News
Tiahrt, Bolen, Blakey and ICT CEOs to Address Wichita Aero Club Luncheons
August 1, 2009 11:47am
Wichita, KS—Kansas Fourth District Congressman Todd Tiahrt has accepted an invitation to address the Wichita Aero Club at its monthly luncheon on Tuesday, August 11. He will be followed by National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen, a native Kansan and former aide to Senator Nancy Kassebaum, on Wednesday, September 23rd and former Federal Aviation Administration Administrator and current Aerospace Industries Association President Marion Blakey on Tuesday, October 13. A top management panel featuring the CEOs of Wichita’s airframe manufacturers, moderated by FLYING magazine editor Mac McClellan will close out the Club’s year on Tuesday, December 15. The luncheons will be held at the Wichita Airport Hilton at noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.WichitaAeroClub.org or can be reserved by calling 316.641.5962. The Club, which meets 10 times per year, also announced that it will not hold a meeting in July or November.
Congressman Tiahrt, who has announced he will run for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Sam Brownback in 2010, is currently in his seventh term representing the Fourth District of Kansas, which includes Wichita. He has been a strong advocate for the selection of the Boeing KC-767 as a replacement for the US Air Force’s aging KC-135 tanker and has consistently voted against imposing user fees on general and business aviation.
Ed Bolen has been the President of the NBAA since 2005. From 1997 to 2005 he served as President of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). 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. He 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.
Marion C. Blakey is president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association. AIA represents the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, materiel and related components, equipment services and information technology. She became the eighth full-time chief executive of the association in 2007. Before that, she served a five-year term as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). That role was one of six Presidential appointments she has held, including heading the National Transportation Safety Board under President George W. Bush, as well.
The club will conclude its 2009 schedule on Tuesday, December 15 with a panel of chief
Contact: Dave Franson 316.681.4491 or
executive officers from Wichita’s aviation companies reviewing the year and providing perspectives for 2010. Jack Pelton of Cessna, Bill Boisture of Hawker Beechcraft, David Coleal of Bombardier Learjet, Jeff Turner of Spirit AeroSystems and Bill Greer of Airbus North America Engineering will participate in a forum moderated by FLYING Magazine’s Editor in Chief J. Mac McClellan.
The Wichita Aero Club was founded in October of 2008. The organization was established to foster and promote interest in aviation, provide a forum focused on the industry’s issues and achievements and bring together those with a passion for flight in an environment that expands and enhances professional relationships and furthers cooperation and understanding.
