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| About Aero Club | Newsletter Aero Club NewsSummer 2004 President's ReportHenry Ogrodzinski Welcome to the Summer
Edition of the Aero Club of I want to salute Spencer Dickerson of AAAE for his wise leadership as he guided our Aero Club through our year-long celebration of the Centennial of Flight. He was a great president and I am sure you will agree that we are deeply indebted to him. Be sure to read his article on the wonderful 2003 Wright Memorial Dinner in this issue of the newsletter. I am honored to serve as the
president of the Aero Club of More than that, since the Aero Club of Washington is made up of the leaders of the entire spectrum of the aviation community and located at the seat of government, you are at the controls at this pivotal time in the history of aviation and of our nation. Like our predecessors who were present at the birth of aviation, we have an invaluable opportunity in our hands. The decisions you make today, for your business, association or agency, the course you chart this year, will help shape the future of aviation, in our nation and the world. The 2004 Aero Club Board of Directors is an extraordinarily dynamic group of men and women who are all volunteers. It is my distinct pleasure to be associated with them. Although they and I live in the present and take our stewardship of today’s Aero Club very seriously, we also have our eyes on the far horizon. We are anxious to get about the business of improving aviation in every way we can and preparing it, and ourselves, for the long journey toward the Bicentennial of Flight. The distinguished speakers who have joined us thus far this year, DOT Secretary Norman Mineta, Senator John D, Rockefeller IV, Phil Trenary of Pinnacle Airlines and Chairman Hal Rogers have all talked about the future and the influence we can have on it today. Many of our guest speakers this year will also focus on tomorrow…and the day after. I, for one, believe we are off on a grand adventure and I’m especially glad to be making this journey with you. Thanks for your support! I’m very interested in your thoughts, suggestions and ideas about our Aero Club, so please feel free to contact me anytime at 56th Annual Wright Memorial Dinner Honoring Senator John GlennPast President Spencer Dickerson Reports It was a wonderful ride! The December 12, 2003, Wright Memorial Dinner was a dazzling centennial salute to the famous brothers who went from building bicycles to constructing flying machines that forever changed the way the world travels and conducts business. At this landmark dinner, which drew almost 1,300 guests, we and the National Aeronautic Association, honored a true American hero, John Glenn, whose amazing career as a decorated fighter pilot, astronaut, and U.S. Senator captured what the Wright Brothers Memorial trophy is all about. And special tributes to Glenn by Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, and actor/aviator John Travolta added special luster to the evening. Warm thanks are due to a number of people for their outstanding work to make this historic dinner the success that it was. Jim Bennett, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and Mary Miller, vice president-corporate customer relations of Signature Flight Support, and their staffs, were responsible for providing the fabulous venue: the Signature Flight Support facility at Reagan Washington National Airport. Cassandra Bosco, manager-public affairs of the National Business Aviation Association, and Susan Sheets, executive director of the National Aircraft Resale Association, did a marvelous job as co-chairs for this important event. And of course none of this would have happened without the hard work and dedication by the Aero Club's Nancy Hackett. We truly appreciate their attention to the thousands of details needed to make the dinner run smoothly. The Wright Memorial Dinner was a fitting ending to a year filled with events celebrating the ingenuity and creative genius of Orville and Wilbur Wright. I was honored to preside at the dinner and to serve as Aero Club president during this momentous anniversary celebration. You are in good hands with our friend Henry Ogrodzinski of NASAO as your new Aero Club President! Did You Know?Did you know the Aero Club Foundation was established in 1995 to support aviation education programs? The Foundation is proud to fund programs in the District of Columbia that advance aviation education and help prepare tomorrow's leaders in the aviation and aerospace industries. Fundraising is crucial to the success of the Foundation. Contributors include individual members of the Aero Club and Washington-based aerospace trade associations that are allied with the Aero Club. The Foundation solicits contributions to its endowment fund as well as to its annual fund. The goal is to establish an endowment large enough so that a major source of money for grants comes from interest earnings from the endowment. Upcoming LuncheonsJuly 21, 2004
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