Opinion ID: 77999
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: History of Angel Flight

Text: In 1982, Jack Welsh, a pilot living in California, formed an organization called the American Medical Flight Support Team (AMFST). The organization consisted of volunteer pilots who agreed to provide free transportation for donated organs and medical patients to ensure the timely receipt of needed medical services. Chapters of the new organization sprang up across the country. Many of these chapters eventually adopted the name Angel Flight as their service mark. Over time, the chapters lost their connection to the original organization, but they continued their mission of providing free air transportation for medical services. The organizations continued to use the Angel Flight mark. In 1983, an AMFST chapter was formed in Georgia. It later took the name Angel Flight of Georgia (AFGA). The organization was the first group east of the Rocky Mountains to use the name Angel Flight and the first group to use the mark in each of the six states in which it operates (Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee). AFGA used the Angel Flight mark continuously from the 1980s onward. In 1986, an AMFST chapter formed in Florida. This group later became known as AFSE. The organization operated primarily within the state of Florida, but made periodic handoffs in the AFGA territory. For several years during the 1990s, AFGA contracted with AFSE to coordinate AFGA's flights; the arrangement ended in 1999. At some point during the 1990s, AFSE and AFGA considered merging, but failed to do so. In 2000, a number of regional Angel Flight organizations came together to form AFA. Although many regional Angel Flight organizations joined the association, several did not. Among those was AFGA. Members of the newly-formed organization divided the country into geographic regions, with each accepting responsibility for a region. Before joining AFA, AFSE served Florida patients and medical facilities, transporting patients and organs into and out of the state of Florida. After joining AFA, AFSE began operating in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina. AFSE also began recruiting donors and promoting its services at trade shows and to medical facilities within AFGA's territory. In 2001, AFGA became aware of AFSE's plans to open an office in Augusta, Georgia. On May 8, 2003, after AFGA allegedly learned donors and the news media were confusing the two organizations, AFGA wrote to AFSE, asking it to stop promoting its services under the Angel Flight mark in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. When AFSE refused to do so, AFGA filed suit.