Kaplan back at NAHF in new consulting role - "Enshrinement Director"

KAPLAN BACK TO WORK AT

NATIONAL AVIATION HALL OF FAME

DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 2, 2010 -- The National Aviation Hall of Fame has recalled a veteran staffer to help guide the organization's 49^th annual Enshrinement Dinner & Ceremony.

Ron Kaplan, who served as executive director from 2004 to 2009, has agreed to act as a consultant to raise funds and coordinate the activities for the July 2010 event.

"For nearly fifty years, enshrinement weekend has honored and attracted a 'who's who' of air and space pioneers," Kaplan said. "It's my privilege to again be able to help bring all the parties together to make the annual 'Oscar Night of Aviation' happen."

Kaplan left the organization in November 2009, following a reduction of the Hall of Fame staff due to financial challenges. Kaplan and another staffer saw their positions eliminated, while other staffers had their hours reduced.

Hall of Fame board members said the annual Enshrinement ceremony is central to the organization's Congressionally chartered mission of honoring American icons of aviation and space.

"Ron Kaplan's contacts in the aviation world and the local community, and his track record of successful fundraising, make him a natural choice to help the board with the ceremony," said Alan Hoeweler, Chairman of the Hall of Fame's Board of Trustees.

Kaplan will work primarily on the 2010 Enshrinement ceremonies and related events, Hoeweler said, with the Trustees overseeing other Hall of Fame activities.

The Hall of Fame's 2010 Enshrinement Dinner & Ceremony, which will be held at the Dayton Convention Center on Saturday, July 17, will honor:

Ÿ         Captain Alan Bean, lunar module pilot for Apollo 12, man's second lunar landing, and has logged almost 1,700 hours in space;

Ÿ         Warren G. Grimes, "father of aircraft lighting industry," inventor of aircraft navigation instruments and lights, including panel lighting for spacecraft;

Ÿ         Clay Lacy, a 50,000-hour-plus pilot, business aviation icon and air-to-air cinematographer for films such as Top Gun and The Right Stuff;

Ÿ         Noel Wien, an Arctic flight pioneer who founded Wien Alaska Airlines, one of the oldest airlines in the U.S.　　　　　　　　

The Hall of Fame's 2010 Milton Caniff Spirit of Flight Award recipient on Friday night, July 16 will be the 8,000-member-company National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the world's foremost organization in representing the interests of business aviation. The award is bestowed annually at the Hall of Fame's President's Dinner upon a group or organization in recognition of its achievement in advancing aviation.

Visit www.nationalaviation.org or call 937-256-0944 ext.10 for reservations for the 49th Annual Enshrinement Dinner & Ceremony and the President's Dinner.

#   #   #

The National Aviation Hall of Fame is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in Dayton in 1962 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1964.　Its mission is to honor America's outstanding air and space pioneers, which it does through a 17,000 square-foot public Learning Center featuring interactive exhibits, a youth education program, its annual Enshrinement ceremony, and other public outreach programs.