Ladies of Airhawks Series | Mindy Nunez

||| FROM AIRHAWKS FLYING CLUB |||

As a youngster, Mindy Nunez initially thought of joining the Forest Service as a firefighter in Search and Rescue. She was inspired by her father who worked as a volunteer fire fighter county EMS and search and rescue. That dream faded but many other events occurred that resulted in a super busy, accomplished, jack-of-all-trades woman.

Mindy Nunez

When the terrorist attack of 9/11 happened, Mindy was inspired to join the Army and serve her country. She became a Patriot Surface-to-Air Missile operator and a Combat Life Saver. After serving, she then became a Veterinary Assistant and a Certified Nurse’s Assistant. However, most of those jobs were in cities and Mindy preferred a smaller community. She came to Orcas to raise a family (presently 5 children) and became the bookkeeper for several businesses as well as managing her husband’s business.

Unfortunately, Mindy suffered a major medical emergency that necessitated being flown off island to the hospital. To keep Mindy distracted, the flight nurse explained that she was also a pilot as well as a paramedic. Watching and listening to that nurse was an inspiration and a major turning point in Mindy’s life. She knew she also wanted to fly and eventually participate in the Orcas Mercy Flight program.

Mindy joined the Airhawks Flying Club, started her flight training and obtained her Private Pilot License. In addition to flying Mercy Flights, she has just been awarded a Schlarship from the Orcas Aviation Association to advance her flight training. She is now working to add her Instrument rating. She’s excited to see where this journey takes her.

To quote Mindy: “The physics of flying both surprise and fascinate me! I have operated everything from heavy equipment to boats and semi-trucks, but an aircraft is the most challenging, super interesting and rewarding machine possible to operate.”