Kentucky Native Hannah Durbin: From Richmond to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

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OWENWS-09-10-36 THUNDERBIRDS

Kentucky Native Hannah Durbin: From Richmond to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

One of the best parts of my work with Visit Owensboro is meeting people whose stories are bigger than the event that brought them here.

Capt. Hannah Durbin is one of those people.

Hannah is a Richmond, Kentucky native and serves as the Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. She returns to Kentucky this week as the Thunderbirds headline the Owensboro Air Show.

I recently had the chance to interview Hannah through my work as President of Visit Owensboro. What stood out was how unlikely this path once seemed.

Hannah first learned about the U.S. Air Force Academy during her junior year of high school. She had no military background and leaving Kentucky was a big step.

“I didn’t have any military members in my life at the time, and I was scared,” Hannah told me. “Luckily, I had some phenomenal mentors who saw before I did that it was a great fit for me.”

That decision opened doors she could not have imagined.

Hannah has since lived in four countries and visited more than 40.

“The Air Force continues to be the greatest adventure, constantly opening doors that I didn’t even know existed,” she said.

Today, Hannah leads a seven-person public affairs team for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, handling strategic communication, marketing, recruiting and outreach.

Her advice to young people is simple:

“Dream big and take the leap.”

That line stayed with me.

As Mark Calitri, I spend a lot of time looking at performance, opportunity and the people who make things happen. Hannah’s story is a good example of what can happen when someone is willing to take a chance on a path they had never considered.

This weekend, she gets to bring the Thunderbirds back to her home state.

Hannah also points out that while people see six jets in the sky, it takes a team of about 130 people behind the scenes to make the performance happen.

“We all show up as our best every day because the team depends on it,” she said.

The Messenger-Inquirer also picked up Hannah’s Kentucky story and my interview with her ahead of the Owensboro Air Show.

The Messenger-Inquirer also picked up Hannah’s Kentucky story and my interview with her ahead of the Owensboro Air Show. Read their coverage here: 
Kentucky native part of Air Force's Thunderbirds team | Local News | messenger-inquirer.com

I’m glad Visit Owensboro had the opportunity to help tell Hannah’s story. She is a Kentucky native doing impressive work, and this weekend Kentucky gets to welcome her home.

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