James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

Soaring service
Alumna helps create Young Eagles
By Sarah Mead (’99)
ClassNotes
S
hirley Steele (‘63) has taken community service to
new heights. Following her retirement from teaching
in 2000, Steele became interested in the Experimental
Aircraft Association. “One of the major
programs of EAA is to give kids their first airplane ride,” she
says. “Once the child
between ages 8 and
17 has flown, he or
she is considered
a Young Eagle, and
the participant’s
name is placed in
the most extensive
logbook in the world.
Our organization
has given free flights
to approximately
650 to 700 kids
since 2006.
The program also
has a scholarship
program where
two partici pants
are sent to a weeklong
NASA Space
Challenge camp Experimental Aircraft Associa-
in Huntsville, Ala.
tion volunteers Shirley and Bob
Steele depart from the 2006
“They get a full-
Young Eagles Rally at Rotometrics
blown introduction Airport in Meadows of Dan, Va.
into the world of
flying, and it is guaranteed to change their lives.” Steele
says. “Our scholarship was set up to honor former World
War II Air Force service pilot Emily Metz Giles, who passed
away in 2008.”
“A desire to help the community and give back something
to the area in which we grew up is very special to us,”
says Steele.
A business education major, Steele has kept herself
active since her graduation more than 40 years ago. She
earned her master’s in education with a concentration in
instructional applications of microcomputers from George
Mason University.
In addition to her EAA service, Steele is vice president
of the Woodlawn Ruritan Club, and she has been voted
Outstanding Ruritan of the Year two years in a row. She
maintains the Web sites for the Woodlawn Ruritan Club,
the Carroll County Teachers Association, the Woodlawn
United Methodist Church, Chapter 1426 of the Experimental
Aircraft Association, the Young Eagles organization and
the Carroll County Historical Society. She also serves as
the treasurer of her church’s United Methodist Women’s
Group and is on
the Parish Relations
Committee of
Woodlawn United
Methodist Church.
Beyond her multiple
webmaster duties
and church service,
Steele serves as
editor of the Carroll
County Historical
Society’s magazine,
The Carroll County
Chronicles.
Steele became a
devoted volunteer
after she retired
from teaching in several
high schools and
elementary schools,
and after raising her
two sons. She moved
to California with
her husband, who
was in the Air Force.
She taught fourth
grade for two years,
and then she and
her husband relocated
to Wycombe,
England. Later, the
Steeles moved back
to Virginia, and
Shirley returned to
teaching business education in Fairfax County in 1977.
Steele believes that Madison certainly prepared her for
the real world. “Being from a small rural area, it was a major
adjustment to fit into Madison College,” she explains. “I
always strived to do my best. When Madison’s truly dedicated
professors realized that a student was doing her
best, they were willing to help any student achieve.” M
‘A desire to help the community and give back something
to the area in which we grew up is very special to us.’
— Shirley Steele (’63), Experimental Aircraft Association volunteer
62 MADISON MAGAZINE