The First Flight Society has announced its Board of Directors and Executive Committee for 2023.
The Executive Committee is composed of President Mike Fonseca, Vice President Paul Wright Jameson, Finance Committee Chair H. Taylor Sugg, Marketing/Membership Committee Chair William “Bill” Douglas, Education Committee Chair Judith Fearing, Events Committee Chair Tony Bruno.
The rest of the 2023 board: Peter Bruemmer, Paul Carr, Sara Lou Copeland, Danny Couch, M. Roy Daniels, III, Dr. Charles Davidson, Orestes Gooden, Todd Huvard, Penny Leary Smith, William Nelson, Doug Seay, Mike Smith, K. Lynn Tadlock and Peregrine White.
The First Flight Society plans at annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial on December 17 to memorialize the work of the Wright Brothers on the Outer Banks.
The First Flight Society also celebrates Wilbur Wright Day on April 16th and National Aviation Day on August 19th which is also Orville Wright’s birthday. December 17, 2023 is the 120th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight.
The society created the Paul E Garber Shrine in 1966 to honor individuals and groups for achieving significant “firsts” in aviation development since 1903: Charles Lindbergh, General Chuck Yeager, Mary Feik, John Glenn, Katherine Johnson (Hidden Figures) and most recently General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., among others.
The Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, later named First Flight Society, began as a group of local businessmen who successfully petitioned the US Congress to fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 achievement. The FFS celebrates its 96th year in 2023.
The First Flight Society has the Vision that One day people everywhere will be inspired by the dauntless resolution and tireless work of the Wright Brothers. Their mission is that We tell the story of the Wright Brothers through community events, education, and the commemoration of the world’s very first powered flight.
More information about the First Flight Society can be found at https://firstflight.org or https://wrightbrothersday.org.