Solairus Aviation Launches GoFundMe Appeal for Family of Late Shane Augur, Raising More Than $84,000
Why It MattersThe appeal shows how business-aviation employers and the wider community mobilise around a departed colleague's family, with a company seed gift and open donations covering the children's education costs.
What happened
Aircraft management company Solairus Aviation has launched a GoFundMe appeal to support the family of Shane Timothy Augur, a former colleague who served as director of Client Services. Augur died unexpectedly at age 51. He is survived by his wife Erin and their two children, Grayson and Lilly.
The fund is intended to cover the children's college educations. Solairus made an initial contribution of $25,000 and invited Augur's friends, colleagues and the wider aviation community to contribute.
The GoFundMe page, titled "In Memory of Shane Augur", shows $84,570 raised toward a $100,000 goal from 179 donations. The original article put total donations at $84,500 as of Wednesday, November 11th.
Tim Flammer, director of Client Accounting at Solairus, described Augur as a consummate professional who was skilled at turning difficult calls and meetings into productive ones, and as a quietly funny colleague. Outside work, Augur enjoyed collecting and restoring antique watches and fishing. Flammer said news of Augur's death spread quickly through Solairus and EJM, his former employer, and he asked for help in informing the wider aviation community.
Industry impact & what to watch
Business aviation is a small, relationship-driven segment, and people tend to move between management companies, operators and brokers over a career. A fundraiser like this shows how that closeness carries over into practice: a former employer and a current one both heard the news quickly, and the appeal is addressed to the whole community rather than to one company's staff.
The structure is worth noting. The employer put in a sizeable lead gift before asking others to join, which gives the page momentum and signals that the company itself stands behind the cause. Targeting a defined purpose, the children's college education, also gives donors a concrete outcome to give toward.
The next marker is whether donations reach the $100,000 goal, which the page showed as still open at the time of the figures above.
