[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 162 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO NORMAN FLOYD McGOWIN, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 9, 2010

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Norman Floyd 
McGowin, Jr., of Chapman, Alabama; a philanthropist, devoted steward of 
the land and expert aviator who recently passed away at the age of 79.
  A graduate of Lawrenceville School in 1949, Floyd McGowin earned his 
undergraduate degree in International Relations from Yale University in 
1953. After college, he served his country in the United States Marine 
Corps and Reserves, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant.
  After returning to civilian life, Floyd became a principal in his 
south Butler County, Alabama family business, the W.T. Smith Lumber 
Company, one of the oldest and largest lumber operations in Alabama. 
When the company was sold to Union Camp in 1966, he remained at the 
helm, serving as President of the Rocky Creek Logging Company until his 
retirement in 1991.
  Floyd was a distinguished business leader, serving on numerous boards 
of directors of forestry-related organizations and financial 
institutions. He was also instrumental in pioneering aviation mapping 
techniques for forest management.
  In addition to his many business accomplishments, Floyd was also 
known as a skilled aviator. In 2009, he was honored with the FAA Wright 
Brothers Master Pilot Award. He completed over 50 years of flying with 
more than 13,000 hours in 58 types of aircraft, including flying for 10 
years as a professional airshow pilot. He was inducted into the Alabama 
Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997. At the time of his death, he was the 
owner and operator of McGowin Field in Chapman, established in 1930, 
which is the second oldest active civil airport in Alabama.
  He also served on nonprofit educational foundations promoting flight. 
He was Chairman of the Wright Brothers/Maxwell Field Foundation of 
Montgomery, Alabama and Vice President and Director of The Discovery of 
Flight Foundation of Warrenton, Virginia. He served proudly as a 
Director of the Alabama Archives and History Foundation. He completed a 
manuscript titled The Forest and the Trees, which is under contract 
with New South Books awaiting commercial publication.
  Madam Speaker, South Alabama has lost a patriot and a pioneer with 
the passing of Floyd McGowin. We owe a debt of gratitude for his 
contributions to forestry management and the preservation of America's 
rich aviation history.
  I wish to offer my condolences to his wife of 57 years, Rosa Tucker, 
his son, Dr. Norman F. McGowin, III, and his daughters, Tucker 
Slaughter and Lucy Moore, as well as his numerous grandchildren and 
other relatives. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.