The Hill Aerospace Museum volunteer staff presently boasts more than 150 active, personable, experienced, dedicated individuals from all walks of life, including active duty Air Force personnel. They range in age from the teens to 80+ years young.
Volunteering at the museum offers many rewarding and challenging areas in which diverse talents and expertise may be utilized. The various job descriptions for our volunteers are as follows:
Our volunteers have received many individual awards, including the State of Utah Director of Volunteers Outstanding Volunteer Award, the Utah Volunteer of the Year Award, three Air Force Angel Awards, the Utah Governor’s Silver Bowl Award, Volunteer Excellence Award, and Utah Museum Volunteer of the Year Award.
The volunteer staff has also won numerous other awards as a group. Among these are the Air Force Group Angel Award, the Utah Chapter of Valley Forge Outstanding Award, the Utah Governor’s Helping Hands Award, and the national J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award, along with a $1,000 grant for the Volunteer Staff. These awards are not given lightly, as they entailed state-wide or nation-wide competition.
This unusual conglomerate of volunteers staff the museum six days a week, a different team for each day. They work weekends and holidays and give up many hours of their time, often sacrificing their personal plans to accommodate the requirements of the museum. Their extreme dedication goes far beyond the expectations for “normal” volunteers. The visiting public is always giving them accolades for their warmth, friendliness, and hospitality, as well as voicing heartfelt thanks for the many long hours of restoration work performed on our aircraft and other artifacts.
The people who choose to volunteer at Hill Aerospace Museum find it a very rewarding experience. Consequently, our turn-over rate is very low. Many of our people have volunteered for the past ten years or more. Many have logged more than 5,000 hours, while a few have given upwards of 16,000 hours. Collectively, the volunteers at the museum have donated over 300,000 hours and the total is rising all the time. This donated time has saved the American taxpayer an estimated $2,500,000 in operating expenses for the museum.
Interested in volunteering at Hill Aerospace Museum? Please call our Volunteer Coordinator, Phil Butler at 801-777-2468 or CLICK HERE. We’d love to have your help!
Each quarter the Hill Aerospace Museum selects a “Volunteer of the Quarter.” Each quarter the current Volunteer of the Quarter will be listed right here on our Web page.
Rick Copp grew up in Elmira, NY and enlisted in the USAF in 1973. After completing Basic Training at Lackland AFB, Texas. Rick spent twelve years of his AF career working the F-111 avionics systems with assignments to Pease AFB, NH, RAF Upper Heyford, UK, and Mountain Home AFB, ID. The next twelve years included assignments on the F-16 and one on the F-15. The highlight of his USAF career was as the Quality Assurance Superintendent on the USAF Aerial Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds” 1994-1996. While on the Thunderbirds team, Copp, was promoted to Chief Master Sergeant and finished his USAF career at Nellis AFB, NV with assignments as Maintenance Chief in Viper Aircraft Maintenance and finally as the QA Chief for the 57th Wing.
After retiring from the USAF in 1997, Rick worked for The Boeing Company in Seattle, WA with F-22 USAF Avionics Maintenance. In 2002 he accepted a position with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, GA on the F-22 program until 2010 when the last F-22 rolled off the assembly line. Copp was also Senior Staff Manufacturing Engineer for the F-35 Center Wing. His last job in Marietta, GA was as Senior Staff Quality Analyst on the C-5M Super Galaxy modification program. In November 2015, Copp accepted his next and last position with LM Aero as F-35 Senior Staff Quality Engineer at the Ogden Logistics Center on Hill AFB, UT and retired in August 2018. He has been married to Dani Ross Copp for 25 years and reside s in Layton, Utah. Rick has been a volunteer at the Hill Aerospace Museum since October 2018.
Dennis Hansen was born and raised in Taylor, Utah. He graduated from Weber High School. He joined the Army National Guard in 1958, serving until 1966.
Dennis worked for the U. S. Postal Service until he moved to Hill Air Force Base as a warehouseman. He was selected for a mechanics learner program and entered a 30-month apprenticeship. From there, he worked on a production line and then in avionics flight testing for the F-4 checking aircraft systems and correcting flight discrepancies.
Dennis joined the U. S. Air Force Reserves in 1973. He was assigned to the 7th RAM Squadron. In 1978, the program became the 405th CLSS (Aircraft Battle Damage Repair Squadron). During that time Hansen worked on the F-4 and the F-16, models A and C. During his time in the “Reserves” he took many assignments abroad and in the states. He retired in 1998.
Hansen married Mary Lynn Vaughn on November 22, 1963; the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. They have five daughters, eighteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Dennis started volunteering at the Hill Aerospace Museum in 2012 and has thoroughly enjoyed his experience.
