Happy To Be Here Club Meets at Van’s AirVenture Banquet

For decades, Van’s Aircraft has sponsored a banquet at AirVenture each year to thank and honor their builders. In the wake of the company’s financial crisis, its bankruptcy filing, its reorganization and its emergence from the bankruptcy process, the AirVenture Banquet became more of a celebration of life than a rubber chicken rehash of sales statistics from the year gone by.

Many Van’s builders did not expect retired founder Richard Van Grunsven to even attend AirVenture this year, but appear he did, to the delight of the Van’s Air Force. Without it being stated by any of the banquet speakers, everyone in the sold out pavilion knew that Van had taken out over five million dollars of his own retirement funds to reinvest in the company. When Van rose to welcome the builders they responded with the raucous joy that only Happy to Be Here Club members can understand. The normally taciturn Van gave an emotional thanks to “all of the builders who have been extremely supportive during this difficult process.” He observed that “we are all in this together and we need each other.”

With that, Van’s Air Force members enjoyed their tasty barbecue, the presentation of guest speaker Dr. Eileen Bjorkman (one of the first women flight test engineers in the USAF and noted author) and the glow of the knowledge that the family of Vans builders, pilots and aspirants will not only survive, but will grow into the future.