By Marie C. Peinado
AUSTIN-“Deja vu? … Deja vu?” … was our conference an illusion of a previous experience or a new one? Semantics aside, our Texas Aviation Conference was no illusion, but a wonderful gathering of friends and professionals sharing aviation knowledge with each other. TAC was held this year on April 7- 9, 1999 at the North Hilton Hotel, in Austin, Texas.
As has been a tradition, the conference was co-hosted by TxDOT’s Aviation Division and the Texas Association of Airport Executives. This strong and supportive partnership is geared toward presenting the best and most current information about Texas aviation to the public.
The conference attracted 360 participants from Texas and other states. The conference program included a welcoming address by Charles W. Heald, TxDOT executive director, and a Status Report on the State of Aviation in Texas by David S. Fulton, TxDOT Aviation Division director. Panels addressed the importance of general aviation and compliance issues of concern to Texas’ airports. This year’s TAC workshops ranged from “How Your Airport Lighting System Looks When the Sun Goes Down” to “Marketing Your Airport: How It Can Be Done Using New Marketing Technology”; as well as “How Effective is the Routine Airport Maintenance Program”; to “How to Put On Airshows and Fly-Ins at Your Airport.”
Last year’s successful golf outing by staff and conferees encouraged our golfing fans to stage another event at the Bluebonnet Hill Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon. Again, the camaraderie was great-the rekindling of old friendships as well as the formation of new ones was evident.
Wednesday evening featured the exhibitors’ well-known “Get Acquainted” reception in the exhibit area. Almost 50 exhibitors registered and provided hospitality to all, along with information on aviation products and the latest innovations. Faces, new and familiar, met, discussed and socialized.
TAC’s famous social affair on Thursday evening featured a “50’s Hangar Party” which established for certain that “Elvis is Alive” and doing well in Austin! What a nostalgic look to the past, when life was simple, and not so complex- hamburgers, pie-a-la-mode, fries, drinks; music and dancing; crooning by Elvis and the display of a beautiful Maroon Super Deluxe Ford Convertible courtesy of John Mays from Conroe. What memories! Along with aircraft flybys and aircraft displays, Leo Murphee Jr. from ECS, offered extra thrills with free rides on his hovercraft, which flies on a cushion of air and can travel on water or land.
The Luncheon Banquet on Friday provided the opportunity to recognize special people who support general aviation in Texas and to present awards for recognition for outstanding achievements as follows:
1999 Aviation Awards:
1999 Airport Manager of the Year: Darrell Phillips, New Braunfels Municipal Airport Manager, New Braunfels, Texas
1999 Airport of the Year: Fayette Regional Air Center, La Grange, Texas
1999 Most Improved Airport of the Year: Granbury Municipal Airport, Granbury, Texas
1999 Outstanding Reliever Airport of the Year: McKinney Municipal Airport, McKinney, Texas
1999 Career Contribution to Aviation: Norman Scroggins, Bedford, Texas
1999 International Aviation Art Contest:
1st Place, Category I (Ages 6- 9) – Hannah Pruitt, 6 years old, Valley Oaks Elementary, Houston Texas
1st Place, Category II (Ages 10-13) – Brook Lennon, 11 years old, Avery Middle School, Avery, Texas
1st Place, Category III (Ages 14-17) – Aileen (Chih-Fang) Wu, 17 years old, Clements High School, Sugar Land, Texas
One final perk for the Aviation Division, was provided by Robert Spivey from the Academy of Model Aeronautics. This was the generous gift of a scale model of a beautiful Fokker Dr. 1 Triplane. One of the most famous fighters of all times, the Fokker, through the achievement of one extraordinary pilot the Red Baron-was a ferocious adversary during WWI.
TAC proceedings adjourned until next year.
