Holiday Letter

As the year draws to a close, we want to say THANK YOU – members, volunteers and professional staff – for everything you’ve done to help make 2009 another great year for AFA. We’ve enjoyed serving as your national leaders and working with you on so many successful events. And our participation in numerous state and chapter activities has been among the highlights of the year.

The Air Warfare Symposium and Gala in February in Orlando – with the new addition of our high school CyberPatriot competition – was a great way to start the year. Our industry partners helped make it our premier winter event.

The AFA year builds to the Convention and Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition in September, and this year we had the added excitement of our first time at the Gaylord National Convention Center. . Our slate of speakers was probably our largest yet, and we received a lot of positive feedback on both the Convention and Conference. The symposium sessions are a great professional development opportunity. Again this year, over six thousand people visited the Aerospace Technology Exposition, featuring expanded floor space where our exhibitors showed off cutting-edge aerospace technology.

The wreath laying ceremony and Memorial Service at the Air Force Memorial is a fitting tribute to Air Force Association comrades. It is a moving experience for everyone who attends. The towering Air Force Memorial is now a national landmark, and we take great pride in having a part in honoring our Airmen of every generation.

We closed out the year with our Global Warfare Symposium and Air Force Ball in Los Angeles in mid-November. This effort is always a great way to highlight some important Air Force topics on our nation’s West Coast.

The Air Force Association has been actively engaged in reaching out to the public in many ways including emails from the President, discussions on Capitol Hill, Mitchell Institute studies, media outreach, new social media activity and Air Power Advocates group. Along with the efforts at the grassroots, we are all working together to achieve our mission.

AFA has weathered the economic down turn, and we are already looking ahead to next year. It will be challenging for our Air Force with budget and economic constraints, and a rising threat environment across the globe. Thousands of our fantastic Airmen are in harm’s way in Southwest Asia. Our Air Force flew well over 100,000 air sorties in the region in the first 11 months of the year. The courage, dedication and sacrifice of our active duty, guard and reserve men and women in uniform, along with their civilian counterparts and industry partners, and all theirfamilies, are remarkable. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers at this time of year, and reach out to our Airmen and their families in your communities so they know the depths of our appreciation.

You – the volunteers in the field and our professional staff in DC – are the reason for the Association’s success. Let’s continue to work to improve the quality of life of our nation’s Airmen and ensure that our Air Force is always ready.

We wish you a joyous holiday season, and a Happy New Year and look forward to even greater success in 2010.

Sincerely,

Joseph E. Sutter	James R. Lauducci	S. Sandford Schlitt
Chairman of the Board	Vice Chairman of the Board Field Operations	Vice Chairman of the Board Aerospace Education

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