us to easily reposition helicopters for various events. This leads to more museum rentals and increased income, as well as better safety for the volunteers moving the helicopters around.”