99s Then and Now

Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships

Patricia Thomas Gladney ~ First Scholarship Winner On July 3, 1941, the fourth anniversary of Amelia Earhart's ill-fated flight from Lae, New Guinea, the first winner of the 99s scholarship was selected from a field of 29 contestants. The Ninety-Nines had formed a scholarship fund committee in 1936 with Amelia Earhart as chairman. When Amelia was lost, Ruth Nichols led a committee to establish a suitable memorial. The Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund was created on April 7, 1940 to help deserving 99s to further accomplishments, in memory of Amelia's unselfish interest and enthusiasm for all women in aviation. Applicants were required to have at least 200 hours "to show that the girls have taken their flying as a serious activity and not a diversion." The first award went to a Patricia Thomas, a 22-year-old flight instructor. Born in 1918, Pat learned to fly as a high school student in Teancek, New Jersey. Not intending to teach, Pat took the new test for flight instructors at the recommendation of others. Soon she was flight instructing in the Civilian Pilot Training program in Gardena, California, near Los Angeles. Pat used her AE Scholarship to get her instrument rating, and by 1943 was teaching instrument flying to Army Cadets. The following year she became a WASP and performed engineering test flying at Williams Field near Phoenix, Arizona. After the war, Pat returned to flight instructing in the San Francisco Bay area. Pat's flying career encompassed 50 years as flight instructor, over 500 private, commercial, and multi-engine students tested as a pilot examiner, 58 years as a 99, 24 Powder Puff Derbies, and over 20,000 hours flight time. Patricia Thomas Gladney died in 1993.		413 More Scholarship Winners The 99s have been very enthusiastic about honoring Amelia Earhart's memory through the Scholarship Fund. Their highly creative fundraisers include hangar dances, air meets, poker flights, treasure hunts, and penny-a-pound flights. The 1947 First All Women Air Show was a benefit, too. In addition to Chapter and Section sponsored activities, many individual 99s members have made substantial contributions to the Fund through donations and bequests. Through the efforts of our loyal membership, The 99s' Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund grew from a single award of $150 in 1941, to several $1000 awards in 1979, to this year's dozen full-paid flight training scholarships. Since Patricia Thomas Gladney got a boost in her flying career from The 99s in 1941, over 400 other women from six countries have also benefited from our AE Scholarships to advance in aviation and aerospace. Career Scholarship winners have completed instrument and multi-engine ratings, helicopter and glider add-on ratings, flight instructor and airline transport pilot certificates, A&P mechanic licenses, Citation and 737 jet type ratings, and Bachelors and Masters degrees. In 1978, the Fund added Research Scholar Grants to help scholar/scientists add to the world's knowledge of women in aviation and aerospace. Future Woman Pilot Awards towards the completion of the private pilot certificate are given from dedicated donations. Today our AE Memorial Scholarship recipients are truly winners. They are pilots for airlines in Canada, Israel, and the United States. They fly the top executives of international corporations. They run their own aviation businesses, and manage our skies and our air safety at aviation governmental agencies. And they are continuing Pat's legacy by teaching others to fly. Amelia Earhart would be proud.
More information about Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships
99s Then and Now celebrates our history and current endeavors, and our woman pilot pioneers and peers. AEMS: Research and writing by Jenny T. Beatty and Verna West. "Then" photo research by Verna West. "Now" photo by Poochie Rotzinger.