FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 20, 2000

Dayton, Ohio – The National Association Of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) has been presented the "Milton Caniff Spirit of Flight Award" by the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF). It is the highest award NAHF can confer upon an organization.

Joseph J. Foss, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, 1984 enshrinee and former Governor of South Dakota, presented the award during NAHF's 39th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony, Saturday, July 15 in Dayton, Ohio. Ken Wiegand, NASAO 2000 Chairman, accepted the award at the elegant black-tie dinner, saying, "We are proud and honored to join the distinguished ranks of previous "Spirit of Flight" recipients including such legendary aviators as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, Tuskegee Airmen, the Mercury Astronauts and the famed Flying Tigers. We humbly accept this high honor on behalf of today's NASAO members in all 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico...and the dedicated men and women who proceeded us over the past 69 years."

NAHF established the award in 1981 and presented it first to the USAF Thunderbirds. The award was renamed in honor of aviator, Dayton native and artist Milton Caniff, who created portraits of all Hall of Fame Enshrinees until his death in 1988. Caniff was also famous for creating the Steve Canyon, and Terry and The Pirates comic strips.

Mike Jackson, NAHF's executive director, said that NASAO was selected for the award because of its, "outstanding achievements and contributions to aviation. Certainly the progress made during the first half of the 20th century came through the efforts of courageous and innovative individuals who found support in their states, long before any federal government research or regulatory programs."

The presentation of the Spirit of Flight Award was the culmination of a gala weekend of celebration that saw such luminaries as history's first moon walker, Buzz Aldrin and the last man on the moon Gene Cernan, enshrined in the National Hall of Fame, which is located in the Wright Brothers’ hometown of Dayton.