MAL CORNER
A Message from our Vice President:
We have MALs all over the country!
Dear Members at Large,
Please join us at the National Convention in Savannah, GA. It is an exciting experience to be with hundreds of KIWIS from throughout the United States. You'll make lifelong friendships and might even visit their chapters in the years to come.
You are invited to the Member at Large Caucus on Wednesday at 10:00 am. Connect with MALs nationwide and share your thoughts on enhancing the MAL community.
The Delegates Meeting is on Thursday morning (10:00 am) and the Members at Large have a convention delegate, Kathy Minner, and an alternate, Bev Flaschentrager. They will attend the Delegates meeting to represent all MALs. They will also be conducting Zoom meetings prior to the convention to gather details on what you hope to see in the MAL community.
If you're interested in forming a chapter in your area or rebuilding one in your city, remember, all it takes is five active FA and/or former FAs to form a new or renewed chapter.
Vicki
Kiwi Skies are Limitless
Convention News for MALs
Join other MALs at the Member at Large Caucus on Wednesday at 10:00 am. Not only will you meet MALs from all over the country, but will be able to voice your ideas for the MAL community.
The Delegates Meeting is on Thursday morning at 10:00 am. Representing all MALs are convention delegate Kathy Minner and alternate Bev Flaschentrager. They'll also be hosting Zoom sessions beforehand to gather your input on shaping the MAL community.
Please go to the Convention pages on this website for full details about registration, events, and Savannah.
Also, if you do not have the 2024 Convention app installed on your phone than do it now. It will be your guide to getting around the convention and to Savannah. To get the app simply scan the QR code below with your phone.
Airline Memorabilia? Don't toss it... Donate it!
If you come across any memorabilia or uniforms from your flying days, and you’re wondering what to do with these items, consider sending your items now to one of our Support Staff members listed below.
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Uniform Donations - Please contact Chris Strommer Moeckel: cgmatlga@gmail.com
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Historical/Collectible Items - Please contact: Mary Richter Thrasher: thekiwiclub@comcast.net
Silent Auction Donations are needed for the Convention!
There will be a silent auction, once again, at this year's convention and items are needed. Go to the Schedule and Events page under the Convention tab to read more.
The Gift of a Kiwi Membership
If you know of someone who is eligible to join The Kiwi Club, but has never joined, please consider surprising him or her with the gift of a Kiwi membership!
You’ll find the Gift Membership Form on the Forms page of this website.
If you know of other flight attendants in your area and would like to start a chapter, all it takes is five!
You can find information on the Forms page with details on How to Start a Chapter or contact our VP Vicki Valenciano Kubal for information.
Kiwi Club Biennual Dues
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Dues are due and payable after September 1st and before November 1st each even numbered year.
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Please send your payment to our National Treasurer - Melissa Williams McGrath
MAL Member Spotlight - Our MAL Authors
We'd like to highlight two of our talented members. Both of them have written and published books that are currently offered on Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. The Boutique has information about the books..
Argie Hoskins Shumway
Read about your fellow Kiwi MAL and author of "More Than a Ticket". She says...
"I received my wings on the 21st day of May, 1957, Class of 57-6. I attended school in April and May of 1957.The stewardess school was housed in American Airlines' hangar at Midway Airport in Chicago. There was enough room for 36 students, three instructors, and a housemother with the atmosphere along the lines of a select women's college.
I was in one of the last classes to be trained in that hangar because later that year American Airlines built the world's first facility for training in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. I can still taste the smells of takeoffs and landings and the smell of rain on the tarmac. For a country girl from Animas Valley, New Mexico this new world was unreal.
A world that lasted for two and half years of opportunity and excitement. My connection with the Kiwi club was an emotional connection with Kay Hansen. Membership in Tucson and Las Vegas chapters of the Kiwi club has been rewarding as my years of flying out of Chicago and Los Angeles.
Years of memories serving American Airlines with many public relation opportunities, career days, and inaugural flights with the role of suggestions as to how to make jet service passenger friendly. Read my book about the Golden years of flying."
Argie can be contacted at: Argie.ella@gmail.com
Gail Weaver Norwood Kinder
I'm sorry to announce that Gail Norwood Kinder, age 73, died at home in Chapel Hill, NC, on July 11, 2023.
More information about her life is on the Flown West page.
"How thrilled I was to receive the letter in the mail announcing, “Congratulations! You’ve been selected for stewardess training at American Airlines!” Like most of us then, I thought I’d fly for a “year or two” (isn’t that what we all said?) then quit and take some other job and start a family. But in 1971, all that was about to change and many of us would make this a career and stay with it for decades.
I came to training from my home in Williamsburg, Virginia and was in the wonderful class of 71-7 at the “Stew School". Several of us have stayed in touch over the years which has been a blessing. I was first based in LGA which was so typical, and I shared a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan with 4 others from my class. We had a ball living in “the City” and then after just a few months there, one by one, we transferred to another base after our initiation in New York City.
I went to DFW to be with Mike, whom I had met during training, and we married within a few months. After almost 20 years in the Big-D, I transferred to RDU when it opened in 1992 and my family began a new life in nearby Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
After that, life took a few tough turns. Read about the unbelievable events in my book, “Escape from Grief Prison - A Story of Love, Loss, and Healing”. In the book my message is strong - life is good, and life goes on."
