Three-in-One Expo in Ohio
Air Force Association Chairman of the Board Joseph E. Sutter attended the inaugural US Air, Trade, and Technology Expo in Dayton, Ohio, in July.
AFA Ohio—led by State President John W. McCance of the Wright Memorial Chapter—hosted the six-day event with Dayton Defense, a group of area defense contractors.
The expo had its origins in a 2003 study that recommended focusing on second- and third-tier aerospace industry companies and using a one-two-three combination—technology conference, trade show, and air show. The aviation heritage of Dayton, as hometown of the Wright brothers, and the presence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, made it a logical location for this three-part endeavor.
US Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) backed the expo and personally challenged McCance to carry it out, the AFA Ohio leader said.
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At the US Air, Trade, and Technology Expo in Ohio, AFA Board Chairman Joe Sutter (standing) helps teachers with a model rocket project at an AFA-sponsored aerospace education workshop. Some of the expo proceeds funded AFA fellowships. |
AFA Ohio handled trade show operations and was liaison with senior Air Force leaders, while Dayton Defense took the lead for the tech summit. The annual Vectren Dayton Air Show was the third component.
The tech summit covered six main topics, including advanced manufacturing, sensors, and UAVs. Key presenters were Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, head of Air Force Materiel Command, and Lt. Gen. Ted F. Bowlds, Electronic Systems Center commander. US Rep. Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.), the House Armed Services Committee ranking member, joined Lt. Gen. Larry D. James, the 14th Air Force commander, for a panel discussion.
Some 1,400 people attended the expo. The two-day air show, featuring the Thunderbirds, brought out 80,000 visitors.
Truest Blue Tennessee Send-off
In Tennessee, the Gen. Bruce K. Holloway Chapter President, James N. Mungenast, and Treasurer Pauline K. Morrisey attended the final graduation ceremony for the Academy of Military Science at the I. G. Brown Training and Education Center.
The academy, located at McGhee Tyson Arpt., Tenn., had commissioned some 14,500 Air National Guard officers over the past 38 years. It moved to Maxwell AFB, Ala., this past July to partner with the Air Force’s Officer Training School.
As part of the final graduation, Mungenast and Morrisey presented an AFA Academic Achievement Award to 2nd Lt. David B. Hopkins, one of the 94 members of Class O-2009-4. He is from the 157th Air Refueling Wing, Pease Intl. Tradeport ANGS, N.H.
Morrisey reported that the new second lieutenants received a “truest blue” send-off: Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, commissioned the officers in a formal ceremony. The class then marched in a pass-in-review on the parade ground, and four F-16s and a P-51 flew overhead.
$22,000 Up for Grabs
When the C. Farinha Gold Rush Chapter in Sacramento, Calif., offered $22,000 in scholarships this spring, the competition was fierce.
Eleven college students and 33 high schoolers submitted applications for the 12 scholarships, said Janice Clawson, the chapter’s communications VP.
The high school applicants had an average grade point average of 4.09. Mira Loma High School senior Monica Sing topped them all with a 4.61 GPA and received $1,000 from the chapter. Among other winners: Tyler Hanrion, an MBA candidate at California State University, Sacramento, was awarded a $1,000 Bank of America scholarship. He heads to undergraduate pilot training next year. Alexander Jelicich from Casa Roble High School received the largest award, the $5,000 SAFE Credit Union scholarship.
Chapter President Richard M. Stultz explained that funds for the scholarships come from several donors; the chapter matches funds, distributes, and administers the scholarships.
The dozen scholarship students and 13 military awardees received their honors at the chapter’s annual awards banquet in April, held at a McClellan Park hotel. More than 130 guests were there.
The military awards recognized outstanding airmen of the year. They went to SMSgt. Perry McLaurin, TSgt. Jeremy Kemp, TSgt. John Sanders, SSgt. Thyatira Singleton, SrA. Lisa Maskey, SrA. Tyler Underwood, ANG SSgt. Renae K. Bobbitt, and ANG MSgt. Manuel A. Hernandez.
Also receiving awards for outstanding performance were Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Cooper, USCG Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Hester, and CSUS cadets Kathleen Redmond, Carrie E. Wright, and Roel Zamora.
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Sandy Schlitt (center), AFA vice chairman of the board for aerospace education, and Michael Hayden (fifth from left), former CIA director, meet with the Air and Space Basic Course Class 09D student leadership council at Maxwell AFB, Ala. Schlitt and Hayden also spoke at the Senior NCO Academy and Officer Training School there.
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More Chapter News
Lt. Gen. Robert J. Elder, then commander of 8th Air Force at Barksdale AFB, La., addressed a meeting of the Lewis E. Lyle Chapter at Hot Springs Village, Ark., in June. Along with Chapter President Josie Fernandez and chapter officers Leonard L. Buch, Morris D. Cash, and Ken Johnson, the luncheon crowd included World War II veterans, Army vets, and four members from the state’s other AFA group, the David D. Terry Jr. Chapter. State President Jerry Reichenbach was among them. Elder spoke about the Mighty Eighth’s history and future and took questions from the audience. Elder had been commander of 8th Air Force since 2006 and retired in July.
Nevada’s Thunderbird Chapter Vice President Donald L. Sexton presented the State Teacher of the Year award in June to Joseph Barry. A biology and psychology teacher at Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas, Barry received the award during a robotics summer camp at the school. Richard A. Carranza, who was then a region superintendent, and school principal Karen Stanley were on hand for the award ceremony. Barry, who heads the school’s science department, mentors Cimarron-Memorial’s national championship robotics team.
For the Blue Ridge Chapter, the North Carolina State Convention—hosted by the Scott Berkeley Chapter at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., in June—was an award bonanza. The chapter took home the Chapter of the Year award, presented to Chapter President Kenneth Walters by Southeast Region President Donald R. Michels and State President David A. Klinkicht. The western North Carolina unit also earned an AFA Aerospace Education Achievement Award, for having completed three aerospace education goals, and its Chapter Teacher of the Year—Kyle Malmin, a second-grade teacher at Brevard (N.C.) Elementary School—was named State Teacher of the Year.
The Enid Chapter in Oklahoma got a comprehensive description of both AFA and the chapter into the local Enid News and Eagle newspaper in July. The article quoted AFA area leaders: Region President Terry J. Cox, outgoing State President James Jacobs, and Chapter President Dan Ohnesorge, who said that his members use AFA materials to educate themselves about Air Force issues and challenges. Both Cox and Jacobs stressed the importance of Community Partners. The article described activities that the chapter hosts or supports for nearby Vance Air Force Base: quarterly awards, Enlisted Appreciation Night, scholarships, and a VIP tent and reception at the air show. It noted that the chapter stages a flight camp for students and sends pilots from Vance into schools.
In July, San Jacinto Chapter (Tex.)members took a field trip to the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Tex. That they could visit the museum at all was newsworthy since Hurricane Ike devastated it last fall. The P-47, B-17, and B-25 warbirds and other flyable aircraft were evacuated to safety, but the rest of the museum artifacts were flooded by seawater, and entire sections of outer walls were blown away. Donald E. Keltner, chapter membership VP, organized the museum tour. When chapter member Frank Urbanic saw the museum’s A-1 Skyraider, he began to recall some of his Vietnam War memories as a “Spad” pilot. “We didn’t realize Frank was such a good storyteller,” Keltner said afterward.
The Iron Gate Chapter (N.Y.) named Ellen Mulvihill as its Teacher of the Year. A fourth-grade math and science instructor at St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School in West Hempstead, N.Y., she received an AFA Certificate and $250 at the Iron Gate’s luncheon, held in July at the 21 Club in midtown Manhattan. Chapter President Frank T. Hayes made the presentation, joined by W. Glenn Mackey, chapter aerospace education VP. Mulvihill has taught at St. Thomas the Apostle for 11 of her 30 years as a teacher.
| Reunions
6th BG, Tinian Island (1944-45). Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Las Cruces, NM. Contact: Bill Webster (651-345-4575) (wbw-ejw@mchsi.com). 20th Air Police Sq, RAF Wethersfield Cops (1950s). May 11-13, 2010 at the Stone Castle Hotel in Branson, MO. Contact: Earl Czech, 4682 104th Ave. NE, Circle Pines, MN 55014 (763-784-8975) (cearlretired@aol.com). 20th BS. Nov. 6-7 in Barksdale AFB, LA. Contact: Billy Edenfield (478-929-0323). 96th Air Refueling Sq., Altus AFB, OK (1953-65). April 8-10, 2010 in San Antonio. Contacts: Jack and Millie Garison, 19232 Deer Elk Crest, San Antonio, TX 78258 (210-545-1259) (jgar341664@aol.com). Pilot Training Class 56G. Oct. 25-28 in Las Vegas. Contact: Porter Jones (615-876-0450) (56g_pjones@comcast.net). E-mail unit reunion notices four months ahead of the event to reunions@afa.org, or mail notices to “Reunions,” Air Force Magazine, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Please designate the unit holding the reunion, time, location, and a contact for more information. We reserve the right to condense notices. |
ADDITIONAL IMAGES
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Thunderbird Chapter VP Donald Sexton (right) presented the Nevada Teacher of the Year award to Joseph Barry (second from left). On hand were (l-r) superintendent Richard Carranza, Cimarron-Memorial High School principal Karen Stanley, and the school’s robotics team.
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2nd Lt. David Hopkins (center) received an AFA Academic Achievement Award from the Gen. Bruce K. Holloway Chapter. L-r: Pauline Morrisey, treasurer; retired Brig. Gen. James Mungenast, president; Hopkins’ wife, Kathleen; and his mother, Barbara Hopkins.
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Guest speaker Lt. Gen. Robert Elder (second from right), with Lewis E. Lyle Chapter VP Leonard Buch, Arkansas State President Jerry Reichenbach, and Chapter President Josie Fernandez.
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Iron Gate Chapter Teacher of the Year Ellen Mulvihill shows her award, with Chapter President Frank Hayes (l) and Glenn Mackey, chapter aerospace education VP.
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Kyle Malmin (l) receives his North Carolina State Teacher of the Year award from William Duncan, Blue Ridge Chapter secretary.
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