Washington, DC—The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) will hold a rally celebrating general aviation’s (GA) contributions to the economy on September 5 at 1 p.m. at the University of North Dakota (UND) Aerospace Flight Operations’ James C. Ray Hangar in Grand Forks, North Dakota. U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp, U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer, and Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley will speak, as well as representatives from Appareo Systems, Cirrus Aircraft, and Piper Aircraft.
For those attending the rally, UND will also host a Career Fair from 2-3 p.m. for students interested in pursuing aviation careers and those who want to learn more about positions in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. More than a dozen companies and organizations will have exhibits at the career fair, including Appareo Systems, Cirrus Aircraft, Dakota Air Parts, Fargo Jet Center, GAMA, Honeywell, ND STEM Network, Northland Community and Technical College, Piper Aircraft, Textron Aviation, UND Aerospace, UND Army ROTC, UTC Aerospace Systems, and Valley Med Flight.
Hundreds of aviation enthusiasts are expected to attend, including representatives from local aviation manufacturing companies, businesses that use general aviation to ensure their commercial success, members of the military, UND students and professors, and high school students enrolled in North Dakota aviation programs. There will also be an exciting static display of aircraft, from an historic World War II airplane to new aircraft featuring state-of-the art technology.
The GA industry contributes more than $150 billion to the U.S. economy annually and supports 1.2 million jobs nationwide. GA is one of the few remaining domestic manufacturing industries that provides a positive trade surplus for the United States.
North Dakota is home to 3,500 FAA-Certificated Pilots and almost 300 civil use landing facilities. GA helps thousands of businesses of all sizes become more productive and efficient, and provides local communities with much-needed tax revenue and jobs.
Date: Friday, September 5, 2014; Rally: 1:00 p.m. CST, Career Fair: 2:00 p.m. CST
Location: James C. Ray Hangar, UND Aerospace Flight Operations, 2772 Airport Drive, Grand Forks, ND
RSVP: Please register via phone at 202-637-1375 or via e-mail at marylynn@gama.aero
Contacts:
Media: Mary Lynn J. Rynkiewicz, 202-637-1375, marylynn@gama.aero
Event Logistics: Susan Mickelson, 701-335-4480, Susan.mickelson@flint-group.com