It always amazes me when my fellow kiters enthusiastically throw themselves into some zany new idea and pull it off with finesse! From reenacting Man-lifting with Cody Kites, figuring out how to connect them from a fuzzy picture in David Pelham's book, and lifting a Cabbage Patch kid into the air, to pitching in to performa an appreviated form of "Peter Pan", using sport kites doing ballet and single line kites for story telling, my kite friends do it! We showed that single line kites can do demos, too. We demonstrated that sport kites and single liners CAN work on the same field at the same time if each respects the other's needs. When I first joined the Ohio socieity for the Elevation of Kites about 1980, the first thing I learned was that a pair of tangled kites is an opportunity to make a new friend.

I am honored to be able to gather all those friends this year into a new venture. Terry Sansom passed on the successful project he began on the Internet and he remains an email message away to guide and advise us as we - OSEK members - gather the kites for the AKA ARCH KITE PROJECT 2000.

Friends are what kiting is to me. Hugs and smiles from kite people - single line fliers and sport kite folks - are the best part of every festival. Meeting new kiters, sharing the sky, the wind, the joy and freedom of flight have filled my life for 20 years. I've learned new techniques, new materials, and new shapes from folks like Jose Sainz and Charlie Sotich. Tiny treasures and stunning stained glass beauties have steadily improved my skills in kite making. Sharing the wealth of kite history with children in libraries, schools and parks comes back in the delight and discovery that glitters in their young eyes. Watching dozens of workshop sled kites dance in the air in an impossible corner of a schoolyard while my own "fancy" kite refuses to leave the ground is what it is all about. We pass on the magic of sharing and realize what we share is far more than kites in the sky.

Nancy has flown kites all her life, and since 1979, she has been active in the sport. Her favorite kites are Chinese 3-stick, Deltas and Delta Conynes, Rokkakus and Sleds with rams. She has entered her kites in kite building competitions at the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum's Kite Fest receiving her first award in 1987 and at the AKA Nationals. Nancy has been honored as a guest kitemaker at WSIKF in Long Beach, WA and at the Maryland International Kite Expo in 2000. She recently received the AKA Volunteer of the Year Award. Nancy is most known for her banners. She is the maker of the "official" AKA Banner. She is active in the AKA, with local kite clubs, and with sportkite kite fliers.

[Reprinted with Permission - AKA Kiting September/October 2000]
Editing & Layout by Ellen Smith, NyteStar WebDesign