Cherokee High Principal To Participate in Wings Over North Georgia

Staff Report

If Cherokee High School students are sent to the principal’s office on Thursday, they’ll have to catch Debra Murdock three miles up in the air and traveling just shy of the speed of sound.

That’s because Cherokee’s principal will be flying in the back seat of an F-16 Fighting Falcon with the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds in advance of the 2014 Wings Over North Georgia Air Show & BBQ Classic in Rome.

Murdock was selected for the demonstration flight advancing the Thunderbirds’ final, fall season air show in the southeast because she is 2014’s Georgia High School Principal of the Year.

“Principal Murdock is an inspiring educator who has developed a cutting edge aviation program in conjunction with Cherokee’s JROTC,” said Wings Over North Georgia Airshow Director Rob Skelton. “That fits perfectly with Thunderbird’s role in showcasing the latest advances in fighter technology while representing the everyday, hard-working men and women who voluntarily serve their country.”

Georgia’s top principal said she isn’t nervous about pulling 9 G’s in front of cameras, reporters and several Cherokee High School students.

“When you work with teenagers, you can’t take yourself too seriously,” Murdock said. “If I throw up I’ll be the first one to make fun of myself.”

Murdock said she hopes her flight on Oct. 16, and the skills demonstrated during the Wings Over North Georgia air show Oct. 18-19 by the Thunderbirds’ right wing pilot, Maj. Caroline Jensen, will encourage students, particularly girls, to pursue interests in aviation and engineering.

“We have several girls signed up to take our aviation ground school course and if they pass the test with high scores they are eligible for scholarships to get their private pilot’s license,” she added.

So far six students have scored high enough on the ground school test offered at Cherokee High School that they’ve gone on to become pilots, with the cost of their license and flight hours covered by scholarships. One of the Wings Over North Georgia civilian air show performers, Bob Carlton, will assemble his jet-powered glider for Cherokee High School JRTOC, engineering and automotive students the day before Murdock’s flight.

Both activities promote the Wings Over North Georgia air show in Rome which is expected to have a $3.5 million economic impact and to draw more than 75,000 airshow fans from throughout the southeast over the course of the weekend.

“Last year’s budget sequestration meant no military jet teams at Wings Over North Georgia so the return of the Thunderbirds is huge,” said Skelton. “But we’ve also expanded the number of acts and added an entirely new live music concert series, night airshow and fireworks grand finale on Saturday to capitalize on the renewed interest in air shows nationwide.”

Wings Over North Georgia is a family-friendly patriotic event that is recognized by the International Council of Air Shows.

For the full list of more than 15 tier-one performers, plus information on the Smoke-n-Thunder BBQ Challenge and concert series, visit its website.

(Photo: Debra Murdock, far right, flying in the back seat of an F-16 Fighting Falcon with the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds in advance of the 2014 Wings Over North Georgia Air Show & BBQ Classic in Rome. Credit: Cherokee County School District)