Nancy Koreen, D-18240, is a world-record-setting skydiver and freefly load organizer with more than 9,800 jumps to her credit. She has also worked behind the scenes to promote skydiving in myriad ways, rarely taking any credit.

Twenty-five years is no small amount of anyone’s lifetime. A quarter of a century. Roughly one-third of the lifespan of an average American male. And the number of years Ed Scott has dedicated to the U.S. Parachute Association, the sport of skydiving and skydivers across the United States and around the world.

There can never be a blanket definition of where that thin gray line is, since we all have different ideas of what is and is not offensive.

This is my 144th and final Gearing Up column since becoming USPA’s Executive Director in December 2007.

Ever since I was a little kid, doctors told me that I would be limited to certain activities because I was born with spina bifida. I never even entertained the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, and anyway, skydiving was something that terrified me. That all would change after going to Skydive Perris in California.

This year, my wish list is all about the basics that make skydiving safer.

When a jumper inspected his United Parachute Technologies Vector after receiving a reserve repack, he noticed that his rigger had neglected to secure the reserve ripcord to the reserve pin.

Kelly Turbeville and Erika Schneid freefly at Skydive Carolina in Chester, South Carolina.

Photo by Craig Amrine | D-23425

Vanessa Larroca participates in the Flips and Shenanigans freestyle event and competition at Skydive Arizona in Eloy.

Incoming Executive Director Albert Berchtold updates USPA members on matters of the organization. Learn more at https://uspa.org/ OR https://parachutist.com/. Blue Skies!

Voting is now open for the special election to fill a National Director vacancy on the USPA Board of Directors.

“Keep an Eye Out” on page 66 of the November issue of Parachutist contained incorrect information.

Early in the morning on Saturday, September 19, the staff at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, logged into the DZ computer to see the first video uploads already coming in from DZs in the Eastern time zone.

I became interested in skydiving my senior year in high school after watching a night demo jump into the school’s stadium. I approached the jumper and asked how I could participate.

Michael Kearns, D-16816, began jumping in 1976 while in the military. He made more than 200 special operations jumps in 14 countries, including night jumps wearing tactical gear, and also became involved in sport skydiving.

As I begin to bow out as USPA Executive Director, I want to share some skydiving truths that I have come to know. Some I’ve learned from others, some I had to learn myself, and many came to light in the course of working out problems and issues over 24 years at USPA.