Members of 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., welcomed new Honorary Colonel Armin Quickert during a change of appointment ceremony on Dec. 14.
HCol Quickert was appointed as Honorary Colonel of 8 Wing Trenton in November 2011. He succeeds Honorary Colonel Glenn Rainbird who has been 8 Wing’s honorary colonel since April 2007.
“We’re happy to have Honorary Colonel Quickert as a part of the 8 Wing family,” said Colonel Sean Friday, 8 Wing Commander. “His appointment will help foster and further enhance our strong links with the communities in the region.”
HCol Quickert is very active in the Quinte area as a long-time Kiwanis member, having served as president of the Belleville club and then lieutenant governor of division 11, for which he received the Kiwanis Mel Osborne Fellowship Award. He is a past chairman of the Canadian Cancer Society Belleville unit and was a founding member of the Quinte International Air Show. He is a former chairman of the Ontario Dairy Council.
“I’m looking forward to every adventure this new appointment will bring,” said HCol Quickert. “I’m confident that it will be an exciting and rewarding experience.”
During the ceremony, Colonel Friday thanked HCol Rainbird for his years of valued service. “We’re grateful for his support and being a rock during a most difficult period in the history of this base.”
HCol Quickert has held his private pilot licence for over 35 years and operated an ultra-light aircraft for many of those. He is an avid cyclist and scuba-diver. He is also a boating enthusiast who took his family on a trip from Trenton, through the Great Lakes to Chicago and down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. They returned to Belleville along the East Coast to the Hudson River into Lake Ontario– completing the “big loop” as this great adventure is described in boating circles.
The responsibilities of honorary appointments include fostering esprit de corps, promoting strong community support for the unit, establishing contact with charities and associations and participating in parades and official functions.
