Hugh H. Whitney Award
Ernie Schweizer (left) with Hugh Hudson Whitney (right)
1931 – 1968
NSM Award for lifetime commitment to soaring
The Whitney Award honors the memory of Hugh Hudson Whitney, an active member of Harris Hill Soaring Corp. from approx. 1950-1968.
Hugh Whitney fell in love with soaring at an early age. He earned his “C” badge # 190 in 1952 with a flight to Binghamton in a Schweizer 2-22. He graduated from Cornell with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1955.
Hugh Whitney was a good friend of Paul A. Schweizer and served as his crew during Paul’s first World Gliding Championship in Spain (1952), then again as assistant team captain at the World Gliding Championship in England (1954), and finally as US team captain at the World Gliding Championships in Argentina (1963).
This award was established by Hugh’s childhood friend Doug Bruce in 1978 for all those in the Chemung County area who have shown a lifetime commitment to soaring. This award recognizes those who “have the same love of soaring as Hugh and have the same motivation and opportunity to pursue the sport”.
Hugh Whitney died of cancer in 1968 at the age of 37.
This award was first presented in 1978.
In 2024 the National Soaring Museum procured a perpetual award plaque to lists the names of the award recipients.
Hugh H. Whitney Award Recipients
| 1978 | Andrew Frechling |
| 1979 | Elwin Cramer |
| 1980 | Paul Detwier and Susan Sliwa |
| 1981 | Tim Walker |
| 1982 | Michael Murphy |
| 1983 | No award |
| 1984 | Terry Wheat |
| 1985 | Tony Spycher |
| 1986 | Linda Downie |
| 1987 | Dorianne Scriven |
| 1988 | Thomas Cassetta |
| 1989 | Hugh Caffey |
| 1990 | Jason Ki |
| 1991 | Michael Snyder |
| 1992 | Gregg Leslie |
| 1993 | Michael Snyder |
| 1994 | Josh Powers |
| 1995 | Steve Garner |
| 1996 | Steve Garner |
| 1997 | Elizabeth Schwenkler |
| 1998 | Diana Winebold |
| 1999 | Mark Doyle |
| 2000 | Jim Web |
| 2001 | Elizabeth Brock |
| 2002 | Joel Carberry |
| 2003 | Steve DeMartino |
| 2004 | Todd Knapp |
| 2005 | Ryan Smith |
| 2006 | Kennethe Doyle |
| 2007 | James Doane |
| 2008 | Lewis Olson |
| 2009 | Ed Funk |
| 2010 | Ron Ogden |
| 2011 | Bryan Riegal |
| 2012 | Andy Brayer |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | Tom Hogrefe |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | Fiona Harnischfeger |
| 2019 | Nathan Rogers |
| 2020 | Dan Mustico |
| 2021 | Roy Tice |
| 2022 | Douglas Dabroski |
| 2023 | Dave Welles |
| 2024 | David Graham |
Compiled from Soaring Magazine and NSM archives – 2025