On Saturday Feb. 8, 2020 at 7 pm Forward DeFuniak, Inc. will present “The Flight of Jackie Cochran” at the Chautauqua Theatre in DeFuniak Springs.  Nancy Hasty, an award -winning poet, playwright and performer, will portray Jackie Cochran. The performance is a benefit for the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood.  The hall is a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The signature building for the city, it is now under restoration via funds from the Department of State, Bureau of Historic Preservation.   Unfortunately, interior furnishings and other essentials cannot be purchased with grant funds so proceeds from this event will assist the city with that effort.

Please join us for this event.  You will be amazed at the fame and accomplishments of this determined woman whose accomplishments seemed to fade into history.  She once lived in DeFuniak Springs where she was known as Bessie Pittman.  Later she became the national Business Woman of the Year and also managed to set more speed, distance and altitude records than any pilot, male or female.

Material for the play was gathered, in part, from the historic archives of the University of West Florida and from the book “Superwoman: Jacqueline Cochran” by Billie Pittman Ayers and Beth Dees. Then Ms. Hasty constructed this one-woman play that depicts the complicated personality of Jackie Cochran, the poor uneducated woman of the depression who managed to excel in the fields of aviation and business.

You may reserve tickets, which are limited, by sending $25/ticket to “Play” at 504 Circle Drive, DeFuniak Springs, FL. 32435.  Make your check payable to Forward DeFuniak, Inc. and write “Play” on the memo line.  With identification, your tickets will await you at the box office. If not sold out, tickets will also be available at the door. For more information call 850-830-7663.

CALLING ALL PILOTS: MEET JACKIE COCHRAN