Dubay Scholarship

The James F. Dubay Memorial Fund was born out of the desire to encourage those who dreamed of flight to find their wings. Whether a technical, practical or theoretical education is being sought, the James F. Dubay Scholarship can help students fund their flight.

Jim Dubay was a husband and father who dedicated many hours to learning everything he could about planes and history, especially in relation to World War II. He volunteered at the Planes of Fame East Museum for a number of years and was one of the founders and an original board member of Wings of the North. Jim was quick witted and enjoyed making people laugh. Hard working and dedicated, he encouraged his children to follow their dreams. The greatest lesson he taught was that one could survive the rat race if they were pursuing a passion. Through out his life, Jim touched the hearts of many people by making them laugh or listening to their stories, sharing his knowledge or lending a hand when work needed to be done.

In Jim’s memory, his family and Wings of the North have established a scholarship fund to allow others the chance to learn and grow in the aviation field. This scholarship is designed to encourage the non-traditional, older adult to pursue their dreams of flight while dealing with the day-to-day obstacles of work and family.

The James F. Dubay Memorial Scholarship is a $250 scholarship for individuals wishing to pursue aviation studies, including but not limited to flight school, flight hours, aviation history, military history and aeronautical studies.
Applicants must be able to show through the essay and letters of recommendation a high moral character and the ability to create a positive impression on the lives of those around them.

Application deadline is November 30, 2007
Winner will be notified by December 15, 2007

                                                JFD Memorial Scholarship
                                                C/O Wings of the North
                                                9960 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 204
                                                Eden Prairie, MN 55347

For an application to the James F. Dubay Memorial Scholarship in pdf format click here or,

            Write:     JFD Memorial Scholarship
                            C/O Wings of the North
                            9960 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 204
                            Eden Prairie, MN 55347

Dear Wings of the North,

I feel so fortunate and thankful for receiving the James F. Dubay Scholarship!! It will help me continue my career in aviation, as I study for my private pilot check ride and begin the instrument rating ground school course.

Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity!

Sincerely,
Marnie VonWald

letter from Paul:

January 22, 2004

Wings of the North
9960 Flying Cloud Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55347

Gentlemen:

Please accept my sincere thanks for the opportunity to receive the James F. Dubay Scholarship. This scholarship will be used to help achieve my goal of becoming a Private Pilot.

It was a pleasure to meet all of you at Wings of the North.

Sincerely,
Paul Connolly, Jr.
LeSueur, MN

letter from Judy:

May 1, 2002

The Family of James F. Dubay & Wings of the North
9960 Flying Cloud Drive
Suite 204
Eden Prairie, MN 55347

Good Morning:

Please again accept my thanks you for your generous award: I feel honored to carry on the spirit of James Dubay with my flying studies.

I must also thanks you for allowing me to sit in such a wonderful plane: that was an unexpected surprise!

I waited until today to write you because I had scheduled my IFR written for this morning: I'm happy to report that I passed with a score in the 90's. Now it's time to get flying.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Judith B. Blanchard

Gary presents Judy with the check
photo by Greg Benson

The first James F. Dubay Scholarship was won by Tim Lesmeister of Minnetonka. He will be using the award to start his instrument flight training at Anoka Flight Training.

Thank you letter from Tim:

Enclosed is a photo (right) shot on Friday, September 28 of myself and Barb Mack after my Private Pilot Checkride. I passed.

I would like to once again thank you for that wonderful scholarship gift and let you know the money is going to continuing my education as I begin now for my IFR training.

Like I said when presented with the award, it's great to have the support from organizations such as Wings of the North. With groups like yours keeping the history of aviation in the forefront, hopefully more people will take an active interest in flying. I also applaud the effort you display in keeping the memory of James Dubay alive through your scholarship efforts.

Tim Lesmeister