Northview Teacher Barry Flies With The Blue Angels

November 4, 2015

Northview High School teacher Anna Barry flew with the Blue Angels Tuesday from NAS Pensacola.

“I knew it was going to be a once in a lifetime experience, but it exceeded my highest expectations,” Barry said shortly after the flight. “I don’t even have the right words to describe it…it was really awesome.”

The flight included many of the demonstration maneuvers that Blue Angels fans know from airshows, including flying upside down and barrel rolls.

“I was just surreal to be up there part of the same tricks that you see from the ground,” she said.

The history teacher was especially  proud of the fact that she made it through the entire flight without passing out — even while pulling over 6 G’s — and that she did not get sick.

Barry was chosen for the flight as a local “key influencer” as the current Escambia County Teacher of the Year. And she said she can’t wait to get back to Northview to share her experience with her students and the NJROTC program at the school.

“I want to share with the kids that they should always aim high,” she said. “There are no excuses, most anything is possible if you step our of your comfort zone.”

Numerous friends and family members were back on the ground watching Barry’s flight, including her grandfather, John Calvin Davis, Sr.  “He was especially proud. He was in the Navy,” she said,  “training for a amphibious assault on Toyko.”

Also flying with the Blue Angels Tuesday were local Boy Scouts of America district executive Suzie West and NewsRadio 1620’s Andrew McKay. The Blue Angels will close the 2015 season at their annual Homecoming Air Show aboard
Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday and Saturday.

Photos by U.S. Navy, Regina Barry and others for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

7 Responses to “Northview Teacher Barry Flies With The Blue Angels”

  1. Kyle on November 5th, 2015 8:01 am

    She joins the great list of people who have taken that ride.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tim Allen of “Home Improvement” are two that come immediately to mind.

    The Blues pick people who have shown they can make a difference in the community around them. So a ride with them isn’t so much a “Seal of Approval” as it is a “Hallmark of Success.”

  2. Karen Leonardi on November 5th, 2015 7:20 am

    Anna I was thinking about how excited Papa Lawrence would have been to have seen that. We are so proud of you and all you have become and your community is so lucky to have you.

  3. susan on November 4th, 2015 7:05 pm

    Great opportunity. Glad that they selected an Escambia teacher.

  4. DJC on November 4th, 2015 12:37 pm

    Very cool!

  5. Kelly on November 4th, 2015 9:49 am

    That is so awesome, Anna! You deserve it :)

  6. Jackie Johnson on November 4th, 2015 8:08 am

    Awesome Anna! Congratulations on a job and flight well done. Now sit back and plan a travel trip and adventure for your Northview History classes.
    I’m glad your Davis Grandparents were able to witness this first hand as well as your parents and other family members.

  7. juju on November 4th, 2015 7:53 am

    Way to go Anna

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News