NAHF awarded Engen Trophy by Aero Club of Washington

Washington, D.C., November 14, 2012 – Today, the Aero Club of Washington presented the National Aviation Hall of Fame with the 2012 Donald D. Engen Aero Club Trophy for Aviation Excellence. The trophy is awarded to an individual, team or organization which through a record of lifetime achievement , a single event, or a series of acts reaffirms the Wright Brothers’ standards of excellence in aviation. The Aero Club, founded in 1909, was founded to promote the Wright Brothers and their efforts. Each year it has awarded the annual trophy for Aviation Excellence.

NAHF Board Chairman Phil Roberts said, “It is a significant achievement and honor for the NAHF to be recognized in our 50th year of service to the aerospace community with the Engen Trophy. The NAHF has faithfully recognized our nation’s air and space pioneers since 1962.”

When the U.S. Congress chartered the NAHF in 1964 to be the only U.S. organization responsible for recognizing those persons who have been responsible for the U.S. leadership in aviation and space, it thereby endorsed the first two enshrinees honored by the organization, the Wright-Brothers – Orville and Wilbur - who from their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, designed, built, tested and flew their creation of the first powered airplane.

NAHF President Bill Harris added, “Therefore, it is fitting that the common beginnings of honoring the Wright Brothers shared by the Aero Club and the NAHF result in a common heritage and purpose to honor those who have paved the way for flight and all the business aspects associated with that invention”.

A contingent of 11 NAHF Board members and staff, led by Mrs. ZoeDell Nutter, NAHF Emeritus Trustee, attended the presentation and acceptance of the Trophy in Washington today. Others attending included, Jim Cooling, George Saling, Betty Darst, Michael Quiello, Don VanDerKarr, Vince Russo, Ron Kaplan, Cee John and Kerisa Citro.

The permanent Engen Trophy resides in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The NAHF 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 free admission to the public, interactive exhibits, youth education programs, its annual enshrinement ceremony, national merit awards, and other public outreach programs.