High-flying notables joined fellow aviation buffs at the annual Frontiers of Flight Museum gala. This year’s space theme lured special guests — astronauts Alan Beam, Gene Cernan, Eileen Collins, Fred Haise, Tom Henricks, Mike Lopez-Alegria, Jim Lovell, Tom Stafford, Mary Ellen Weber and honorary chair Walter Cunningham — who have dedicated their time and energy to space and science.
“The Frontiers of Flight Museum Gala is always a very special evening dedicated to the accomplishments and contributions to aviation and space exploration,” said Cheryl Shutterfield-Jones, museum president and CEO.
During the jazzy affair, museum supporters — including former senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Gail Thomas, Lynn and Allan McBee, and Gina and Scott Ginsburg — wined and dined beneath the hanging jets and helped honor Ralph Hall. The congressman and chairman of the committee on science, space and technology of the U.S. House of Representatives received the George E. Haddaway Award for achievement in aviation and advocacy of the field.
The late Haddaway was founder and publisher of Southwest Aviation and the brains behind the History of Aviation Collection, which is housed at the University of Texas at Dallas.
The annual Frontiers of Flight gala celebrates the Smithsonian-affiliated museum, which supports the next generation of aviators and astronauts through the museum’s science, technology, engineering and math programs.
Hugh McElroy, Cheryl Shutterfield-Jones, Ralph Hall
