This month was a special month for the Aeronautical Center as we had many distinguished guests visiting. For the first time, we had a Town Hall meeting hosted by the Department of Transportation’s Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the FAA Academy. It was great to have him here along with Governor Kevin Stitt and Mayor David Holt. It was a seamless opportunity to showcase our next generation of Air Traffic Controllers, while employees had the chance to ask questions of the Secretary. During a Town Hall style meeting, he was able to reinforce the criticality of the jobs they perform and how essential our facility is to the National Airspace System.

Also, this month, representatives from the Center participated in one of the state’s largest industry days with Aero Oklahoma at the State Capitol. Over 60 different exhibit booths were located on the second-floor rotunda, exemplifying that Oklahoma’s economic engine is truly aviation with a $44 billion dollar impact. Gov. Stitt expressed, "We’re home to the largest single site FAA complex in the nation, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, which is another advantage for our state."

We also had visits from Senator James Lankford and Congressman Frank Lucas, who had a chance to converse and see some of our operations first-hand. The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute hosts a variety of aviation training, and this month was no different. Besides educating FAA pilots, they also trained some individuals from NASA about the intricacies of water survival in their research pool, demonstrating egress from a fixed wing and helicopter.

The Aeronautical Center Employee Development (AsCEnD) Program Cohort #2 wraps up on May 4^th with their graduation. We are delighted to have so many new MMAC ambassadors among us! Speaking of ambassadors, special thanks to many of you who participated in the 2023 LitterBlitz, helping to keep Oklahoma City beautiful. Thank you for your volunteer efforts and in recognizing Earth Day.

Also, on behalf of CAMI’s Pilot Report Study (PIREP), they were able to reach their goal of obtaining 5,000 participants with submissions and/or retrievals! They will continue to gather data until the end of this month and results of the study will be forthcoming.

If you haven’t already heard, applications for the 16^th annual Aviation Career Education (ACE) Camps are being accepted for students in the 7^th and 8^th grades. Dates of the 4-day camps are June 6-9^th and June 20-23^rd. If you know of a young person interested in aviation, please read the article in this issue about obtaining an application.

Thanks again for all you do in making the Aeronautical Center a one-of-a-kind facility in Oklahoma. Your efforts do not go unnoticed!

Kindly,

Michelle Coppedge
Director, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center