The end of an era.......and the beginning of a promising new one.

[Quest_R@HSC]

Hi everybody,

This week I closed the last financial account of several that I'd opened up in 2005 for Hollister Gliding Club. As of today, I can accurately say that this business entity is no longer in existence. About the only thing around still associated with HGC is the hgcgroup and some long-sleeve T-shirts that we have for sale at the HSC office!

For those of you who don't know the history of HGC, this was a separate glider flying and rental Club similar to BASA which Drew Pearce started sometime back in the late 1990s or early 2000s. At one time I do believe HGC required pilots to join; pay dues; etc., just as BASA now does. But over time, HGC never really developed in numbers to be competitive with BASA, though they did have quite a few very nice gliders at one point. (A Duo Discus; a Fox; and an ASK-21).

I began towing gliders for HGC/Drew in December of 2004, first in the Cherokees and later that spring in the Pawnee. However, in August of 2005 Drew ceased operations of HGC so I was left waiting to see if or when I'd be able to tow in Hollister again. Then, in Sept. of 2005 Drew approached me with the idea of having me purchase Hollister Gliding Club as a towing and flight instruction entity separate from Soar Hollister, Inc and Bay Area Glider Rides. We worked out a deal, and in mid-November of 2005, after more than three months of uncertainty about the future of glider operations at Hollister, I re-opened HGC under my ownership. After doing business for 4 1/2 years as Hollister Gliding Club, it just seemed natural that things needed to evolve in a different direction to better prepare for the future of gliders and soaring at Hollister. I felt that a change in name was needed, as well as a changeover to a different business structure to better afford liability protection to me and those associated with the business. Last but not least was the need for me to take in more revenue from scenic and aerobatic rides to better fund all the necessary business expenses I faced. Meetings were held in early 2010 involving me, other glider pilots and owners, as well as knowledgeable business people, and these meetings led to the current business company Hollister Soaring Center LLC (HSC) being created in late Spring of 2010. Also, at that time HSC purchased a 2nd 2-32 glider as well as the scenic/aerobatic glider rides business called Bay Area Glider Rides from Soar Hollister Inc. At this time I am the sole Member and Manager of Hollister Soaring Center LLC also dba Bay Area Glider Rides.

Since the summer of 2010, there has been a gradual process of transferring everything over from HGC to HSC This includes everything from logos, websites and advertising text to legal ownership of the tow planes and everything else. Throughout 2011 I obtained my own financing so that I, as the sole Member and Manager of  HSC, could pay off loans which were initially obtained for the purchase of HGC. As of December 31st, 2011, all the HGC loans have been paid off and closed. Everything is now owned by HSC.

The HGC era has ended, and the HSC era has begun, but is just in its infancy.

There is much more to be done as I look at the tasks which need to be accomplished as we make plans for the future. It's not going to be easy, and won't be without growing pains, but I am formulating ideas which I think will almost certainly need to be implemented in order for gliders and soaring to survive and flourish in the next five to ten years and beyond.

The most promising concept that I'll be working on is something that I've initially dubbed "The Condor Fund". I'm not going to go into too much detail about this concept now, but will be posting "installments" every so often as needed over the next few months or years as this concept develops.The easiest way to understand what "The Condor Fund" is all about is to look to the SSA and their "Eagle Fund", and you can get a pretty accurate idea of what I'm in the process of creating. I am very adamant that something like the SSA "Eagle Fund" will be needed in the greater Bay Area of California for gliders and soaring to continue into the future. Just as the California Condor was brought back almost from the edge of extinction by those who were concerned about this rare and unique species of local wildlife, so too the Bay Area glider and soaring community can save itself from extinction by a little bit of intelligently planned foresight and timely implemented financial planning.

Just as people have come together and coalesced around forming the legal entities needed for fund-raising and infrastructure creation in places like Avenal and Airsailing, so too can those things be accomplished here. It will just take time, effort, and vision by many individuals, and this type of thing is not out of reach for our area either. For instance, wouldn't it be nice if BASA could actually have a really nice, functional, attractive Club-house which would attract pilots and the general public to their operation like so many other glider operations have around the country? I think that would be great, and "The Condor Fund" is a way to make this type of concept into a reality.

Thanks to all of you who have seen Hollister Gliding Club along from 2005 to its swan song this week, and for those of you who will be around as HSC LLC moves into the future, hopefully with "The Condor Fund" following in not too great a length of time.

Happy soaring and era surfing,

Quest