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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: Dennis Kuhlman, 785-826-2601 dkuhlman@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Andy Badeker, 785-532-6415, abadeker@k-state.edu

Thursday, October 4, 2007

DONATION LETS K-STATE AT SALINA RESTART HELICOPTER PROGRAM

SALINA -- A $500,000 donation to Kansas State University at Salina has been turned into an airborne opportunity for K-State at Salina students.

The heirs of Charles Stevens, the late owner of Stevens Construction in Salina, gave the money so that K-State at Salina's aviation department could purchase a Schweizer 300CBi helicopter and start a helicopter flight training program.

The two-seat helicopter arrived in early September. A private dedication ceremony will be Thursday, Oct. 11. The craft will be on public display at the All-University Open House April 19, 2008.

"I just want to say that we're honored to use this opportunity to continue Charles' memory," said his widow, Debra Stevens. "He had a great love for all fields of aviation, from owning an fixed-base operation, to flying fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft as a private pilot. Although he was a Jayhawk at heart, he cared deeply about the community of Salina, which includes K-State at Salina."

"For as long as I can remember, my dad loved flying," said Catherine Gordon, one of Charles Stevens' daughters. "When my sister and I were born, he actually worked a brief time at Boeing in Wichita. This planted the seeds of a passion for future endeavors and dreams of not only flying himself but also aiding others to do likewise."

Stevens' passion led him to Texas in 1972, where he took helicopter lessons, earned his license, bought a Bell helicopter and flew it home to Salina, all in the course of a week or so, according to daughter Elizabeth McGhee.

"He had several aircraft over the years, but that helicopter was his baby," McGhee said. "He loved to share that thing."

Both daughters recall flying alongside truck traffic on Interstate 70, or scaring up coyotes while whirling across the Saline County countryside. "It was like Mutual of Omaha's 'Wild Kingdom,'" McGhee said.

"He loved to take anyone for a ride," Gordon said, "especially my aging grandparents, who for the very first time could view their land, their homestead, from above."

McGhee recalls her father giving her sorority sisters rides during a pledge retreat. "He let me sit on the floor next to his legs," she said. "It was like flying in your dreams, where you jump up and fly where you want."

Though a Kansas Jayhawk on game days, Stevens had a history of supporting K-State at Salina, including serving on its dean's advisory council. He also was a big supporter of St. John's Military School, contributing to the construction of its Stevens Center in the late 1990s, McGhee said.

Even though he was born and raised in Hutchinson, "He was a Salina man," McGhee said. "When K-State came to Salina, well, that sealed the deal."

McGhee herself "turned purple" early on; she is a graduate of K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

The helicopter purchase will broaden the offerings of K-State at Salina's aviation program. In the last year alone, the department has added a glider to the fleet and started an aviation safety minor. This fall, the department launched a new avionics curriculum.

"K-State's aviation department continues to grow to meet the needs of our students, as well as those of the aviation industry," said Dennis Kuhlman, dean at K-State at Salina. "The helicopter program is just one more example of the relevant opportunities we're providing our students at K-State at Salina."

"There are great people in this aviation department," Debra Stevens said, "and I wish for it to become the elite program in the country."

K-State at Salina formerly offered students opportunities to work on helicopters, but the program was discontinued in the 1990s due to deteriorating equipment. The Stevens donation provided the purchase price as well as a maintenance fund for the new helicopter.

"Dad would be very proud and happy to see the money used with integrity in an organization such as K-State at Salina," Gordon said.

"Even though he didn't say 'helicopter program,' he wanted to do something for K-State, there was no doubt," McGhee said. "I know my dad would just be totally thrilled. I also know if my dad was standing there (at the dedication), he'd knock that guy out of the right seat and say, 'Let me show you how to do it.'"