Welcome to CANADA’S AVIATION HALL OF FAME!

First of all let me say how honored I am to have been elected as Chairman of the Board of the Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

In accepting this position it is only appropriate for me to comment first on the tremendous job my predecessor, Vic Bennett, has done during his term of office.  We are now in sound financial shape, which is not what could have been said when he first took office; Vic’s personal drive and commitment has been key in us achieving this, in addition he has provided a vision as to how we could achieve even better financial stability in the future.  I was therefore very pleased when Vic agreed to accept the position of Vice Chairman of the board with specific responsibilities for the boards objective of pursuing further improvement in the long term financial stability of the organization.

In addition, I look forward to his wise council on many board matters as they arise; he will continue to be a valuable asset to the organization.  Thanks Vic for your past activities and future counsel.

I personally have been involved in this great aviation business for over 45 years, nearly 30 of these years being in Canada.  Having recently retired from full time employment has enabled me to consider ways in which I could help further the interest and profile of Aviation in Canada.  I believe that the Aviation Hall of Fame can become a key factor in enhancing the perspective of this great industry of ours, not only to the people currently involved in it but to the Canadian public at large.

One way in which I think we can do this is by broadening the appeal and spreading the message of the Hall of Fame to embrace more of the Canadian People as a whole, especially the young.

We have in Canada a rich aviation past that has significantly contributed to the technical and commercial growth of our great country, sadly however, this is not well understood or realized by the vast majority of Canadians that are not in aviation.

My view is that we not only have a rich aviation past, we also have a rich aviation present and potentially an even richer aviation future.  It will be one of my main goals, along with the rest of the board, to examine ways in which we can improve the perspective of Aviation in Canada and generate excitement about its future, especially with the young, by leveraging the great achievements of the Aviation Hall of Fame members, past, present and future.

We also have to find ways to demonstrate to the current Aviation industry as to the relevance of the Hall of Fame and how it could and should become part of the essential make up of Aviation in Canada. Sadly however it is not seen in that light by the vast majority of the current Aviation fraternity.  I would like to bet for instance that not many Senior Aviation Executives would even know the location of the Hall of Fame and even fewer will have ever visited it.  If, however, we can demonstrate to them, that we, as an organization, are not only committed to honoring the past achievements of Canadian Aviation but are also interested in helping to promote the future, they will, I believe, then see us in a different light and be more supportive of the organization as a whole; and we could, then, take a much more pro-active role in the development and promotion of Aviation in Canada.

I look forward to my term in office; we have a great Board of Directors and a small but dedicated and committed group of employees and volunteers that make sure that the day-to-day activities of the Hall are taken care of.  As always we, the Board, are there to make decisions that are in the best interest of you, our members and friends of the Hall; and as such I am always interested in hearing your views so don’t hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, observations, comments and suggestions.

Thank you for visiting our ‘virtual’ museum. Please bookmark this page for future updates.

John Holding, Chairman