Pat Thomas, USPA #273081, is the newest recipient of USPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed for outstanding contributions to the sport of parachuting and USPA. The USPA Board of Directors unanimously selected Thomas for the award during its summer meeting July 13-15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For nearly 30 years, Thomas and her company, Sun Path Products, have supported competitive skydiving by sponsoring competitors and teams in all disciplines, which has been a great asset to many members of the U.S. Parachute Team for decades. She has also led the team that organized nine Parachute Industry Association Symposiums, providing tremendous support to USPA, its board meetings and DZO Conferences.
The USPA Board also selected three recipients for its Gold Medal for Meritorious Service, awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the skydiving community.
Mary Bauer, D-8123, and Bob Stumm, D-3604, have been pillars in the Wisconsin skydiving community for decades. They’ve provided support, coaching, instruction and mentorship to hundreds of skydiving students who have gone on to be instructors, Safety & Training Advisors, riggers, USPA Nationals medalists and world record holders. Even though neither is a full-time skydiver, they’ve dedicated countless hours to running the Indianhead Sport Parachute Club/Skydive Wissota, fostering a culture of safety both at their home DZ and beyond.
Mike Horan, D-881, served on the USPA Board as Mideast Conference Director from 1979-1986 and was a key figure in organizing the USPA Nationals in 1979 and 1980. He contributed articles to Parachutist for decades and assembled an extensive library related to skydiving, which he donated to USPA in 2002. He is a trustee of the International Skydiving Museum and Hall of Fame, as well as its archivist. He has been instrumental in preserving the history of skydiving and USPA.
Greg Windmiller, D-20004, served as a U.S. Army Golden Knight for 16 years, during which he was a member of the U.S. Parachute Team multiple times. He co-founded the Golden Knights’ Canopy Piloting Team and has won many national and international medals and set multiple national and world records in canopy piloting. He has served as U.S. Team leader and has been instrumental in reinforcing safety in canopy piloting, both in competition and in training those pursuing the discipline. He is also a tandem, AFF and static-line instructor and tandem instructor examiner.
All of the esteemed recipients will receive their awards at dates and locations to be determined.