With the passing of Tom Poberezny on the opening day of the show, there was a palpable collective gasp from so many people who had been here during his tenure (and sometimes before). It felt like the passing of an era. Tom left an indelible mark on everything here. The airshow itself is a development of the big ideas he brought to town. The EAA Air Museum was Tom’s baby. And there are so many people, still in OSH or scattered working big jobs elsewhere, who point to Tom as a mentor and friend. Tom was driven, passionate and sometimes extremely headstrong. I once interviewed him pre-Oshkosh just to get his views on the upcoming show, the people and planes, and the state of EAA. It wasn’t a puff piece, but rather, a conversation between people who knew each other well. Yet before the interview, he wanted to be certain that I spoke about all the great things about the fly-in, to cast in, as he saw it, its true glow. EAA was a life’s work for him. And as we walk the grounds this year, we’d be right to think of him as we revel in the joy of this very special week.
