Alumni Stories Ramona Reynolds ALUMNI STORY: Ramona Reynolds
The VFC's First Female President You all know the history of this Club: we’re headed for our 75th anniversary, but the club’s origin dates back to the 1920s. As the club’s first female president, I was asked to write this article in celebration of International Women of Aviation month. It was challenging to be the first female president of a flying club with over 100 years of history, and a heavily regulated flight training unit, approved maintenance organization, and charter. Being the first female anything in an organization is a double-edged sword: uplifting and terrible. In fact, most of my experiences as a woman in aviation, and in leadership at the Victoria Flying Club, have been two-sided. I have met the most honourable people and the most challenging people that I have ever known at the VFC. In contrast, my core values were tested constantly during my term, and I have experienced significant
8
MARCH 2021
sexism as a woman in aviation. I came to the club to have fun and I became a changemaker. I made a lot of mistakes as I grew into the position. I had a lot to learn. I let people speak on behalf of myself and my role, but I also found my voice and power. When I was a child, aviation was something fun, but it turned into something more. Aviation has always been a part of my life. I grew up in the 70s and watched my father attain his pilot licence. He bought a little 172 that we flew everywhere. I hopped in the back seat of that plane like most kids hop in the back seat of their parents’ car. When we moved to Victoria in 1981, my dad became a member of the Victoria Flying Club, and so when I joined it myself in 2009 it was like coming home. I’d also been married to a former member of the Snowbirds, so I’d seen many sides of aviation in Canada; yet to this day I am
treated as a newcomer because of my gender. I’m turning fifty this year, and for women of my generation it was the norm for men to be the ones to introduce them to the world of aviation and to invite them into its community. When I joined, I was welcomed with open arms by the people who would become my first friends and mentors at the club: Colin, Kim, Don, Ted and Marie; the very same people who mentor so many of our members today. In the beginning, their support and friendship kept me in the air. In 2013, it was the men in this community who encouraged me to accept a nomination to the board. The reaction from the women in the community had been the opposite: they told me how hard it would be; that I would never make it; that I would quit; and that I was destined for failure. In 2014 I became this club’s first female president, which I held until March
VFC | Aviation Excellence Since 1946
