Brianna Cassidy
Pilot ~ Photographer ~ Scuba Diver
2017 in Review
Time seems to stand still when the loss of a child is experienced by a parent. The events of that day have been etched in our consciousness for the rest of our lives. These past 36 months have brought many tears, much suffering and grief, loneliness, sorrow, numbness, even anger in our loss. But as we have meet people who have lost children many years, even decades ago, we have often wondered, how they were able to endure.
It has been a painful day to say the least. One of the blessings of our website, is the role it has served us in our healing process by allowing us at any time to go back and look at pictures, watch videos, read and experience those painful memories all over again. Further, it is a blessing to others who visit our site, especially those who have also experienced loss of loved ones.
Over the course of the last seven months we have been engaged with our local county to determine how we can get guard rails placed on the stretch of highway where we lost Brianna. It has not been an easy battle to say the least. After a number of meetings with our local supervisor’s office, it was expected that Brianna’s Wings of Passion Foundation cover the engineering costs of the project. This was to come to $25K. After a number of months trying to raise these funds, it was clear from our community that it was not fair of the county to place this on the parents who lost their only child. Due to almost another fatal collision back in November, in virtually the same slocation where we lost Brianna, the county decided to cover the entire project costs. This was a big weight off our shoulders and an answer to prayer.
Also during 2017, we have been working much of the year on the ‘drowsy driving’ initiative.
We have had meetings with our local senator’s office and even the congressman’s office on
what can be done to bring awareness to the public of this growing epidemic in our country.
As a result, we have had positive efforts made in DMV offices statewide and also a CHP
statewide campaign on increasing the awareness of this serious problem.
Another milestone for BWP this year, was the completion of pilot training of our pilot in
Bolivia, who finally passed his private pilot’s license. This was very good news. Miguel, will
continue to pursue his instrument rating as he works on acquiring more flight hours.
Another pilot that we have helped to sponsor, Davin is on the verge of completing his
private pilot’s license by the end of the year.
We were touched this year by a special donor who made it possible to acquire a new sign for
our cross. We had a news item on it earlier in the year, which you can read at our news page.
Lastly, on a sad note, BWP’s aircraft has been grounded for lack of funds for essential maintenance on the plane. We are looking at bringing it back to the States early next year. We will then determine what country to dispatch it to. If the Lord touches you with this essential need or any of our other projects, please consider making a donation before year end to BWP Foundation.
This year has been extremely difficult for us, because we have had the least response from our donors. As we press forward into the new year, we admonish you to reach out to those who have encountered a loss and are in need of a sympathetic touch. In 2017, only a handful of people have reached out to us in empathetic support. Remember, you can go on with your lives, but they cannot. This time of year can be very busy and distracting, so remember to reach out and bless someone today.