On June 10, at the Rose City Soaring Club’s celebration of its 28th year, two members of the club were surprised when Mike Mullaney from the FAA headquarters in Atlanta presented them the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. 

Receiving the awards were Steve Godbehere of Cairo and Luke Closson of Valdosta. Joe Blandford, of Tallahassee Florida, a recent recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot, nominated the two pilots for this award. 

Godbehere is vice president of TriEst Ag Group, Inc, of Greenville, North Carolina, where he is an agronomist in the research and development group. He is also president of Douglas Agriculture Services, Inc., of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, an affiliate of The Trical Group. 

With a degree from the University of Georgia, Godbehere’s work focuses on developing new treatments and equipment for better crop production while working with universities and agriculture associates in the U.S., as well as other countries.

Godbehere started his flying career by getting his license while in high school. While on a water-skiing excursion on a Saturday afternoon, his Sunday school teacher took him up for his first ride in a small plane and let Godbehere fly the plane. Life has not been the same since. 

Godbehere took every chance and every penny earned to take flying lessons in those early years and his passion for flying the last 50 years has not changed from that first day. Godbehere’s love of flying continued through college, his military days while serving in Vietnam, and in his personal and business career. 

His first airplane purchase was a Stinson and through the years, he has flown a variety of planes, but his favorite has been a Beech Baron. 

Godbehere has been a vital member of the soaring club’s success and he holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate. In addition, he is a certified flight instructor for airplanes, single- and multi-engine, instruments, and gliders. He also holds a commercial certificate for single-engine seaplanes and gliders.

Mullaney presented Godbehere’s wife Debbie, a former student pilot, a Wright Brother’s Master Pilot spousal pin on behalf of the FAA.

Closson, a Valdosta resident since 1966, is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He came to Moody Air Force Base as a student pilot and was assigned as an instructor pilot in the T-38 aircraft.

While a pilot for Delta Airlines, Closson made the decision to attend the Woodrow Wilson College of Law School in his off hours with the airlines. Graduating magna cum laude, he was admitted to the Georgia and federal bars. He primarily practices in the areas of workers’ compensation for injured workers, social security and he represents pilots and mechanics in FAA-related matters.

Closson is a highly experienced commercial pilot with over 20,000 flying hours. He is a certified flight instructor, A&P mechanic and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner. He has represented claimants at all levels of state and federal court, as well as all administrative levels with the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation and the Social Security Administration. 

Closson is a director of the Georgia Injured Workers Advocates and the Work Injury Network-PAC as well as a sustaining member of the National Association of Claimants Representatives. He has been a speaker at national and state training programs for both lawyers and pilots.

Luke’s wife Bonnie Closson, a former Delta flight attendant, was presented a Wright Brothers Master Pilot spousal pin as well for her support of her husband’s career in aviation. 

The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is the most prestigious award the FAA issues to pilots certified under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 61. This award is named after the Wright Brothers, the first U.S. pilots, to recognize individuals who have exhibited professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise for at least 50 years while piloting aircraft as “Master Pilots.”

Closson and Godbehere are the first recipients of the award from their respective communities. Their names will be in the “Aviation Safety Roll of Honor” maintained at the FAA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C.