RI Aviation Hall of Fame
RI AHOF Ceremony 2010 pictures
(click to view on facebook)
MG Anders (center) with 126th Aviation Color Guard, Unit Commander Conley & LTC Lambrecht
The youngest descendant of 2010 inductee Otto Hermann
RIAHOF Secretary Bill Sheridan and his wife Mary with 2010 inductee, Apollo astronaut MG William Anders
Mrs. & Governor Donald Carcieri with RIAHOF President Major Frank Lennon
RI AHOF Ceremony 2009 pictures
(click to view on flickr)
history of RI ahof
The first inductions into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame took place in December, 2003, in conjunction with the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation's celebration of the Centennial of Aviation.
The first reaction from skeptics was to snicker and say, "Well, this is Rhode Island; you’ll run out of candidates in a few years."
Little did those skeptics know just how rich and varied our aviation history is, and just how many wonderfully skilled and talented contributors to the aerial age have been born in RI, were educated here, lived here for a portion of their lives or performed some great aviation-related act or service here.
Each year’s induction, and the publicity it receives, generates more recommendations from people just like yourselves. Many of you have written or called to let us know about the role a family member, neighbor or friend may have played in our state's rich aviation history. In fact, six of our last ten inductees were not even on our radar screen the previous year. They have been honored because some of you picked up the phone or sent us an e-mail.
That means that some of our original nominees from 2003 are still on the waiting list, because each year brings forth more new and deserving nominees. Once more the skeptics were wrong; we will not run out of deserving candidates for some time to come.
Click here to see past inductees.
Click here for information on our mission statement.
Click here for for RI AHOF's Criteria for Eligibility.
For more information, or to nominate an inductee, please contact us via mail, phone or e-mail.
Learn about the USS JFK Project
Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc., (RIAHOF), plans to develop a world-class, financially self-sufficient family attraction, education and job training center, museum and memorial on the Aquidneck Island (Newport) side of Rhode Island’s beautiful Narragansett Bay, featuring the retired aircraft carrier John F Kennedy as the centerpiece.
RI Aviation hall of fame DINNER
The 2011 RIAHOF Dinner and Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, February 4, 2012.
Click here to register online!
Click here to view the full invitation
Click here to read the full press release and find out more about the 2011 inductees.
The 2010 Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards ceremony was held on
Saturday, October 23, 2010.
The event raised more than $23,000, and merited a front page feature in that Sunday's Providence Journal! Read the article on projo.com >
The 2010 inductees into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame are Otto Hermann, John Coonan and Rick Wilson. (Only Wilson is still living.)
They are in addition to Retired Air Force Major General and Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders (left), one of the first three humans to view the dark side of the moon, who will be the Guest of Honor at our annual event.
We also to plan to recognize the lifetime contributions of Newport-born George Sullivan to the General Aviation community, and the Naval Aviation career of John Romano from East Greenwich.
2010 CORPORATE SPONSORS
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