Arlington, VA, September 17, 1998 -- Thomas J.
McKee of Fairfax Station, Virginia, an aerospace industry
executive and former Air Force pilot, was elected president
of the 150,000-member Air Force Association during its National
Convention and Aerospace Technology Exposition, held in
Washington, D.C., September 14-16, 1998.
McKee had been serving as chairman of the board
of the Aerospace Education Foundation, AFA's educational
affiliate, and is a past president of the Foundation. He has
also served as an Under-40 National Director of the Air Force
Association, AFA National Secretary, chairman of both AFA's
Resolutions Committee and Industrial Associate Task Force, and
as a member of its Executive and Communications committees.
McKee is currently a member of AFA's Board of Directors.
At the grass-roots level, he has been an
active member of AFA's Iron Gate Chapter, located in New
York City, previously serving as Chapter Vice President,
President, and Chairman of the National Air Force Salute
Foundation, an organization set up by the chapter to
support Air Force-oriented charities, which has raised
and donated over $2 million since its inception.
Among his many awards, McKee has received New
York State AFA's Exceptional Service Citation, AFA's Exceptional
Service Award, and AFA's Presidential Citation. He has twice
been designated an AEF Doolittle Fellow in recognition of his
seven years as Chairman of the National Air Force Salute
Committee.
As an Air Force dependent, McKee traveled
extensively and was later commissioned into the United States
Air Force through Officer Training School. After earning his
pilot wings at Reese AFB, Texas, he served as a T-38 instructor
pilot and check pilot at Williams AFB, Arizona, and subsequently
transferred to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) where he flew the
A-7D Corsair II while assigned to Myrtle Beach AFB, South
Carolina. After seven years of service, he separated from the
Air Force and began a career in the defense industry.
McKee joined the Grumman Aerospace Corporation
in Bethpage, NY, as a customer requirements representative for
Air Force programs. He later became the director of Air Force
Requirements and was subsequently transferred to Grumman's
Washington Operations and elected a corporate vice president by
the board of directors. When Grumman Corporation was acquired by
Northrop in 1994, McKee became responsible for executive-branch
(defense and non-defense) customer relations for the Northrop
Grumman Corporation.
McKee earned a bachelor of arts degree in
political science from Southeast Missouri State University and
completed the Emerging Executives Program at Pennsylvania State
University in 1983.
In addition, McKee is a trustee on the following
boards: Air Force Memorial Foundation in Arlington, Virginia;
Falcon Foundation at the United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs; and the College of Aeronautics in New York
City. He is a Charter Sustaining Life Member of the Aerospace
Education Foundation and a Life Member of the Air Force
Association.
He is married to the former Patricia Rizzuto
from Midland Park, NJ, and they have three children, Michelle,
Catherine, and Thomas, Jr.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Stephen P. Aubin, (703) 247-5850
Director of Communications
e-mail: saubin@afa.org
