Air Force Community Gathers for Annual AFA Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition

The Air Force Association (AFA) held their annual National Convention on September 14th and 15th prior to the Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition, the convention included 201 registered delegates from 41 state delegations.

In alignment with its mission to educate, advocate and support, AFA approved a Statement of Policy and Top Issues for 2013.

The following National Officers were elected or reelected for one year terms:

• George K. Muellner (Huntington Beach, CA) – second term Chairman of the Board
• Scott P. Van Cleef (Fincastle, VA) – second term Vice Chairman of the Board, Field Operations
• Jerry E. White (Colorado Springs, CO) – second term Vice Chairman of the Board, Aerospace Education
• Marvin L. “Marv” Tooman (Des Moines, IA) – first term National Secretary
• Leonard R. “Len” Vernamonti (Clinton, MS) – fourth term National Treasurer

The following National Directors were elected for three-year terms

• David Dietsch (Arlington, TX) – Central Area Director 
• Peter Jones (Potomac Falls, VA) – Director At-large
• Dave Warner (Colorado Springs, CO) – Director At-large

The following Region Presidents were elected or reelected by the delegates from their region at the Annual Convention for one year terms:

• Gavin “Mac” MacAloon (Central East)
• Wayne Kaufman (Far West)
• Dann Mattiza (Florida - reelected)
• Kent Owsley (Great Lakes - reelected)
• John Daly (Midwest - reelected)
• Ron Adams (New England)
• Jim Simons (North Central - reelected)
• Maxine Rauch (Northeast)
• Mary Mayer (Northwest - reelected)
• Gayle White (Rocky Mountain - reelected)
• Jim Mungenast (South Central)
• John Allen (Southeast - reelected)
• Ross Lampert (Southwest)
• Riq Baldwin (Texoma)

Parliamentarian: Buck Buckwalter
Credentials Committee: Mark Tarpley, Chair, OK; Geri Sutter, TN; Karel Toohey, NM; and Sharon White, CO.
Inspectors of Election: Buck Buckwalter, Chair, TX; George Castle, AZ; and Bush Hanson, SC.

Following the National Convention, AFA held its annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition, which hosted more than 6,000 attendees over the three-day event, 55 speaker sessions, 91 exhibitor booths, and 35,500 square feet of exhibit space.

Speaker highlights from this year’s conference included Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning, Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Welsh, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody, many of the MAJCOM commanders, and a number of other active and retired Air Force officials and civilian industry leaders. Topics discussed ranged from the KC-46 and F-35 programs, to defense budget challenges, cyber defense, and more. To listen to the audio from the speaker sessions and to reference speaker slides, visit our conference website at www.afa.org/airspaceconf.

Over 170 people registered to attend AFA’s Spouse and Family Forum, a day-long event that covered a variety of issues facing our military families today. Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning, Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Welsh, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody, Lt Gen Darrell Jones plus many other Air Force leaders and their spouses supported the event. Keynote speakers from the event included Mrs. Betty Welsh, Mrs. Athena Cody, Mrs. Holly Petraeus, and author Debbie Fink.

Additionally, AFA rolled out their new Corporate Membership Program on Wednesday, September 18th, to over 200 prospective and current corporate member companies. The new program consists of three tiers of membership for businesses of all sizes, and aims to increase partnerships with companies in order to spread the mission of AFA.

“AFA is proud to bring another successful event to a close and grateful for the opportunity to engage with military, government, and industry members in an effort to spread its mission to educate, advocate, and support on behalf of the United States Air Force,” said George Muellner, AFA Chairman of the Board. “The work we do continues to be valued by the Air Force and reaffirms the need for airpower as a part of a strong national defense. We look forward to continuing our efforts in support of our Airmen and their families.”

“We were also honored to be able to recognize our 2013 Outstanding Airmen of the Year at various points throughout the conference,” said Muellner. “These men and women exemplify the best of the best, and we are proud of their dedication to excellence in service.”
The 2014 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition will be held September 15-17, 2014. For more information on how you can be involved with AFA throughout the year, visit www.afa.org.