Our Board

I’ve been an avgeek since I was a toddler, when my airplane-obsessed father started teaching me about them, but I didn’t know that it was a “thing” until the summer of 2021. Coming out of the pandemic, I was really struggling personally and my morbid fascination with watching Air Disasters led me out of the darkness and into the light, where the YouTube algorithm began feeding me aviation content that led me to discover ORD Airport Watch. Joining the group was a no-brainer, and it inspired me to buy my first “real” camera and start learning how to use something more complex than my iPhone. Though I live up in Madison, Wisconsin, I had no qualms about regularly driving down to ORD to bask in the smell of jet fuel and the roar of GE90 engines. I soon discovered that there are a LOT of other people just as weirdly obsessed with aviation as me!

In 2023, I got more active with ORD Airport Watch. Before I knew what was happening, I was running for a spot on the board, and despite having no aspirations to be in charge of anything, I found myself in the role of Vice President. This is a responsibility that I do not take lightly! I’m a Communication Studies student at UW Oshkosh, so I have lots of ideas and enthusiasm for fostering member and community engagement.

My favorite airplane is naturally the Boeing 747, but I also have a deep affinity for the Boeing 777, 787, and the Airbus A380 (a sweet, sweet ride on the upper deck!), A330, A340, and A350. Honorable mentions go to the McDonnell Douglas DC-10/MD-11. The bigger the aircraft, the better!

When I’m not planespotting, I’m Mama to the two Cavalier King Charles spaniels I share with my partner, Rob. I’m also a semi-professional baker, as well as an occasional circus performer (aerial dance). It probably goes without saying, but I also love to travel. ORD is my favorite close-to-home airport but it gets edged out slightly by London Heathrow, which is a truly magical planespotting destination with incredibly diverse air traffic.

Gerri's lifelong passion for aviation has been shaped by her hometown's proximity to one of the nation's busiest airports. Her fascination with flight began in the early 1960s, when her father introduced her to the thrill of plane spotting at O'Hare. Later, with her own driver's license, she regularly visited O'Hare and the Glenview Naval Air Station to observe aircraft and capture photographs.

Throughout her personal and business travels, Gerri has flown on a variety of aircraft, including several Boeing and Airbus models, helicopters, and both single and multi-engine propeller planes. She delights in every aspect of air travel and eagerly anticipates each new journey. With a wealth of captivating stories about her travels and the crew members she’s met along the way, Gerri brings a unique perspective to aviation.

As a Board Member, Gerri is dedicated to enhancing the OAW experience, ensuring it is both enjoyable and educational for all members.

I got into aviation when I got lost at O’Hare back in the early 70’s and I was hooked ever since. I tried to become a commercial pilot, but color blindness got in the way. After college, I worked for Air Wisconsin and was a load planner. I have always been interested in photography, but in the last three years, I started photographing Airshows and the Blue Angels in Chicago and St Louis.

My history with OAW has been very short. I joined in March 2023 and have shot planes on the hill 4 times at O’Hare. Can’t wait to for the weather to break so I can take more images.

My favorite airplane of all time is the DC-10. The sound of those engines taking off is spectacular. My favorite airport is O’Hare.

I have been in love with planes ever since my childhood. I have always loved watching them fly by and that grew even more after moving very close to ORD, where various types of planes are flying 24x7. I joined this lovely community last year and have been excited to be a part of it.

I am in IT by profession and I love to spot planes, play xbox, read books and travel.

Ever since I first flew on a plane as a child, I have been hooked on aviation! I took my passions to the next level when I was in 6th grade and started learning more about pilotage in addition to planes, and in 2020, I took it a step further and went planespotting proper for the very first time.

I have been affiliated with OAW since 2020 under my mother’s membership, but received my own membership in fall of 2022. In May 2023 I was elected onto the board.

While I try to visit other airports while on vacation, I spot mainly at ORD. I fly the Cessna 172, but my favorite aircraft is the Boeing 757.

As a boy I had a small, silver pedal plane with stubby wings. Its prop spun as I went down the sidewalk. That was “it.”

 Aviation is magical. Every take-off and every landing are wonderous. The sun’s rays, clouds, wind, and the earth’s tapestry all unfold around me. I can really fly. None of this should be happening. Yet, there it all is. 

I’m especially fond of the Hill and Beeline Drive. It’s exciting to capture these big, “bad boys” in my viewfinder as they rumble in.

Favorite Planes (in no particular order)

• de Havilland Mosquito

• Avro Lancaster

• Douglas DC-3

• North American P-51 Mustang

• McDonald Douglas F-15 Eagle

• Piper L-4 Grasshopper

• Pan Am China Clipper flying boats

• Boeing 747

• Lockheed P-38 Lightening

• Blériot XI

The Pan Am China Clippers grip me like no others. Can you imagine, in the 1930’s, flying thousands of miles, low and slow, over the barely charted Pacific to the mysterious Far East, water landings and receptions at exotic, mid-ocean hideaways, in a magnificent four-engine flying boat? Utterly and totally incredible.