This year’s gala on April 24, 2021 will honor the 50th Anniversary of JDRF’s founding. Under the leadership of Gala Chairs, Rob Hamilton of Med-Trans Corporation, and Treg Manning of Airbus Helicopters North America, the 2021 Gala will honor type 1 diabetes champion, Fred Buttrell. 

Fred’s story began when he returned from his second tour in the Persian Gulf serving as a flight instructor for the F-15E Strike Eagle in 1993. After exhibiting symptoms of extreme thirst, urination and weight loss, he visited the squadron flight doctor for tests. While in the middle of an engagement with the Navy over Yuma AZ flight range, the announcement came over dispatch, “Eagle flight return to base and get Buttrell on the ground.” Fred was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. That was his last flight. Despite the setback, Fred built a successful career in the aviation industry and has made JDRF a philanthropic focus for the last 25 years.  

BARRIER BREAKER: In 2019, Pietro Marsala became the first person with T1D to be granted a First Class Medical Certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing him to make his living as the pilot of an airliner.  What was impossible for Fred Buttrell is now possible for aspiring young pilots with T1D.