{"id":329,"date":"2019-11-07T21:03:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T21:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pimaair.wpengine.com\/?post_type=hall_of_fame&#038;p=329"},"modified":"2019-12-30T11:16:38","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T18:16:38","slug":"cheryl-a-stearns","status":"publish","type":"hall_of_fame","link":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheryl A. Stearns"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Cheryl A. Stearns<\/h1>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame<\/strong><br \/><strong><em><span style=\"color: #2387c3;\">Enshrined 2007<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Cheryl A. Stearns was born July 14, 1955, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona 2 years later. An interest in aviation led her to skydiving and earning her pilot\u2019s license in her teen years. Cheryl made her first parachute jump at the age of 17. In 1975, after graduating from Scottsdale Community College, she moved to North Carolina to continue her competition parachute training. Her skills grew quickly and in 1977 she won her first U.S. National Championship. That same year she joined the United States Army and became the first female member of the Army\u2019s \u201cGolden Knights\u201d parachute jump team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In 1979 she became the first woman to participate in an international military parachuting competition. Not only did Cheryl compete, but she won the accuracy competition. She continues to participate in and win parachuting competitions, and has won 65 national and world women\u2019s competitions. Additionally, she has held the most parachute jumps in a 24-hour period by a woman; 352, or on average 1 every 4 minutes. In addition to her parachuting career, Cheryl is a pilot for U.S. Airways. She flies as a First Officer in the Boeing 757 and 767. Cheryl has received numerous awards and honors during her aviation career. These include Skydiver of the Year for 1995, Citizen of the Year, 1995 from the Raeford, NC Kiwanis Club, and the highest award in aero sports, the Diplome Leonardo da Vinci in 1990. The U.S. Army has awarded her the Meritorious Service Medal 4 times, the Army Commendation Medal 6 times and the Army Achievement Medal 2 times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- {\"name\":\"Hall of Fame - Layout\",\"type\":\"layout\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"style\":\"default\",\"width\":\"default\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\",\"header_transparent\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\"1-1\",\"breakpoint\":\"m\",\"fixed_width\":\"large\",\"column_gap\":\"\",\"row_gap\":\"\",\"width\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"headline\",\"props\":{\"title_element\":\"h1\",\"title_style\":\"\",\"title_decoration\":\"divider\",\"title_font_family\":\"\",\"title_color\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"Cheryl A. Stearns\"}}]}]},{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\",\",\"breakpoint\":\"m\",\"fixed_width\":\"large\",\"column_gap\":\"\",\"row_gap\":\"\",\"width\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"text_style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"text_size\":\"\",\"column\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p><strong>Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame<\\\/strong><br \\\/><strong><em><span style=\\\"color: #2387c3;\\\">Enshrined 2007<\\\/span><\\\/em><\\\/strong><\\\/p>\"}},{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"text_style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"text_size\":\"\",\"column\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Cheryl A. Stearns was born July 14, 1955, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona 2 years later. An interest in aviation led her to skydiving and earning her pilot\\u2019s license in her teen years. Cheryl made her first parachute jump at the age of 17. In 1975, after graduating from Scottsdale Community College, she moved to North Carolina to continue her competition parachute training. Her skills grew quickly and in 1977 she won her first U.S. National Championship. That same year she joined the United States Army and became the first female member of the Army\\u2019s \\u201cGolden Knights\\u201d parachute jump team.<\\\/p>\"}}]},{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"image\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"image_svg_color\":\"emphasis\",\"link_target\":\"\",\"image_border\":\"rounded\",\"image_box_shadow\":\"\",\"image_hover_box_shadow\":\"\",\"image_box_decoration\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"center\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg\"}}]}]},{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\"1-1\",\"breakpoint\":\"m\",\"fixed_width\":\"large\",\"column_gap\":\"\",\"row_gap\":\"\",\"width\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"text_style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"text_size\":\"\",\"column\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>In 1979 she became the first woman to participate in an international military parachuting competition. Not only did Cheryl compete, but she won the accuracy competition. She continues to participate in and win parachuting competitions, and has won 65 national and world women\\u2019s competitions. Additionally, she has held the most parachute jumps in a 24-hour period by a woman; 352, or on average 1 every 4 minutes. In addition to her parachuting career, Cheryl is a pilot for U.S. Airways. She flies as a First Officer in the Boeing 757 and 767. Cheryl has received numerous awards and honors during her aviation career. These include Skydiver of the Year for 1995, Citizen of the Year, 1995 from the Raeford, NC Kiwanis Club, and the highest award in aero sports, the Diplome Leonardo da Vinci in 1990. The U.S. Army has awarded her the Meritorious Service Medal 4 times, the Army Commendation Medal 6 times and the Army Achievement Medal 2 times.<\\\/p>\"}}]}]}]}],\"version\":\"1.22.2\"} --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":102,"template":"","class_list":["post-329","hall_of_fame","type-hall_of_fame","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","lastname-stearns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cheryl A. Stearns - Pima Air &amp; Space<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cheryl A. Stearns - Pima Air &amp; Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cheryl A. Stearns Arizona Aviation Hall of FameEnshrined 2007 Cheryl A. Stearns was born July 14, 1955, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona 2 years later. An interest in aviation led her to skydiving and earning her pilot\u2019s license in her teen years. Cheryl made her first parachute jump at the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pima Air &amp; Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-30T18:16:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"269\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/\",\"name\":\"Cheryl A. Stearns - Pima Air &amp; Space\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-07T21:03:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-30T18:16:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg\",\"width\":269,\"height\":360},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cheryl A. Stearns\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/\",\"name\":\"Pima Air &amp; Space\",\"description\":\"Creating Unlimited Horizons in Aerospace Education\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cheryl A. Stearns - Pima Air &amp; Space","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cheryl A. Stearns - Pima Air &amp; Space","og_description":"Cheryl A. Stearns Arizona Aviation Hall of FameEnshrined 2007 Cheryl A. Stearns was born July 14, 1955, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona 2 years later. An interest in aviation led her to skydiving and earning her pilot\u2019s license in her teen years. Cheryl made her first parachute jump at the [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/","og_site_name":"Pima Air &amp; Space","article_modified_time":"2019-12-30T18:16:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":269,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/","url":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/","name":"Cheryl A. Stearns - Pima Air &amp; Space","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg","datePublished":"2019-11-07T21:03:16+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-30T18:16:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Cheryl-A.-Stearns.jpg","width":269,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/cheryl-a-stearns\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cheryl A. Stearns"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/","name":"Pima Air &amp; Space","description":"Creating Unlimited Horizons in Aerospace Education","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hall_of_fame\/329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hall_of_fame"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hall_of_fame"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}