A little thunder and rain wasn’t enough to keep air show enthusiasts away Sunday morning as the second and final day of the 2014 Cannon Air Force Base Open House and Air Show kicked off.
After a couple of hours of rain and a brief period of thunder, during which Cannon personnel secured air show attendees in aircraft hangars, the sun crept out from behind the clouds just in time for the Thunderbirds show.
“Despite weather obstacles, it was still a really great event,” Capt. Anastasia Wasem, of CAFB Public Affairs, said Monday. “The base team did a really great job pulling the event together.”
Wasem said Cannon security forces gave a total number of 25,000 people attending the event for the two days.
Base Commander Col. Tony Bauernfeind said Saturday afternoon at the end of the open house’s first day that base personnel were working hard to make the open house run smoothly and he was hearing positive feedback from community members.
“I thought it went outstanding,” Bauernfeind said of the first day. “Everybody I’ve talked to has said they’ve had a great time.”
Bauernfeind said Cannon personnel were grateful to all of the people who showed to the event Saturday and grateful to be able to share what they do with the local communities.
Wasem reiterated the appreciation of base personnel Monday morning.
“The base is really happy that we were able to provide this event to the community because they give so much to us all the time and it was great to be able to give back in this way,” Wasem said. “We’re looking forward to the next event where we can host something else of this nature for the community.”
Portales Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry said he helped operate the chamber booth both days of the base’s open house and he met a large variety of people from Clovis, Portales and from out of town and all had positive reactions to the weekend event.
He said he met people from Houston, Oklahoma and Albuquerque, along with seeing many people from the surrounding region.
“I thought it went really well,” Terry said. “We were lucky we got rain and the air show in. That’s the best of both worlds.”
Clovis Mayor David Lansford said when he attended the air show Saturday, the feeling he noted from both local residents and Cannon personnel was pride.
“One thing I noticed when I went to the air show was the enthusiasm of people serving on CAFB,” Lansford said. “They were so delighted to have people out there on the flightline. They are so proud and happy to serve their country.”
“I think the people of Clovis and Portales are very proud that we have CAFB here in New Mexico,” he added. “We’re just bursting with pride when we think about the fact that we get to host Cannon here. I think it’s probably been the most successful air show we’ve ever had. It’s been a great weekend.”
Lansford also said Thunderbirds Executive Officer Maj. Joshua Wild told him Saturday that “ I haven’t been to a community that has given us such a warm welcome.”
Bauernfeind also commented earlier in the week while preparing for the event that Cannon personnel recognized what a unique outpouring of support they have from the area communities.
“This community embraces this Air Force base and it’s because it’s part of our identity,” Lansford said. “We’re proud we can say that Clovis and Portales is home to CAFB.”
Source: http://cnjonline.com
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