FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 21, 2010
Contact Information:
Selena Shilad: (202) 550-2547
Matt Hager: (218) 330-7447
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen Announces April “General Aviation Appreciation Month”
NASHVILLE, TN – Today, April 21, 2010, Alliance for Aviation Across America’s Matt Hager joined Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen on the steps of the State Capitol to announce April as “General Aviation Appreciation Month”. Other attendees at today’s 9:30 AM event included Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely, Tennessee Aeronautics Commissioners Chairman Ron Cooper, Fred Culbreath, Fred Dettwiller, Belinda Anderson, Larry Mullins, Aeronautics Director Bob Woods, Dick Doubrava on behalf of the National Business Aviation Association, and Bob Minter of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.Click here to see the full proclamation.
Alliance Executive Director Selena Shilad said, “We are so pleased to have Governor Bredesen’s support. The general aviation industry provides a truly unique lifeline for rural communities by providing access to emergency medical treatment, quick business links and agricultural services for farmers.”
The state of Tennessee relies a great deal on general aviation (GA). From an economic perspective, GA alone contributes $2.57 billion to the state’s economy, or $431 per capita, annually. Tennessee has 82 commercial and general aviation airports, 11,829 pilots and 6,512 general aviation aircraft. The state is also home to 46 flight companies, 56 repair stations and four flights schools, maintaining a good percentage of the 51,800 aviation-related jobs in the state. These and other statistics from our economic impact survey can be found online at http://www.aviationacrossamerica.org/States.aspx.
Formed in 2007, the Alliance for Aviation Across America is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of over 4,400 individuals representing businesses, agricultural groups, FBO’s, small airports, elected officials, charitable organizations, and leading business and aviation groups that support the interest of the general aviation community across various public policy issues.
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