EAA bid a fond farewell this past February to Bob Warner, a familiar face to many EAAers over the years. Bob came on board to lead EAA’s government affairs efforts and advanced to a vice president position where he directed member and chapter relations for 16 years.

So what’s he doing now? Some thought that Bob had retired. Bob and his wife, Noel, like to think of it as "rewired." Bob has worked for aviation associations (AOPA, National Association of State Aviation Officials, and EAA) for the last 37 years supporting aviation enthusiasts and their dreams, now he’s just doing it in a different capacity. Bob and Noel looked back on their journey through life and all the experiences they had that relate to how wealth works. They have launched a crusade to help others plan for their aviation life through their company, Wealth Educators For Aviators. So what does that mean exactly?

Bob and Noel are teaching others about money and how to eliminate losing financial strategies and transfer their wealth into living their aviation dreams while protecting their family wealth. "Money over a whole lifetime can be summed up into three pots," Bob explains. "Lifestyle (owning an airplane), accumulation (investments), and transferred (taxes and financial institutions)." Bob says that every decision of sizable nature should be looked at to see if it falls into the "transferred pot." The goal is to have the least amount of items in that pot because it deters you from living your aviation dreams.

Bob will be presenting "Wealth Strategies for Aviators" on Thursday, July 31, at 4:00 p.m. in the Poly-Fiber Pavilion (Box #10 on the map).

When asked what he misses about EAA, Bob joked that he misses the VW Beetle and a radio. But, he said, he truly misses the staff of EAA and the interaction with the members the most. He says he still feels connected because he and Noel are EAA Lifetime members and have stayed involved as volunteers.

Bob and Noel are both pilots and are active in mission aviation and members of the Mission Aviation Support Association that supports missionaries from all over the world and at EAA’s AirVenture. They are hosting two missionaries at their home this year.