“Let’s do something to give back to the kids.” Doug Rodante
Shelley Costello's personal interview
APOPKA MY TOWN MAGAZINE Volume 2 Issue 1
Apopka Aviator Joins the Angels
By ShelleyCostello
“Let’s do something to give back to the kids.” Doug Rodante
Apopka is home to some of the most, yes, I am going to say it, amazing people. I was sharing this story with my friend and radio show co-host , known as Gabriel, and he said, “What a blessing it is to have such a guy. And to think I greeted him at the party! What’s most important is the fact that he was so unassuming. He did not radiate ego and pride. . . He looked like a regular Joe.”
Gabriel is right. You could pass by this guy in a grocery store or walk past him in the post office, and not realize the depth of his passion until you get to know the whole story. I am talking about another one of Apopka’s hidden secrets, Doug Rodante, of Rodante Aviation. Doug Rodante has owned a television production company and worked in the broadcast industry for over 20 years as a producer of documentary films. His clients have included Oprah, Dr. Phil, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, The Learning Channel, PBS, The Travel Channel, HDTV, FOX, CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, the NFL and the NBA among many others. Doug Rodante, Apopkan, husband and father, has been a pilot since the 1990s. President of the Orlando-Apopka Airport, Doug has been flying out of this airport for several years, and he has also been involved in the major reconstruction and development of the airport. Doug is also involved with an organization called Air Mobile Ministries.
This organization donates and delivers via plane, a water purification system that runs off of UV light and ozone. This system is taken all over the world wherever there has been a disaster, to help people in need of water. Doug and his partner in the water purification system business are moved by seeing people all over the world who are hurting after a disaster. Doug remembers watching on television as the United Nations and disaster relief organizations went into Haiti to distribute bags of food. He watched hungry people standing in line, then diving toward the food just to get a bite to eat.
This is what moved him to begin helping in relief efforts all over the world. Doug has been to Haiti many times after mud slides and hurricanes. He also visited the location of the tsunami in Northern Aceh province in Indonesia, where eighty percent of the population was wiped out within a matter of minutes. They had absolutely no fresh drinking water in that area. In fact, it was such a remote area that no one even knew about the devastation until a week and a half afterwards.
He also volunteered to fly resources to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. Doug and his wife Debbie, who is a nurse, wanted to start their own non-profit organization to help children. So they recently teamed up with Angel Flight, Inc., the well-known non-profit organization that transports medical patients by airplane all over the country. This service, along with the planes and fuel, is all donated by the pilots who volunteer for Angel Flight. The patients are people who have no other way to travel for necessary treatment or surgeries around the country.
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Volume 2 Issue 1
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Something spectacular is about to launch in our small hometown town of Apopka, something so great that news of it is going to impact our city and gain national attention! Just a few miles out 441, past the 429 toll road, is the Orlando-Apopka Airport. At this airport, Rodante Aviation and Angel Flight, Inc. are teaming up to start Angel Flight Kids. Angel Flight Kids will be giving airplane rides to terminally ill and handicapped children, as well as any other kids who may be interested in general aviation. When asked why he started this organization to help children, Doug said, “I looked at all the resources we have here at the airport, the planes and the skilled pilots. There is a tremendous amount of hanger space at this airport, and the extended runway. These planes are in the hangers much of the time in between flights. The resources here at the airport are extreme, so Debbie and I said, ‘Let’s do something to give back to the kids.’"
Right now television spots about Angel Flight Kids are being produced and will start airing in the next few months. Also during that time, a lot of media attention will be focused Central Florida area, gathering news of our AMAZING APOPKANS. Apopka My Town Magazine is honored to be the first publication to release this story. Doug said the kids who have a wish to come here to fly will be able to choose to fly in a fighter plane, a stunt plane or a a smaller plane, all of which are flown by pilots experienced in each.
The children will be referred by various organizations to have their wish come true . Angel Flight, Inc. has a large database and is able to refer children and families. As a nurse, Debbie will also be able to act as a resource to locate interested children. Doug and Debbie have two daughters who are currently helping them and will become even more involved as this family gives of its resources to help children.
Angel Flight invited Doug and the other pilots to join them under their 501(c)(3) umbrella. Doug will also be doing some of the promotion for Angel Flight Kids. Doug said anyone interested in supporting Angel Flight Kids is more than welcome to help. The fuel cost for these flights is very expensive, as is the maintenance for the aircraft, and the families will not be charged for the services of Angel Flight Kids.
You can Google Angel Flight to find Angel Flight Kids, which is listed with Angel Flight Southeast. You can also contact Doug locally at the Orlando-Apopka Airport, and he will help you get your donation to the right place. The airport is very close to town and, although it is private, it is open to the public. So stop by the airport, or call Doug at (727) 415-7253 or visit his website at www.rodanteaviation.com.
E-mail:doug.rodanteaviation.com.
We will stay in touch with Doug and Debbie Rodante and
keep our readers informed as Angel Flight Kids takes off! Meanwhile, tune your radio to 1520 AM and listen to the full interview with the Rodantes on Apopka My Town’s new radio show. Shelley Costello will host this show live at 9:30 on Saturday morning, January 6. It’s another way you can find out more about Amazing Apopkan Doug Rodante and Angel Flight Kids!
Written by Shelley Costello
Copyright © 2007 all rights reserved
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