Forward: The Business of Moving-On

[markschaible]

"Move on… That can sound like an awfully cliché, and almost callous phrase as we speak it here today. But you see, that is most definitely what Jeremy wants us to do. To move on. To continue fulfilling the dream of he and his father. The dream that we share, and most importantly, the dream shared by our customers."

Those are some of the words included in our staff's speech to a standing-room-only crowd of over 2,000 people in EAA's Eagle Hangar at Jeremy Monnett's celebration of life on Sunday. As a staff, we held hands together on-stage, we expressed how much Jeremy and Mike Clark meant to us as brothers, and we talked about the future.

Forward… what better word to describe the path that we must take? The word was penned as the Wisconsin state motto in 1848 by Governor Nelson Dewey and Milwaukee attorney (later to become Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice) Edward Ryan, at a time when the entire government of Wisconsin had yet to be organized as the newest state of the Union – a daunting task. As a proud University of Wisconsin Badger, Jeremy Monnett was well acquainted with the motto Forward, and he lived it every day. Running Sonex Aircraft, LLC without Jeremy is also a daunting task.

Here are some more excerpts from Sunday's speech, which describe our path Forward:

"Now let's not kid ourselves: there is a HUGE hole left in Jeremy's place. His talents and energy – My God, his energy! – will not be easily or fully replaced. We will have to draw from the unique talents of every member of our team to piece together a patchwork quilt to place over that hole. And like our team is holding hands in-front of you today, that patchwork quilt will be stitched together by our love for our lost brothers, and our love and respect for one another, cultivated by this most difficult of times.

To our customers, we promise to continue innovating. Before this tragedy occurred, Friday was set-aside to discuss the next project. Despite all of the events and pain of the week, inspiration took over and we had some of those discussions anyway. It was hard without Jeremy, but we did it, even to the extent of creating a rough mock-up. We felt Jeremy smiling down on us in the R&D shop as the creative juices were flowing. It felt good. That airplane will roll-out of our hangar someday soon as a fully-realized product.

Now, This is the last time you'll ever hear us speak of this aircraft until it's ready to fly, so DON’T ASK! (waving finger playfully at customers in attendance)

To the aviation community, we promise to continue our service and advocacy for aviators and homebuilders everywhere. The hard work that Jeremy has accomplished in working with aviation's alphabet soup is simply too important for us not to continue.

To the greater Oshkosh community, we will continue working for growth and prosperity in the area, especially in stewardship of this wonderful airport named for one of our company's earliest mentors and role models.

To youth who look to the sky in wonder: we will continue stoking the fire of your dreams, and we promise to take the time to mentor and encourage you in every way possible, as Jeremy did so passionately.

To John: You and Betty were just beginning to enjoy the fruits of your labor with more frequent trips to the condo in Florida, and the confidence that only comes with having an immensely capable heir at the helm. We understand that you will be getting re-engaged and more hands-on in the wake of this tragedy – and believe me, we need you to do so! But we also want you to enjoy the good life with your bride. We promise to work exceptionally hard so that, when you are ready, you can move toward a more leisurely and relaxing lifestyle, which you so richly deserve.

Now, will we do all of this at the remarkable pace of Jeremy? No. That’s simply… impossible. Because you see, Jeremy was larger than life. But we will do it… together."

To all of our current and prospective customers around the World, we're open for business, and it's time to move Forward. Will you join us?