FAFB takes on LIFT

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mackenzie Richardson
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Team Fairchild launched the “Leaders Inspiring for Tomorrow” Summit Apr. 21, the first conference and engagement showcase of its kind.

LIFT featured 18 diverse storytellers from around the Pacific Northwest who shared their stories of inspiration, innovation, character and leadership in a variety of venues including the military, community, business and life.

The storytellers included retired and active duty military, professors and subject matter experts in various fields including business, education and communication.

“When I was told the focus of the talks was leadership, I began to think of what qualities a leader should have. At the top of my list was wisdom,” said Dr. Russell Kolts, Eastern Washington University professor of psychology. “I am surrounded by people who all have very different experiences from my own, and my ideas is we can fast track wisdom by learning from people who are different from us.”

Each storyteller had 15 minutes to share their story and were present throughout the day to interact with attendees.

“It was our hope that the LIFT Summit would encourage ‘random collisions’ between storytellers and attendees to lead to fruitful conversations, future opportunities and inspiration,” said Col. Matthew T. Fritz, 92nd Air Refueling Wing vice commander.

The summit was held in the base theater and was attended by more than 400 base personnel, including active duty, reserve, guard and civilian members. LIFT was also shared across multimedia platforms and was viewed by more than 27,000 people in 49 different countries around the world to include Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.

“Everything begins with an idea,” said Capt. Brandon Scott, 92nd Air Refueling Squadron assistant operations officer. “Col. Samuelson and Col. Fritz provided me with this idea, gave me mentorship, I formed a team of volunteers and we created this event which was for our Airmen. We showcased diversity in our speakers to provide a well-rounded presentation.”

The event took more than four months to plan and required numerous squadrons to come together to turn an idea into a reality.

For more information on the 2017 LIFT Summit, visit: www.fairchild.af.mil/LIFT