These Girl Scout lyrics, adapted from the poem by Joseph Barry, embody the sentiment of today’s announcement.
A little over a year ago, Angee and I began talking via Instagram and email. I quickly fell in love with the brand she had created and I proudly wore the FLY - First Love Yourself T-shirt to Everest Base Camp, taking One Plane Jane to the top of the world. We met at Sun ‘N Fun in 2018 and quickly became friends. She and her husband, Kevin, graciously invited Angel (my better half, and aircraft mechanic) to camp with them at Oshkosh and I spent some time helping in the OPJ booth.
As we transition the leadership and ownership of OPJ, I know Angee and I will become even better friends because we share the same values in how we take care of people. And you can give her a big hug at Oshkosh, as we will be there together.
I assure you, OPJ will continue to offer the products you love, to empower women, and we will continue to grow, as a brand and as a community. Today, I want to give you a little more background on the new face behind the brand.
After almost two years of working on the ramp for a major airline, telling the pilots to set and release their brakes and pushing them for departure, I finally took my first flight lesson. I did not learn to fly because of a love for airplanes, though that has inevitably developed since then. I learned to fly because I saw an opportunity. I saw where flying could get me, and I don’t just mean from JFK - MAD. I’ve always loved and appreciated travel, especially venturing beyond capital cities and hearing stories of locals that would otherwise go unheard.
While learning to fly, I heard about organizations to promote women in aviation, but, at first, I did not quite understand or fully appreciate them. Although I had studied ballet for my entire youth, as I grew up, I often became "one of the guys.” It was not until watching the NYC musical, “This One’s For the Girls,” that I truly realized, with Angel, laughing and crying next to me, just how recently equal opportunity has become available to women. It happened in my mother's lifetime!
My mother grew up with fairy tales of women waiting to be rescued by princes. I grew up with Gilmore Girls, emphasizing the values of education and independence. And Barbie has just now, finally, created dolls for STEM careers.
Now, living in Madrid, Spain, I am even more aware of how fortunate I am to have grown up with so much opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I do love it here. I told Angel from the beginning that moving to Spain would be the easy part. But the challenges are fierce. It is obligatory to include a photograph with most job and graduate school applications and it is expected that I include my photograph on my resume. Age, marital status, and children are normal interview topics. Most of all, it pains me that our niece and nephew, today, don’t have this same educational support, at school, that we did, in the United States, over twenty years ago.
Living abroad has brought me even closer to my flying sisters back in the U.S. and abroad. I dial-in every month for my Ambassador 99s videoconference. Angel and I hosted Girls in Aviation Day in Madrid, a Women in Aviation International event. Together, we are leaders for the USA Girl Scouts Overseas Madrid Senior Troop.
As the new owner of OPJ, I see it as my responsibility to continue to offer you great products, as well as continue to strengthen our community, making valuable connections. Finally, Angel will stop giving me a hard time for wearing my three favorite OPJ shirts in a rotating cycle. Now, I will wear the whole collection! And I hope, with time, you will too. I hope that every time you put on your OPJ T-shirt or interact with us online or at an air show, that you make connections, make friends, and take the time to learn about someone else’s life.
The song ends as our story just begins, “Across the land, across the sea, friends forever, we will always be.”
Stay tuned. I will be sharing the interview I did with Angee, a year ago, where she shared some of her insights, motivations, and her story of OPJ.
Wishing you blue skies and tailwinds, in both directions.
Christine
TODAY ONLY! Buy one t-shirt, get one 50% off with code SILVERANDGOLD
(FAST and 99s T-shirts not included in the 50% off, though may be purchased at regular price in order to get 50% off another t-shirt).