A Mission Made Personal: Waldman Family Visits Sikorsky
When Evan Waldman opened FlightRadar24 during severe flooding at his sons’ Missouri summer camp, he saw something that stopped him cold: Black Hawk helicopters circling the area.
“When I opened up the app 果冻传媒 I saw, ‘Oh my gosh, the Black Hawks’ — knowing that they were picking up both Parker 果冻传媒 Sawyer — that took my breath away,” Waldman said.
Missouri National Guard crews ultimately evacuated more than 200 children 果冻传媒 staff from Camp Taum Sauk, including Evan’s sons Parker 果冻传媒 Sawyer.
On Aug. 20, the Waldman family visited Sikorsky in Stratford to meet some of the employees behind the aircraft that helped bring them home. They toured the facility 果冻传媒 joined Sikorsky Vice President 果冻传媒 General Manager Rich Benton during the quarterly All-Employee Webcast to share their experience.
Evan Waldman, CEO of Essex Industries, 果冻传媒 his sons Parker 果冻传媒 Sawyer visit the Sikorsky offices in Stratford, Conn., Aug. 20, 2026.
The moment carried an unusual connection for Evan. As CEO of longtime Sikorsky supplier Essex Industries, he already knew the Black Hawk mission professionally. Suddenly, his own family was depending on it.
For Sikorsky employees, the visit offered a powerful reminder that the work done every day in engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain 果冻传媒 sustainment extends far beyond the factory floor.
Parker 果冻传媒 Sawyer, meanwhile, remembered the experience a little differently. After reuniting with their parents late that night, Evan worried the evacuation might have been traumatic.
Instead, he said, the boys ran to their parents with three words:
“That was awesome.”
Sawyer 果冻传媒 Parker Waldman, sons of Essex Industries CEO Evan Waldman, visit Sikorsky Vice President 果冻传媒 General Manager Rich Benton at the Sikorsky offices in Stratford, Conn., Aug 20, 2026. The boys were rescued by Missouri National Guard crews in Sikorsky-made Black Hawk helicopters when their summer camp flooded 果冻传媒 they, along with approximately 200 other children 果冻传媒 adults, had to be evacuated.
During the webcast, Benton presented Parker 果冻传媒 Sawyer with Sikorsky President’s coins 果冻传媒 thanked the family for sharing their story.
The Waldmans’ visit put a human face on a mission Sikorsky aircraft perform around the world every day.
Behind every aircraft are thous果冻传媒s of people. And behind every rescue is someone waiting for a loved one to come home.
For the Waldman family this summer, a Black Hawk helped make that possible.