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| copyright Aaron Lurth |
| Tom Poberezny and Craig Fuller give a thumbs up acknowledging the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both organizational leaders. (click for larger version) |
The leaders of EAA and AOPA — Tom Poberezny and Craig Fuller — met on Aeroshell Square at Oshkosh on Wednesday morning, under the nose of the huge A380, and signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding vowing to work together to advance the cause of general aviation. “We are extremely excited about this,” said Poberezny. “Our members expect us to work together to address the issues of concern to them.” Those issues, as spelled out in the MOU, are to protect GA, to promote safety, and to grow the GA community. As part of the agreement, AOPA will support EAA’s Young Eagles program and EAA will support AOPA’s GA Serves America project, and the two groups — which are the two largest GA member groups in the world — will collaborate on legislative and safety issues. “Tom and I enjoy working together,” Fuller said. “I’m a long-term member of EAA. … This is a very important coming-together.”
The two groups had unveiled their new agenda earlier this year, but Wednesday’s signing ceremony made it official. EAA said Poberezny will join Fuller at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Tampa, Fla., on November 5, and EAA will play a role in several forums and events. Also, the two groups will host a GA roundtable discussion with other industry stakeholders early in 2010, to “Protect and Grow General Aviation.”
