We hope you can join us for an evening of celebration at the Aero Club Trophy Gala on Saturday, February 1st at the B-29 Doc Hangar, Education & Visitors Center. We're excited to honor the fourteenth Aero Club Trophy recipient, Fred Berry.
Event Details
5 p.m. - Cocktail Hour
6 p.m. - Dinner & Awards Program
Business/Cocktail Attire
Individual tickets are $150 for members and $175 for non-members. Tables of 10 and sponsorships are available for purchase as well.
Purchase your tickets today!
Trophy Gala Sponsors
Sponsorships are available!
Join us as a sponsor for the next Wichita Aero Club Trophy Gala on Saturday, February 1. Click here to view information about each sponsorship opportunity.
About Fred Berry
Fred Berry is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Berry Companies, Inc. Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Berry Companies provides administrative services to a network of equipment dealerships in the construction and material handling industries.
Fred grew up on a farm near Wood River, Illinois. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and the Harvard Business School. He served as a maintenance officer in the Air Force during the Korean War. He married Suzanne Nicholl in 1955 while working as an assistant sales manager in his father’s farm equipment business. In 1957, Fred and his brother, Paul, moved to Wichita and started Berry Tractor and Equipment Company. As their company grew and diversified, Berry Tractor became a division of Berry Companies, Inc. Today, Berry Companies supports nine divisions with 65 branches in nine states. Being a pilot and always having an airplane played a prominent role in the growth of the business.
Fred has always had a passion for aviation. His interest was originally sparked by his Uncle Art Berry, who first soloed in a Beechcraft Travel Air that was made in Wichita. Fred’s parents gave him flying lessons for his high school graduation present in 1945. By the summer of 1946, he visited Wichita for the first time, picking up a new airplane for a dealer (with a three-day old license!). Fred continued to fly planes personally and for business for the next 62 years. Over that time, many of his family members also became pilots, including his brother, Paul, his wife, Sue, and his sons, Franklin and Walter. The company and family have owned 22 airplanes, and Fred has flown many more. They currently fly a small Cessna Citation.
Fred Berry has maintained a high level of involvement in the Wichita community since the 1960s. He has served as Board Chair for the United Way of the Plains, the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Wesley Medical Center, and the Institute of Logopedics (now Heartspring). He was honored as the 1996 Uncommon Citizen by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also received the Russ Meyer Community Leadership Award in 2017, and he and Sue together received the Martha Buford Humble Servant Award from the Salvation Army in 2021. Today, he continues his community involvement at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Wichita State University, and the Wichita Community Foundation, as well as with B29 Doc, the restored WWII bomber.
Fred and Suzanne Berry still live in Wichita, and they have four children, 17 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren.
Click here to learn more about Mr. Berry’s nomination in the press release announcing him as this year’s recipient.