Remember when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier? When the first man landed on the moon? No? Those were days when new frontiers were over our heads and we watched the air pioneers breaking new records.
Many of those men and women who pioneered the 20th century frontier were in Dallas for the Frontiers of Flight Museum Gala on April 27. This prestigious group was made up of
- Pilot of the Apollo 7 Mission Col. Walter Cunningham, USMC (ret.), who was honorary chair with his wife Dot,
- Alan Bean (Apollo 12, Skylab 3),
- Gene Cernan (Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo 17),
- Eileen Collins (STS-63, STS-84, STS-93, STS-114),
- Fred Haise (Apollo 13, OV-101),
- Tom Henricks (STS-44, STS-55, STS-70, STS-78),
- Mike Lopez-Alegria (STS-73, STS-92, STS-113, Soyuz TMA-9, Expedition 14),
- Jim Lovell (Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, Apollo 13),
- Tom Stafford (Gemini 6, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) and
- Mary Ellen Weber (STS-70, STS-101).
Not since Christopher Columbus have people ventured into such unknown territories. Somehow, the gala committee not only got this stellar group together for this fundraiser, but they also presented Congressman Ralph Hall with the George E. Haddaway Award for Achievement In Aviation because of his dedicated “advocacy of science, space and aviation as a member and chair of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
According to Allan McBee, it was the best event he had ever attended and Allan has had more than his share of events.
Among the 3T’s (Top-Tier-Types) assembled for this history-making event were former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Congressman Sam Johnson and Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
“The Frontiers of Flight Museum Gala is a very special evening dedicated to the accomplishments and contributions to aviation and space exploration,” said Frontiers of Flight Museum President/CEO Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones. “It’s also a great fundraising opportunity to support the education of the next generation of aviators and astronauts through the museum’s incredible Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs that reach more than 10,000 students each year.”
If you want to know who made it possible for all of these stars to be gathered in this one place for an unforgettable evening, follow the jump!
* Photos provided by the Frontiers of Flight Museum
The 2013 Gala sponsorship levels recognize the incredible accomplishments of U.S. crewed space missions from the early Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Missions to the Space Shuttle and current Mars Rover Mission.
Major supporters of the 2013 Frontiers of Flight Museum Gala are:
- Mercury Mission ($75,000): Anonymous.
- Film Sponsor: Boeing.
- Apollo Mission ($25,000): Jan & Suzanne Collmer, Dan & Gena Hamilton and Hugh & Judy McElroy.
- Space Shuttle Mission ($10,000): American Airlines, Mary Anne & Richard “Dick” Cree, Averille & Stewart Dawson, Matthews Southwest, Omni Dallas Hotel, Mrs. Romona Upfield and The Alinda Hill Wikert Foundation.
- Mars Rover Mission ($5,000): ALON BRANDS, Bob Alpert; American Eurocopter, Aviall Services Inc., Dallas Airmotive; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Dickie+Associates, Bob & Mary Dilworth, Events By Bill, Food Glorious Food, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Huitt-Zollars, Hunt Consolidated Inc./Hunt Oil Company, Ron Jones and Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, Lonely Standard, OsteoMed, Purewater Baths, SAFRAN Labinal, Signature Flight Support Corp., Denise & Denis Simon/Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., Southwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines Federal Credit Union, Eric & Sara Stroud, TACAir, A Division of Truman Arnold Companies, Texas Instruments, University of Texas at Dallas – Eugene McDermott Library, History of Aviation Collection and UPS.