Hello, I'm Eric C.

I’m originally from a small town east of Knoxville​,​ Tennessee. I graduated from The University of the South (Sewanee) with a Masters of Divinity degree (MDiv)​,​ and I also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (BBA) from East Tennessee State University. My first career was in the retail industry​,​ where I began in store operations management and later worked as a corporate buyer. However​,​ in 2000​,​ I decided to leave retail and pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a professional pilot. My spouse​,​ Terri​,​ and I relocated to Naples​,​ FL​,​ where I completed professional flight training. I earned both a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor certificate​,​ and eventually​,​ I taught as a flight instructor while also starting my own aviation business. As the aviation industry was changing after 9​/​11​,​ I experienced an unexpected vocational calling. I entered formal discernment for a vocation as an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. After attending seminary​,​ I was ordained as a deacon in December 2009 and as a priest in June 2010. I spent over a decade serving in parish and diocesan ministry​,​ and I eventually retired from active ministry after serving as Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Oklahoma. In the years that followed​,​ I also served as a volunteer military chaplain pilot and instructor for non-profit organizations. In 2022​,​ I finally achieved my lifelong dream of becoming a professional pilot. I now hold an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with PIC type ratings in both the Gulfstream G-280 (a super mid-size jet) and the Embraer Phenom 300 (a light nine-passenger jet). I flew full-time as a Captain for an on-demand carrier based in Naples​,​ FL​,​ but now I work as a contract pilot and as an Instructor for a large international Professional Flight Training Center. Terri and I now live in Savannah​,​ Georgia.