Local sponsors made the difference in keeping the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement event dubbed “America’s Oscar Night of Aviation” in Dayton, Ohio, this Saturday after fears the ceremony would be wooed to North Carolina, an organizer said.
Area sponsors pledged about $200,000 to keep the 50th anniversary event that celebrates aerospace luminaries in Dayton, said Ron Kaplan, the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s enshrinement director.
“That will continue to be a key factor in the hall of fame’s decision on where to host it in future years,” he said.
The Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, N.C., attempted to bring the ceremony to the state where the Wright brothers tested their first airplane at Kitty Hawk. But the hometown of the aviation pioneers won out for another year when the Aviation Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees made the decision in March to host the event at the Dayton Convention Center. The hall itself is inside the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
For the complete story by the Dayton Daily News’ Barrie Barber, click here. To purchase tickets for the event from the National Aviation Hall of Fame website, click here.
