18th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference Draws Largest Crowd Ever! :: AWE - Aviation and Women in Europe :: The main resource for aviation and women in Europe

Fresh from the press:
For Immediate Release 19th February 2007

18th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference Draws Largest Crowd Ever!

The 18th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference broke its own records for attendance, exhibitors and just plain fun February 15-17 at Walt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort. The conference had 3,200 participants and 49 excited scholarship winners by the end of its gala banquet ceremony Saturday night. Continental Airlines opted to hire more than just its scholarship winners, offering an additional 10 scholarship applicants pilot jobs, too. The final scholarship tally was a little more than $385,000. (The final listing of scholarship winners is included below.)

Speakers at the event included former astronaut and CEO of the Museum of Flight in Seattle Bonnie Dunbar; Virgin Galactic's Will Whitehorn; USAF Thunderbird pilot Maj. Nicole Malachowski; Jane Middleton, Finance Director, Rockwell Collins, UK; Capt. Betty Uhrig, Chief Pilot, Chevron Global Aviation; Lisa Piccione, Senior Vice President, National Business Aviation Association; and as the keynote banquet speaker, USN Rear Admiral Wendi Carpenter.

Inducted into the Women In Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame were Canadian Major Deanna Brasseur, American Iris Cummings Critchell and (posthumously) Frenchwoman Marie Marvingt. All cut paths and created opportunities for the women who followed them into aviation and aerospace careers.

If you missed this year’s conference, the 2008 Conference will be held at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, California, March 13-15, 2008. If you register now, you lock in your conference registration at this year’s rates.

Women in Aviation, International is a nonprofit 501(C)(3) organization dedicated to providing networking, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for men and women who are striving for challenging and fulfilling careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. For more information about the Conference and about WAI, contact WAI at 3647 State Route 503 South, West Alexandria, OH 45381, Phone (937) 839-4647; Fax (937) 839-4645 or through www.wai.org.

2007 WAI Scholarships and Winners

Women in Aviation International Management Award

Stephanie Vigilotti, Freehold, NJ

Chuck Yeager Foundation

Sharde’ Wilson, Fayetteville, GA, student at Hampton University

Women in Aviation International Achievement Awards

Kristine Joy Lewis, Kim, CO

Kimberlie Elizabeth Brown, Washougal, WA

R-W Foundation Scholarship

Virginia Anne Cloer, Los Angeles, CA

NEW HORIZONS SCHOLARSHIP

Christy Lynn Garvin, Powder Springs, GA

SPIRIT OF AVIATION SCHOLARSHIPSarah Spy, Sylvania, OH, student at Kent State University

WASHINGTON STATE CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIP

Kim Blair, South Colby, WA

RIDE THE SUN SCHOLARSHIP

Robin Mikols, student at Kansas State University

AIRLINE DISPATCHER FEDERATION AND AIRLINE GROUND SCHOOLS DISPATCHER SCHOLARSHIPS

ADF - Nicole Salvatore, Lancaster, NY

AGS - Chimgee Durdev, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

PRATT AND WHITNEY:

Holly Neal, Sebastopol, CA

Felicia Agubata, Lagos, Nigeria

Lindsay Allen, Anacortes, WA

Demetria Elosiebo, Memphis, TN, student at Middle Tennessee State University

Nicole Cagnolatti, Portland, OR

KEEP FLYING SCHOLARSHIP

Amy Labus-Olson

Kimberly Blair , South Colby, WA

Meredith Palen

Robin Lee

GAT WINGS TO THE FUTURE MANAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIP

Megan Elizabeth Donnolly, Port Clinton, OH, student at Ohio University

CAE SIMUFLITE SCHOLARSHIPS

Amanda Spangler, Independence, KS

WOMEN IN CORPORATE AVIATION

Lesli Conrood, Eatonville, WA

DASSAULT-FALCON CORPORATION SCHOLARSHIP

Rebekah Laurel Bennett of Vista, CA, student at San Diego Christian College

FLIGHTSAFETY FLIGHT ATTENDANT

Janessa Wadlington, Atlanta, GA

CESSNA AIRCRAFT CORPORATION

Citation Encore Type Rating

Miwa Aoki, Ellensberg, WA

“Earn a Private Pilot’s Certificate” Scholarship

Katherine Gray, Oxford, OH, student at Miami University

EXPRESSJET AIRLINES dba CONTINENTAL EXPRESS SCHOLARSHIP

Craig Johnson, St. Cloud State, St. Cloud, MN

Sabrina Weber, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

AIRBUS LEADERSHIP GRANT

Maria Weybrecht, Eastlake, OH

Yael Barr, Houston, TX, student at the University of Texas Medical Branch

AIRBUS A320 TYPE RATING:

Audrey Cole, Anchorage, AK

Bobbi Jo Losee, Fresno, CA

BOEING CAREER ENHANCEMENT SCHOLARSHIP

Allison J. Cook, Davidsonville, MD, student at St. Louis University – Parks College

Heidi Lynn DeHoogh, Farmington, MN

ELISHA HALL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Melissa Parikh, Liberty Township, OH

ICAO INTERNSHIP

Helen Umoh, Lagos, Nigeria

LOIS SHAFER SCHOLARSHIP

Sarah Roberta Dudeck, Columbus, OH student at The Ohio State University

KATHY K. HODGKINS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP – FLOAT PLANE TRAINING

Margaret Lent, Truckee, CA

WOMEN MILITARY AVIATORS

Julee Carver, Sellersburg, IN, student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Laurie Thyrre, Coral Gables, FL

Mona Lisa Gonzalez, Spring, TX

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES

12 Job Offers:

Laura Babar, Cranbury, NJ

Ronna Bush, Chicago, IL

Amy Steffens, Minneapolis, MN

Jill Willenbring, Circle Pines, MN

Cynde Barone, Chappaqua, NY

Molly Schirmer, Minneapolis, MN

Beth Hollar, Hoboken, NJ

Tiffanie Golde, Denver, CO

Rachel Bernacki, Lima, NY

Samantha Bonnell, Kingwood, TX

Amanda Tarbutton, Columbus, OH

Lauren Barra-Berzon, North Las Vegas, NV

DELTA AIRLINES and DELTA CONNECTION ACADEMY

Delta Engineering Kimberly Wright, Orlando, FL, student at University of Florida

Aircraft Maintenance Technician

Elizabeth Ann Frost, Corpus Christi, TX, student at Flour Bluff High School

Business/Maintenance Management

Stephanie Mendenhall, Omaha, NE

737-800 Type Rating: Anne Schroeder

737-800 Type Rating: Dawn Wanzer

DELTA CONNECTION ACADEMY

WINNER: Monica Marie Stafford, La Porte, TX, student at

San Jacinto College