Women in Aviation, International and the Experimental Aircraft Association repeated the WomenVenture initiative, with a week’s worth of camps, seminars, panels, a networking breakfast and reunion picture during AirVenture 2010 in Oshkosh.
“There’s just something about the energy that hundreds of women standing in the center of this giant air show, right here in AeroShell Square, generate,” said Dr. Peggy Chabrian, president of Women in Aviation, International. “This photo shows women from ages 14 to 94 gathered together to celebrate their accomplishments in aviation. It’s exciting! Best of all, when the photo is over, they don’t scatter — they stay and network. It is wonderful.”
Chabrian’s partner in the initiative, EAA Vice President of Donor and Business Relations Elissa Lines, can’t wait for next year’s picture. “We pick a different color each year for the shirts and give them away to the women who participate in this photo because we hope that they will continue to wear the shirts all day at AirVenture. That way people see how many women really are participating in aviation here at the show. It’s about visibility. We want young people, young girls, to see us and say, ‘Hey, I want to learn to fly.’”
The WomenVenture initiative included a Theater in the Woods Astronaut Panel with Bonnie Dunbar and Peg Whitson, both space shuttle and International Space Station veterans with many hours of extraterrestrial experience. The Women in Aviation Celebrity breakfast included both astronauts, as well as television anchor David Hartman, cast members from the upcoming movie “Pearl,” and country music star Aaron Tippin, who serenaded the group of more than 275 attendees.
For more information: 937-839-4647 or WAI.org.
