WORTH THE READ: SARAH BROWN GUEST EDITORIAL

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 Sarah Brown, pilot and RAF Oregon Ambassador.

“Ain’t nobody got time for that!” and “I am not nearly qualified enough…” were the first things I thought when I was invited to apply for an Oregon RAF Ambassador position. As is clear to everyone familiar with the RAF, the RAF does incredible work. The RAF has movers and shakers with Energizer Bunny reservoirs of get ‘er done. The RAF is widely successful, and all I could think was “I’m not sure I have what it takes to be a title-holding part of this organization.”

It’s not that I haven’t been able to do hard things, or time-consuming things. I raced bicycles for 5 years. I went from student pilot to CFII/MEI in a little over a year at a school that wasn’t an accelerated program. I remodeled a house with my boyfriend, then taught him to fly, and we still ended up getting married! But unknown challenges in unfamiliar areas feel like a fresh and insurmountable wall to those of us who are afflicted by perfectionism.

It turns out, a reason I love being a RAF Ambassador is that the volunteer description overlaps what I was doing anyway – telling friends, coworkers, and acquaintances about flying my Cessna to one recreational activity or another.

One summer a girlfriend and I went island hopping with our road bikes in the Washington San Juans, pedaling the islands and camping each night between flights. Most summer weekends, my husband and I fly out to airplane camp with our elderly dog, or without the pup, the plane is packed full of backpacking and fly-fishing gear. It’s just what we do! Each destination airport is a place we appreciate and cherish, and finding large or small ways to help take care of it is second nature. Telling folks I meet about the RAF mission is a natural extension of talking about my everyday life. Volunteering doesn’t have to be hard. And it doesn’t have to be a full-time job.

I have a full-time job. I am a Boeing 737 captain at a major airline, but I hold only minor seniority in that seat. This equates to schedules I have little control over, and a scarcity of time at home.

In past experiences, such as trying to build an airplane, I’ve felt it’s an endeavor so huge it’s hopeless until retirement. Sometimes volunteering feels similar. What good am I with so little time to give? Maybe I should just wait until I retire.

It’s natural to compare myself to my Oregon co-Ambassador, Kevin Johnson, who is a prime-time, rockstar RAF volunteer. That man gets stuff DONE! He has skills, makes time, and turns himself inside out to serve the pilot community through the RAF. Dang, are we lucky to have him. And boy howdy, has it taken a minute to come to peace with not having the same resume to offer this organization. Yet a significant learning moment for me has been accepting and appreciating that. Even when you feel you’re only contributing a little, it still matters.

At work, I fly alongside a wonderful cadre of passionate aviators. The handful who participate in General Aviation often express interest in using an airplane to recreate. Some are already RAF supporters, but most times it’s my honor to introduce them to the RAF. Have I failed to carry those iconic orange RAF stickers on all my work trips? Of course! Can I drop an RAF sticker and an invite to a work party in a coworker’s file a week after flying with that person? Sure can. I have realized over the past 22 months of volunteering as an RAF Ambassador that reaching out to a diverse group of pilots is important to the future success of the RAF.

I’ve even discovered that through the commitment of my employer to community service, I can log the time I volunteer for the RAF, submit it to our work Giving account, and my employer makes a donation back to the RAF. How awesome and efficient is that?

For those of you who are still working full time and wondering if volunteering is right for you, I’d like to be your cheerleader. Volunteering is not just for retirees. Those of us with full-time jobs associate with a vast demographic of people who are valuable to our volunteer organization, and we are the conduit between those groups. When you find a volunteer position that easily coexists with your hobbies and pastimes, it’s not only fun, it’s easy! As I well know, though your time might feel scarce, contributing even a little is still helpful. And finally, if you’re going to volunteer for a group as cool as the RAF, always carry stickers!

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Sarah began flight training at age seventeen and moved into flying corporate jets at age twenty. Eleven years later she joined the airline pilot ranks, and was reintroduced to general aviation through her coworkers. An avid outdoorsperson since her 20’s, combining flying and outdoor recreation was an exciting prospect, and she has enjoyed recreating with her husband and their airplanes ever since.

Submitted September 26, 2025