WAC Board Names New Officers, Members

The Wichita Aero Club announced the appointment of five new members to its Board of Directors and the election of John O’Leary of Airbus Americas Engineering as Chairman and Ashley Bowen Cook of the Greteman Group as Vice Chairman. Frank Craven of Aviation Week Network, Lathi De Silva of Sullivan, Higdon and Sink Advertising, Dale Seiwert of the Wichita Eagle, Sam Segal of the Doubletree Hotel at Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, and Jim Rishel of Pod Print, a division of ADR, Inc. have joined WAC Board.

Outgoing Board Chairman Jeff Peier of Klenda Austerman congratulated Mr. O’Leary and Ms. Cook on their new roles and welcomed the new members. “We are very pleased to add these outstanding community and business leaders to our Board. They represent a wealth of knowledge and exceptional experience upon which we will draw liberally as we continue to grow the Aero Club and expands its presence in the industry and region,” he said. Board members are elected to represent “Founding” member companies which contribute a minimum of $10,000 over a three-year period. Messrs. Craven and Segal joined the WAC Board in 2017. Ms. De Silva, Mr. Seiwert and Mr. Rishel replaced previous members whose terms expired or who left the companies they represented.

The addition of Aviation Week Group and the Doubletree Hotel brings the total number of member companies on the Wichita Aero Club to twenty-five. The WAC was formed in 2008 by a small group of business leaders from Wichita’s major aviation companies. Since then, it has grown to be recognized as an influential aviation business group which has influenced the dialogue and broadened the understanding of many important issues for industry stakeholders. In addition to providing a local and regional networking venue, the organization presents the annual Wichita Aero Club Trophy citing significant contribution to the industry and awards two scholarships annually to aspiring aerospace leaders.