McElroy conducted his campaign for election to the board from South America. He and two other pilots circumnavigated the continent in January and February, raising more than $500,000 for Hope Air. The Give Hope Wings effort raised individual and corporate donations and also sold six individual legs of the trip to people who wanted to experience the rare flight. McElroy had earlier circumnavigated the planet in a Piper Comanche, raising money for a children’s hospital and Scottish air ambulance service (he was living in Scotland at the time). McElroy wasted no time setting an ambitious goal for COPA. In his acceptance speech in Saint John he noted that COPA has proportionately less participation by pilots in Canada than AOPA in the U.S. and said he would like to substantially increase membership in the coming year.