Long Beach Resident to Receive National Skydiving Museum Trustees Award for Team80

Fredericksburg, VA... Pat Moorehead, 80, of Long Beach, CA, will be awarded with the National Skydiving Museum's Trustees Award during the museum's fundraising weekend celebration at Skydive Arizona, Eloy, November 10, 2012. The award is being given to recognize Moorehead's TEAM 80 event where he made 80 skydives to celebrate his 80th birthday. The event raised more than $18,000 toward the museum's building fund.

On November 20, 2011, to celebrate his 80th birthday, Moorehead jumped out of a plane at Skydive Elsinore -- 80 times. Despite cloudy skies and rain, he set the world's record for the most skydives by an 80-year-old in one day. Moorehead actually made 81 jumps; after he broke the record, he went up one last time to fly the American flag.

The feat took a little over 6 ½ hours and was supported by more than 50 volunteers including Moorehead's wife Alicia, riggers, cameramen, a pilot, and a doctor on standby. Moorehead also managed to get the necessary equipment and an airplane on loan for the event. The jumps began around 6 a.m. and concluded shortly after 12:30 p.m. right before the skies opened and the rain began. Friends and admirers from around the world sent in contributions to the National Skydiving Museum to honor Pat. His original goal was $8,000….the final total was more than $18,000.
The Trustees Award is a newly created award that will be given at the discretion of the museum's Board of Trustees for significant contributions to the museum and its mission. Moorehead will be presented the award by the president of the museum's Board of Trustees L. Len Potts at its prestigious Hall of Fame Dinner Saturday, November 10. The gala will be held at Skydive Arizona.

Tickets to the Dinner are still available. The dinner is part of a weekend fundraising celebration with activities starting Friday morning (November 9)that include exhibit displays with some of the rich history of the sport, a theater featuring great skydiving footage, and a special display on the history of the Star Crest Recipient Awards (SCR). A video of Moorehead's jumps will be continuously played along with a banner signed by all who donated to his efforts. Throughout the weekend, a group of large-formation skydivers will be building 64-way formations to commemorate the birth of relative work. On Friday evening, there will be a BBQ with some of the sports' living legends sharing stories from the past.

The culmination of the weekend is the Hall of Fame dinner presented by the Parachute Industry Association when seven skydiving legends will join 17 others into the museum's Hall of Fame. More than 300 people from around the world are expected to join in the festivities and the event is expected to bring in more than $125,000 to support building the museum.

The fundraiser will benefit the National Skydiving Museum's $6-million capital program that will raise the necessary funds to build the museum in Fredericksburg, VA. The National Skydiving Museum is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees.

For more information and to register for the National Skydiving Museum Weekend and Hall of Fame celebration, visit www.skydivingmuseum.org or contact museum administrator, Nancy Kemble, at 540-604-9745 or [email protected].