2016 Inaugural Dinner
San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame
Event Date 31 March 2016
Keynote Speaker
Ed Bolen
The San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame is honored to announce that Edward M. Bolen, President and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), will be the Keynote Speaker at the Inaugural Dinner on 31 March 2016.
Ed Bolen became the president and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in Washington, DC, on Sept. 7, 2004. Prior to joining NBAA, Bolen was president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) for eight years. Bolen joined GAMA in 1995 as senior vice president and general counsel. GAMA’s board of directors elected him president and CEO in November 1996.
In 2001, Bolen was nominated by President Bush to serve as a member of the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. Established by Congress, the commission’s objectives were to study and make recommendations on ways to ensure American leadership in aerospace in the 21st century.
Bolen was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a member of the Management Advisory Council (MAC) to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He chaired the council from 2000 to 2004.
Bolen is the incoming chairman of RTCA, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that functions as a Federal Advisory Committee to the FAA on matters related to communications, surveillance, navigation and air traffic management. He previously served as RTCA's vice chairman. He also serves on the Aviation Advisory Board of the Mitre Corporation, a federally funded research and development corporation.
Prior to his association career, Bolen was majority general counsel to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. He also served as legislative director for U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) and was a key player in the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994.
Bolen received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Kansas. He is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Law and holds a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Bolen, a recreational pilot, is also a competitive tennis player and former captain of the University of Kansas varsity tennis team.
Honorees
Maj. Gen.Benjamin Foulois (Military Aviation)
San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston was chosen as the site for the Army’s early aviation efforts when Lt. Benjamin Foulois and a small group of enlisted men were ordered there in 1910. They brought with them a Wright Brothers’ Flyer, which was designated Army Signal Corps Aero plane #1, and began flying it from the north end of Cavalry Post parade ground in March of that year”. More specifically, the first flight was on 2 March 1910. More about Benjamin Foulois.
Air Education and Training Command (Military Aviation)
Air Education and Training Command. "The First Command," AETC is responsible for recruiting, technical training, flying training, and the continuing education of each generation of Airmen and is headquartered at Randolph AFB. More about AETC.
Eddie, Katherine & Marjorie Stinson (Civil and Military Aviation)
It all goes back to the year 1915, when three siblings and two passions all came together to create the Stinson School of Flying. The people were Marjorie, Katherine and Eddie Stinson. More about the Stinsons and Stinson Field.
Southwest Research Institute (Aviation and Aerospace)
From designing fuels for prop planes and jet engines to developing systems and components that go to Mars and beyond, engineers and scientists at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI®) have been an integral part of the San Antonio aviation and aerospace landscape since it was founded on the outskirts of San Antonio in 1947. More about SwRI.
Durrell U. ”Dee” Howard (Civil Aviation)
Dee Howard was a respected inventor and legendary in the aviation industry for his many creative accomplishments. Dee had over forty US and foreign patents issued in his name for both aviation and automotive products and the aviation companies which he founded and which bore his name held more than two hundred FAA Supplemental Types Certificates (STCs) and Type Certificate (TC). Dee’s aviation career spanned the birth and development of business aircraft in the post-World War II era. He is internationally recognized and honored for advancing the state of the art in business aircraft with numerous performance improvements, such as jet engine thrust reversers and refinements in aircraft flight characteristics. More about Dee Howard.
Edward “Ed” James Swearingen (Civil Aviation)
Ed was an internationally known leader in the identification, design, development, and manufacturing of precedent-setting aircraft programs. He founded his own company, Swearingen Aircraft, primarily as a consulting firm, and helped design many other companies' aircraft. He then began to design and manufacture his own planes. He designed 30 airplane programs, with the SJ30, a high-performing and affordable twin-engine jet being the 30th. Before his death, he was working on his 31st airplane design. Awards along the way include the Aviation Safety Award from the FAA in 1962. In 1974 he received the highest award from the National Business Aircraft Association. Later he was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame and honored as a "Living Legend of Aviation." More about Ed Swearingen.
Joseph A. Wilson (Aviation Education)
Community and Government Relations. Lockheed Martin Commercial Engine Solutions (retired in 2015). Former Chair of San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Aerospace Committee. Past Chair of San Antonio Manufacturers Association(SAMA).Joe had a leading role in creating and growing San Antonio's aviation education pipeline through the establishment of Alamo Academies and, in the process, ensuring that our history of aviation excellence will continue into its second century.
Richard Fessler (Aviation Education)
Chairman of Hallmark University. Co-founder of Hallmark Aero-Tech in 1969 at Stinson Field, San Antonio’s first school for aviation technicians, now a part of Hallmark University and known as Hallmark College of Aeronautics with the aviation campus at San Antonio International Airport and is now Texas’ largest aviation technician school today. Co-founder of Hallmark Jet Center, now known as Million Air in San Antonio. Licensed A&P mechanic and commercial-rated pilot. Past chair and member of national and state college associations and accrediting commissions.
Program Brochure
