SEASONAL WORK COMPLETED AT LAKEWOOD LODGE; UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

A group of people are working on a bridge in front of a house.

Nearly 40 volunteers pitched in for what RAF Director Jeff Russell called, “A very successful RAF work party,” in early June at Gillette’s Lakewood Lodge, 14WS in northern Wisconsin. “One small measure of this success was the turnout of so many volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves and dig in to help. Attendance was more than triple that of the 2023 spring work party,” Russell added. In typical fashion, the Gillettes helped with all the projects, and they and their extended family served delicious meals to all the volunteers. 

Among other tasks, Florida State Liaison Bobby Capozzi and Florida Ambassador Joe DeLeon led a group of volunteers to erect an 18-ft canvas tipi that Judy had acquired. To celebrate the accomplishment, Capozzi and DeLeon slept in the tipi the next two nights. Gillettes have made the tipi available for visiting aviators to use.   


The group repaired the hangar roof, felled a large dead oak, installed the pier and swim raft for the season, and stained the porch on the house. The RAF thanks volunteer Jim Baker for bringing a skid loader and grading the gravel driveways. 


Gillette’s Lakewood Lodge airfield features camping, canoeing, cycling, swimming, and fishing – accessible from its 2,137-ft turf runway. Bob and Judy are passionate about aviation, after respective careers in the industry. The RAF is so thankful to share the ownership of Gillette’s Lakewood Lodge and look forward to many years of work parties and celebrations with Bob and Judy.

“We are so fortunate to enjoy the friendship of Bob and Judy and to share their passion for preserving a treasure like Lakewood Lodge! What an amazing paradise they have created,” said RAF Chairman Bill McGlynn.

“A huge thanks to all the volunteers that came to help, to Bob and Judy for their wonderful hospitality, to their nieces, Becky and Karen, and to Max, for keeping us so well nourished. What a special treat that was,” Russell concluded. 


Gillettes kindly request that you contact them at 715-865-2902 prior to landing, and leave a message if no one answers. For more information, see the Airfield Guide.


Gillettes wish to remind all of their annual gathering of local EAA chapter 631 and RAF friends to be announced this coming fall. It typically begins on Thursday, with a fish fry on Friday eve, picnic on Saturday, and Sunday morning’s hearty “everything scramble”. The spring work party will also be announced, so watch for a call for volunteers likely in late May or early June, 2025.

Submitted on July 12, 2024
by Carmine Mowbray

Posted in News

Recent Posts

IF WE COULD . . .

By Kodi Myhre • December 23, 2025
At about this time, every year, we have this conversation at the RAF about what our year end letter (code for asking for your financial support) should say to you, and about the RAF and the accomplishments of the past year.

WORTH THE READ: STEF GOZA GUEST EDITORIAL

By Taylin Trafton • December 23, 2025
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This guest editorial is by Stef Goza, a pilot and an RAF Alaska liaison.

BILL DUGAN IS NEW NEBRASKA LIAISON

By lellington • December 21, 2025
Bill credits aviation for much of his success in business and the ability to serve his companies and family. What began in a Champ, and a Tri-Pacer owned by five people, turned into what Bill calls, “a key business tool” in which he accumulated 9,000 hours – in a Cheyenne, a Pilatus, and a TBM, where ninety-five percent of his flying was for business. “My retirement enabled me to recall ‘Why I Learned to Fly’, a slogan from an old RAF video.” Bill’s son, Patrick, purchased the C185 they now share. “While attending a business function, some associates arrived in corporate jets. As they joined up on the tarmac, the jet pilots gathered around Patrick’s 185, and one of the passengers asked, ‘What’s special about this?’ No explanation needed for this RAF audience,” Bill says. “My involvement in the RAF is, in a partial way, repaying the rewards aviation has endowed me with. Having been involved in many worthwhile nonprofits, this is one where financial support is only part of the picture. Physically participating in great projects that have a lasting effect, with good people, returns a great personal benefit,” he says. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there at the start.” Bill and his wife Jane are privileged to be able to split time between their long-time home in eastern Nebraska and Scottsdale, Arizona. While still serving on several boards, he enjoys golf “about every third shot,” biking, cars, and reading, but always looks forward to the time he can be involved in the RAF. “It’s flying with a purpose,” he adds. Bill can be reached at bdugan@theraf.org

Jake Hampton

December 15, 2025
AR Ambassador

RAF ADDS MICHIGAN LIAISON SCOTT ANTTILA

By Taylin Trafton • December 11, 2025
A Christmas gift of flight lessons from his parents started Scott Anttila’s aviation journey in 1985. “I learned at Johnson Field, a small grass strip tucked into the woods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and that early exposure to simple backcountry flying stuck with me,” Scott says. Growing up in the U.P., he spent a lot of time outdoors and found that flying was another way to get to the places he liked to explore—especially the ones most people never saw. As he earned more ratings and eventually moved to the Detroit area for work, Scott realized he needed a way to stay connected to northern Michigan. He bought an airplane and used it to get back to the smaller airstrips and lake country he enjoyed. Along the way, he also flew gliders out of Frankfort, soaring along the Sleeping Bear Dunes and towing sailplanes over the Great Lakes. “Those flights gave me a different appreciation for the landscape and made me even more interested in the small, out-of-the-way airports scattered around the state,” he says. Visiting those kinds of places, Scott first came across the Recreational Aviation Foundation. He started using RAF-supported airstrips both inside and outside Michigan. “I noticed how well-kept they were and how much access they opened up,” he says, adding, ”Over the years, I’ve watched a number of grass strips close, which made the RAF’s mission feel especially important to me. Maintaining these airstrips keeps aviation connected to the outdoors and makes it possible for more people to reach the quiet, remote areas that inspired me to fly in the first place.” Scott joins the other two RAF Michigan Liaisons, General Grant and Tanmoy Ganguly. He can be reached at santtila@theraf.org . Submitted December 11, 2025.