42nd Services Squadron does good things for the community.

When it comes to being involved in the community, the 42nd Services Squadron at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, maintains an active presence in the Montgomery area community. The Base's Maxwell-Gunter Aero Club is an active partner in education, providing area students with incentives to do well in school. Annually, the club provides orientation flights for more than 500 students, which are the highlight of many a school year. "The youth get an opportunity to experience riding in a small airplane," said Ronnie Jenkins, club manager. "Many of them would never get an opportunity to fly if it wasn't for this program."

The Maxwell Community Activity Center sponsors an annual Global Volksmarch sanctioned by the American and International Volksport Associations. Participants walk this 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) course through historic Maxwell Air Force Base. Some of the points of interest included are the site of the 1910 Wright Brothers Flying School, a life-size replica of the original Wright Flyer, static displays of aircraft from World War II to the Persian Gulf War, and monuments and memorials to numerous aviation pioneers.

The community activity centers also serves as a central location for Montgomery area organizations to garner support for community activities. The centers regularly host blood drives in conjunction with the American Red Cross to replenish blood supplies state-wide in addition to participating in a wide variety of other community activities each year.

The centers Put together teams to participate in the annual Montgomery area "Community Challenge," and compete against teams from corporations and groups throughout the area. Events include relay races, obstacle courses, bicycle races, and a wide variety of "nontraditional" competitions, such as "Diplomatic Dunk," three-legged races, and "Boardwalk." More than 600 people from 40 organizations compete each year to benefit the Jackson Hospital.

Citizens and Base residents recreate together at the centers beach volleyball courses, which are used by Montgomery area teams in a beach volleyball tournament each summer. The Maxwell-Gunter Co-Educational Softball League is also open to teams from the Montgomery area.

The Base also exchanges resources with the community and hosts local and regional events, High school participants in the South Wind Drum and Bugle Corps use various squadron recreational fields to practice for their national competition. The Gunter Fitness and Sports Center hosts the United States Powerlifting Federation state meet, where more than 100 powerlifters from around the state compete. The Kelly Tires Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic is held on base. This event allows several thousand youth to visit with the players. And the Alabama Foothall All-Stars stay in lodging at Maxwell Air Force Base during annual mini-camps, and practice at Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex for the Alabama-Mississippi High School All-Star Game.

As a major supporter of the Alabama Senior Olympics, the manager of the Maxwell Fitness and Sports Center serves annually as the chairman of the Games. Several squadron facilities are used as competition venues: the Maxwell Community Activity Center is used for the table tennis competition; the fitness and sports center serves as host for basketball, volleyball and tennis competitions, the golf course hosts a golf tournament; and the bowling alley serves as host to the bowling competition. Additionally, the six-mile run is held around the perimeter of Maxwell Air Force Base.

The lakes at Maxwell Air Force Base, operated and maintained by the 42nd Services Squadron, are the site of annual camp outs for a number of area youth groups, including the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. The lakes are also part of the annual "free fishing day" sponsored by the Game and Fish Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. And the picnic areas at the lakes also serve as favorite picnic and wildlife watching locations for Montgomery area school students.

The Cypress Tree Golf Course provides facilities for a wide variety of charitable organizations to hold golf tournaments, including the Capital City Junior Golf Tour. More than 200 Montgomery area young people ranging in age from eight to 17 participate in this annual learning and recreational program.

The course is also the site for a Scottish golf tournament each year during the gathering of the clans for the annual Alabama Highland Games. The games are a three-day event normally held in Montgomery during late September. Participants from across the United States join in the games, sponsored by the St. Andrews Society of Montgomery and the Alabama Highland Games, Inc.

The services squadron Provides support to the annual Fourth of July Celebration, cosponsored by the City of Montgomery and the base. The day-long celebration features entertainment, activities and fun for families in observance of this most important day in U.S. history. The celebration ends with a fireworks display.

In addition to these activities, members of the services squadron serve as consultants to various youth-related activities in the community including bicycle safety, rodeos and sports camps.