PLC Board Chair Julie M. McCoy joins Heroes’ Wings Foundation Co-Founder Wayne Pliss for a conversation about nonprofits, everyday heroes, and their passion for flying.
Beginning in May 2014, PLC helped the founders and staff of the Heroes’ Wings Foundation prepare for their mission to “provide transportation services to our heroes who touch our hearts every day.” PLC prepared the group’s application for California tax-exempt status, amended their bylaws, provided ongoing general counsel advice and support, and facilitated pro bono assistance to develop employee and volunteer handbooks.
We wanted to learn more about how the partnership between PLC and Heroes’ Wings Foundation was going, so we asked our resident ace pilot, Board Chair Julie M. McCoy to chat with fellow pilot Wayne Pliss.
JM: Wayne, as a volunteer pilot and as PLC’s board chair, I was so excited to hear about your organization. Can you tell me how the group got started?
WP: Mike Haworth, one of the founders, and I were sitting around having a cup of coffee, when a mutual friend approached us with an opportunity to work with a museum that just received a donation of some planes. We started doodling some ideas on a napkin and, then, I noticed some ads in a magazine for Veterans Airlift Command and Corporate Angel Network. It occurred to us that we could build on these concepts and operate planes full time for people in need. Although the idea didn’t work out with the museum, we decided that this was too good of an idea to let die, so we pushed ahead. That’s how Heroes’ Wings Foundation was started.
JM: Tell me about your passion for this mission?
WP: I am a giver. My daughter was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome when she was young and I got deeply involved with the Tourette Syndrome Association. I’m always trying to help. When it comes to our veterans, I just think we should be there to provide help. We are including first responders (law enforcement and fire personnel), cancer patients, children’s hospital patients, transplant patients. Although we are focusing on veterans, they are all heroes in our eyes and they are all fighting for something. That’s how the name, Heroes’ Wings Foundation came about.
JM: That’s lovely. I share your passion for helping people. I’m a volunteer pilot for Liga International – The Flying Doctors of Mercy, and also their pro bono general counsel for many years. So, I totally get it. I’m sure you all have faced some challenges along the way to get Heroes’ Wings Foundation off the ground, no pun intended, how has PLC been able to help in that regard?
WP: I’m a aviation guy. I’ve run businesses before. Putting this together, I’ve been able to call on friends from this entire industry for their help. However, I’m new to non-profits. It’s a whole different world.
JM: Tell me about some of your co-pilots in this mission.
WP: We have a governing board and an executive advisory board. Mike Haworth, David Mullins, and I are the original founders and we serve on the governing board. We were approached, at one point, by Retired Brigadier General (U.S. Army) Daniel Nelan, who heard about what we were doing and wanted to be part of it. So we brought him on board. Also along the way, we were contacted by John Hale, who is Vice President and Chief Pilot for American Airlines. He has a passion for this as well and he is now a member of our governing board. On the executive advisory board, we brought on Darrell Bloomer of Mt SAC, Ted Guzman of Citibank, and John Fehrs, who are all veterans. We also have our executive director, Catherine Grinnan, who comes to us with over 15 years of non-profit experience at the American Heart Association and other organizations. She knows about giving. Her daughter, who is 16 now, had a heart transplant at 11 days old. She has that same drive that we have.
JM: What did you like about working with Sarah Efthymiou and PLC’s pro bono attorneys?
WP: We absolutely love Sarah. Having all these great people on our governing board and advisory board, everyone says: “Let’s do this or I’m going to call this person.” The first words out of my mouth are always: “Let’s check with Sarah first.”
JM: What kinds of things have Sarah and the PLC team done for you so far?
WP: They have reviewed all the paperwork we filed with the IRS and the state of California. We’ve made some changes, they’ve reflected those changes, and filed them. Anytime we’ve asked a question, they’ve been there to help us. If they didn’t have the answer right away, they got the answer. It’s been a wonderful help. It’s been very comforting to know that they are there. As you might imagine, as a new non-profit, we don’t have a lot of money. I’m not sure we would be where we are at without PLC.
JM: What’s one thing you want people to know about the heroes you serve?
WP: If someone needs help, we want to be there. We want to help them with their transportation needs and do it with the dignity they deserve.
JM: What’s next for Heroes’ Wings Foundation?
WP: “We are going to take baby steps; start with a smaller plane and just the western states. We also don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so we will work with other organizations who are more established and have existing criteria for people requesting help. Eventually, we will develop additional infrastructure. We are going to continue fundraising, starting with a golf tournament and a kickoff party in November.
In addition to her legal practice and service to organizations like PLC and OCBA, Julie M. McCoy has volunteered her time for many years to Liga International, The Flying Doctors of Mercy, a charitable organization that provides free medical and dental care in remote, impoverished regions of Mexico. Ms. McCoy was President of that organization in 2001-2002, and she continues to volunteer her time as a pilot, regularly flying doctors, nurses, dentists, and provisions to Liga’s clinics in Sinaloa, Mexico.
Wayne Pliss knew from the age of six he would be destined to be in aviation. Starting to take flying lessons at the age of sixteen, sometimes having to wash airplanes to earn flight time, he received his private pilots license on his seventeenth birthday. He worked several years in the aircraft parts and electronics distribution business. He later made a career out of piloting, working for Skywest Airlines and then America West. He also worked part time as a corporate relief pilot flying everything from turboprops to corporate jets. For the last 23 years he has been the chief fixed wing pilot for one of Southern California’s largest law enforcement agencies.