In its fifth year as a corporate host and partner, Signature Flight Support has joined Women in Aviation International chapters and corporate members globally as a title sponsor for Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) Greater Delaware Valley – an outreach event organized by nonprofit, Aviation Influence, Inc. in collaboration with NEXTGEN Aviators by Dynamic Aviation at the Signature private aviation hangar at Atlantic City International Airport. This event aligns with the South Jersey focus on bringing more aerospace opportunities to the region. GIAD aims to inspire the next generation of females in aviation. Nearly 1,000 guests are expected to attend.
Atlantic City, NJ | July 20, 2022: An active pilot in flight training, Samantha Anderson was born into an aviation family, having the bug to fly at an early age. More recently, her platform through pageantry is ‘Women in Aviation,’ a fitting focus for the very event she will engage with girls ages 5-18. Samantha will arrive on a historic vintage C-47 Douglas aircraft, owned by Dynamic Aviation, and an active member of the D-Day Squadron and DC-3 Society. Her name: Miss Virginia. Miss Virginia is based at Bridgewater airport (VBW) and shares a hangar with multiple vintage aircraft of flying history, to include a Beech 18, “Amelia” and President Eisenhower’s Columbine II, the first aircraft to go by the call sign, Air Force One, currently under restoration as part of their living history fleet.
“As the daughter and god-daughter of international pilots, I was practically born with wings. At two weeks old I took my first flight. At three months I had my first passport,” shares Samantha Anderson, 2021 Miss United States. “I have always enjoyed flying and travel and thrilled that my year as Miss United States has been one of advocacy and opportunity. I am so excited to carry on my family’s aviation legacy as a member of the NEXTGEN Aviators team and cannot wait to see how our collaboration with Girls in Aviation Day will inspire diversity within aviation.”
Joining Samantha aboard the aircraft are her colleagues with NEXTGEN Aviators by Dynamic Aviation, highlighting the event’s STEM outreach programming. NEXTGEN Aviators provides a three-hour aviation experience to youth, introducing them to technical jobs including aerospace engineering, parts fabrication and assembly, electronics and avionics, and flight.
“I am very proud to be part of this year’s Girls in Aviation Day program and to share NEXTGEN Aviators. We understood early in our program that it was going to take a coalition of like-minded people to make a difference in helping to solve the diversity gap in the aviation workforce and to help fill the future talent pipeline,” shared Shane Combs, director of partner relations and marketing for NEXTGEN Aviators. “That’s why we are excited to partner with Aviation Influence to highlight some of careers that exist in the skilled trades side of aviation and aerospace for these future female aviators.”
The event aims to address the aviation workforce shortage by introducing young women to careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and their role in aviation. It will take place at Signature’s private aviation terminal at the Atlantic City Int’l Airport in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey from 11:30am
to 4:30pm on Saturday, September 10, 2022. With nearly 1,000 young women and their chaperones expected to attend, visitors will enjoy static displays, fly drones, participate in STEM and aviation exhibits, and meet and engage with a diverse group of professionals in this space. Attendees serving in Girl Scouts of USA will also earn the new Girl Scout Aviation Girl Fun Patch.
The GIAD Greater Delaware Valley event committee, eager to expose more girls to aviation career pathways, officially opened RSVPs on Monday, August 1. “We are just a few weeks into opening our event ticketing and currently see more than 30 partners, exhibitors and displays getting involved,” shared Dave Krause, committee co-chair and co-owner of Influential Drones, one of the event’s veteran partners. “Signature Flight Support was quick to support our GIAD for a fifth year. The space they are allocating includes a large hangar, ramp space and a private aircraft terminal. We are extremely thankful to have the full support of the FBO staff and community volunteers as well.”
“My team and I are excited to host GIAD again this year,” expressed Stacy Suazo, General Manager of Signature Atlantic City. “As one of many female managers working for the world’s largest general aviation ground handling company, we are strong advocates of sharing the excitement and passion of aviation by introducing young women to our industry.”
Girls in grades K-12 are encouraged to attend. Additional information including logistics and registration information can be found by visiting GIAD2022.AviationInfluence.org
As a corporate host, Signature Flight Support is joined by other industry organizations, including the Federal Aviation Administration, NJ Wing Civil Air Patrol, McGuire Air Force Base, Leonardo Company, U.S. Coast Guard, Unmanned Safety Institute, Boeing, National Business Aviation Association, American Airlines, Camden Youth Aviation Academy, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, AviationManuals, Drone, ACY Airport, VMD Corp, Atlantic Cape Community College, BFD Systems, and more!
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Aviation Influence, Inc. (AVi) is a registered 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization founded in 2019 with a mission to serve young people in discovering STEM and aviation through outreach. Its six-member board of directors are seasoned nonprofit, aviation and STEM industry professionals dedicated to growing a pipeline of future talent across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and aviation. Their purpose is to elevate the interest, engagement, and enthusiasm of youth through hands-on STEM and aviation outreach locally and in underrepresented regions. AVi currently represents events in the United States. The demand for STEM-educated professionals has been well documented in recent years, and the same is true in the aviation industry. We all face a challenge ahead: scarcity of ‘diverse’ talent in the STEM/aviation workforce. More information can be found at www.aviationinfluence.org
About Signature Aviation
Signature Aviation is one of the world’s preeminent global aviation companies offering exceptional experiences and essential support services to business and private aviation customers. The company’s large-scale infrastructure footprint enables travel and is a critical global economic driver. Signature operates an industry-leading network of private aviation terminals, with over 200 locations covering key destinations in 27 countries across five continents. The United States is the company’s largest market with operations at 38 of the top 50 busiest airports. The company also offers over 12 million square feet of multi-use office and hangar real estate, providing unique network-wide benefits and advantages to customers who base their aircraft at a Signature location. For more information, please visit www.signatureaviation.com
CONTACT:
If interested in attending the event as a member of the media, please contact:
Lyndse Costabile | Media/PR | 904-860-1886 | lyndse@fundavconsulting.com