Doug Reeves

July 28, 2009 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Doug Reeves borrowed a line from Wayne’s World, the 1992 comedy film based on a cable access TV show, when asked his reaction about receiving the 2009 Bax Seat Trophy.

“I’m not worthy,” he said about the award given annually to the EAA member who perpetuates the Gordon Baxter tradition of communicating the excitement and romance of grassroots aviation. “I’m not even a journalist.”

While he may not be a traditional journalist, he certainly is worthy.

Reeves, of Highland Village, Texas, started what is now VansAirForce.net as an online build log, and it has evolved into an RV news site that allows people building and flying Van’s RV kit planes a place to socialize, network, and receive help from others.

The web site’s forums currently have 10,400 registered users, plus 40,000 users who aren’t registered.

Reeves said he started the site after he began building his own RV-6 in 1996. For years, he worked on the web site early in the morning or late at night, when he wasn’t at his regular job. But in February 2007, he quit his full-time job to devote his full attention to the web site.

“The heart of the site is the forums;, the lungs are the white pages,” Reeve said. “But more than anything else, the site promotes safety.”

Reeves will receive the award during the Van’s Air Force Banquet, which begins at 5 p.m. today at the Nature Center Pavilion.