The First Flight Society has announced that Walter and Olive\nAnn Beech have been named the 2023 Honorees to be inducted into the Dr. Paul E.\nGarber First Flight Shrine located in the Museum and Visitors Center at the\nWright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This honor is selected annually by a high-level panel\nappointed by the First Flight Society, from among numerous nominations\nsubmitted from around the world as well as compiled lists of qualified\ncandidates. The induction ceremony will be held on Wright Brothers Day,\nDecember 17, 2023, with a celebration banquet held on December 16, 2023, in\nKitty Hawk. A portrait of the Beeches will be unveiled and presented at the\nceremony on December 17th, 2023, celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the\nWright Brothers First Flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 \u2013 November 29, 1950)\nwas an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the\nBeech Aircraft Company in 1932 with his wife, Olive Ann Beech, and a team of\nthree others. Olive Ann Mellor Beech (September 25, 1903 \u2013 July 6, 1993) was an\nAmerican aerospace businesswoman who was not only co-founder, but later\npresident, and chairwoman of the Beech Aircraft Corporation. She earned more\nawards, honorary appointments, and special citations than any other woman in\naviation history and was often referred to as the \u201cFirst Lady of Aviation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
William Douglas, Chairman of the First Flight Society\u2019s\nNational Advisory Committee, served as Chair of the Dr. Paul E. Garber Shrine\nSelection Panel and managed the selection process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honorees for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine are selected annually by a National Advisory Committee from a list of nominees submitted to the First Flight Society and public that is passed to the Committee for consideration. For 2024 the committee accepts a letter of nomination accompanied by supporting documentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n