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Perris Valley-Perris, CA 
Saturday at Perris was a hot (in the 100's!), sunny day. Kate Cooper (who was in the same first jump course as Sandy) and Tony Domenico's 16-way team had a scheduled practice day, and every team member wanted to take a break to join the memorial dive. Chris Wagner was in town on personal business and we were honored to have him join our group, too. Our scheduled PDT exit time was to be at 4:00pm, so we took off right around 3:40. It was a formation load, and, after take-off, the second otter made a low pass over the drop zone to release a bag full of rose petals. Prior to jump run, we had a few words for Sandy, followed by a moment of silence, and a hearty "Ready, Set, GO!" We were able to exit just seconds before 4:00, and built the first point very quickly. On the key, grips changed to release an 'S' with a concentric ring around it. Kate had asked during the dirt-dive, as we practiced building the concentric around the 'S', "What would Sandy say now?" Everyone cheered, "Stick your legs out!!" The outer ring closed up nicely in the air. There's shots from above and below it. It was a real nice skydive that Sandy would be proud of. Afterwards, the 16-way resumed their practice, and Chris Wagner organized the rest of us to do a five point 7-way, spelling out Sandy's name with some pretty hot formations! It was a great day dedicated to Sandy, filled with skydives and retelling of old stories. I don't know of any other skydiver that was more loved by such a wide group of people. She touched so many, and will always be remembered. Participants: Tom Allen Bob Bonitz Alasdair Boyd Rich Brooks Joy Brown Melanie Conatser Kate Cooper Tony Domenico Jack Farrell Kat Folger Nick Furchner Dan Gorieski Fred Kehl Tom Kirwin Doug Kuhn Dave LeClercq janet Lundquist James Martin Juan Sevedra Bob Turner Simon Turner Chris Wagner Lisa Walker Camera Fliers: Bill Beaver Craig O'Brien Submitted by Melanie Conatser |
