[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AVIATION MUSEUM OF KENTUCKY

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                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 15, 2015

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the twentieth 
anniversary of the establishment of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky.
  In 1978, a group of dedicated aviation enthusiasts founded the 
Kentucky Aviation Roundtable in Lexington, Kentucky, with the mission 
of preserving the legacy of the aviation and aerospace industries in 
the Commonwealth.
  Through dedication, persistence, and the support of several generous 
benefactors, the Roundtable achieved its goal with the opening of the 
Aviation Museum of Kentucky, on the grounds of Blue Grass Airport in 
Lexington, on April 15, 1995. Today, the Museum is an educational 
resource for central Kentucky: hosting exhibits, lectures, and events 
related to aviation and aerospace history, design, and engineering.
  The Museum's grand opening ceremony doubled as a reunion for 
survivors of the Doolittle Raid, honoring the airmen's sacrifices on 
April 18, 1942 as the first mission to strike the Japanese homeland 
following the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
  Since that inaugural event, the Museum has continued to recognize men 
and women in the Commonwealth for their outstanding achievements in the 
fields of aviation and aerospace, establishing the Kentucky Aviation 
Hall of Fame in 1996.
  The Museum looks not only to the past, but also to the future, 
inculcating a love of flying and engineering in Kentucky's youth by 
hosting Aviation Summer Camps throughout the Bluegrass. These programs 
have benefitted 5,360 young Kentuckians, encouraging them to pursue 
careers in aerospace industries.
  Today, Kentucky's top export category is aerospace and the 
Commonwealth's universities are becoming leaders in the fields of 
manned and unmanned flight systems. The Aviation Museum of Kentucky 
helped foster this flourishing industry in our state and will continue 
to inspire future generations of aerospace workers in the Bluegrass.
  As the Representative for the Sixth District of the Kentucky, I ask 
my colleagues in the House to join me in celebrating the twentieth 
anniversary of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky. Furthermore, I 
encourage my fellow Kentuckians to visit and take pride in this 
institution and its preservation of the aviation and aerospace heritage 
of the Commonwealth.

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