Orbis is one of the finest applications of an airplane ever. It produces miracles as a matter of course. I was aboard during one of its visits to Russia. I remember a little girl climbing the stairs and entering the examining room. She was about five and had shiny blonde hair twisted into two long pigtails. She was a beautiful child but shy and hesitant. Then I noticed her eyes. The left stared hard to the right, and the right was focused on the far left. A congenital muscular disorder had created visual havoc for her and marred her appearance as well.

The Orbis doctors went to work, performing delicate surgery to correct the muscular aberration. The following day the child returned to have her bandages removed. When she raised her eyelids, her left and right eyes stared straight and true into the eyes of the doctors who had operated on her. The joy in her face and the tears of happiness that followed from her, her doctors, me, and everyone else is a moment that will live with me always.

It is an honor to be associated with the men and women and the scores of sponsors who make Orbis possible. I thank them all for the privilege.