September 2015 –
I had the sad occasion to attend a friend’s funeral this past month. He’s someone some of you will know and many of you will have heard of: John Kounis, co-founder and editor in chief of Pilot Getaways magazine.
John was by all accounts a remarkable person and he will be missed.
What struck me as I listened to John’s eulogy and to the many, many friends and family members that spoke at his funeral was how much life and how many experiences he packed into his too-short time on this earth. Friends said, “he didn’t waste a minute.”
I can’t add to or improve on what his brother, George Kounis, or the staff at AOPA had to say about John, so I’ll direct you to those articles below.
I know you’ll understand if I keep this short this month and just say that I hope you are enjoying as many of your allotted minutes on earth as possible.
And that this, too, will be said of you: “He lived doing what he loved.”
Blue skies,
PS: Two articles and remembrances of John Kounis are online:
“Remembering John Kounis,” by George Kounis
https://pilotgetaways.com/mag/ja15/RememberingJohn
“’Pilot Getaways’ Editor in Chief John Kounis,” by AOPA ePublishing Staff
https://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/July/14/Pilot-Getaways-Editor-in-Chief-John-Kounis-dies
AOPA has established a flight training scholarship to honor John Kounis’s legacy. Contributions to the John Kounis Memorial Scholarship can be made at https://ebiz.aopa.org/Default.aspx?TabID=175&offercode=R1507WXMEM or sent to the AOPA Foundation at 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, MD 21701. Please note the scholarship name on contributions. One hundred percent of the funds will go toward an aviation scholarship for a student pilot.
