(Newark, Ohio) Capt John Morgan, CAP has been named the 2010 Ohio Wing Public Affairs Officer of the Year, for the Civil Air Patrol.  This award recognizes the group or unit Public Affairs staff member within the Ohio Wing who has excelled in public affairs initiatives and has been instrumental in conducting and managing an exceptional program during the previous year.  The Ohio Wing currently has over 1500 senior and cadet members.

Capt Morgan is the Public Affairs Officer for the Licking County Composite Squadron, which serves Licking, Knox and the surrounding counties.  In addition to his duties as the local unit Public Affairs Officer, Morgan also serves as the Ohio Wing, Group VIII Public Affairs Officer.  Group VIII consists of seven squadrons serving the Central Ohio area plus a headquarters squadron.  The Civil Air Patrol Public Affairs Officer is responsible for increasing the awareness of the public of CAP, its local, state and national missions and its contributions to the nation.  They are also responsible for promoting cooperation between CAP and other aviation organizations, the military, business, industry and civic groups.

“We are very excited and very proud of Capt Morgan’s recognition as the Ohio Wing Public Affairs Officer of the Year”, stated Capt Peter Morford, CAP, Squadron Commander of the local unit. “He has been a critical link between the local squadron and the surrounding community.  We greatly appreciate his contributions.”

Capt Morgan, a member of Civil Air Patrol since 2006, has also been the recipient of the Civil Air Patrol Commanders Commendation Award for his contributions in forming the local Licking County squadron, which received its squadron charter in 2009.

Capt Morgan is the Branch Manager of Heartland Bank in Newark.  He also serves on the Board of Directors for Pathways of Central Ohio and is Chairman of the Centerburg Joint Recreation District Board of Trustees.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 113 lives in fiscal year 2010. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 26,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 69 years. It is a major partner with Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. For more information on Civil Air Patrol, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com.