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Hightower Speaks at Women in Aviation Conference

Rod Hightower addresses the Saturday morning general session of WAI Conference.
Photo by Bonnie Kratz


Rod Hightower's three daughters – (L-R) Hilary, Heidi, and Hannah– accompanied him to the conference.
Photo by Bonnie Kratz

March 12, 2012 – EAA President/CEO Rod Hightower spoke Saturday at the 23rd annual Women in Aviation International Conference. The conference theme was "Reaching Tomorrow Today" and, during the morning's general session, Rod shared the contributions EAA has made by introducing young women to aviation through Young Eagles and Women Soar You Soar. Of the 1.6 million Young Eagles flown, 30 percent are female, and 9 percent of the 18,800 former Young Eagles who are now certificated pilots are female. (Currently only 6 percent of certificated pilots are women.) Rod also formally invited Women in Aviation (WAI) members to join EAA and attend this summer's AirVenture, scheduled for July 23-29, 2012.

The annual WAI Conference was held in Dallas, Texas, on March 8-10, 2012, and boasted a new record for attendance with 3,350 participants representing all aspects and interests within the aviation community. New for this year's conference was "Bring Your Daughter to the Conference Day," held Saturday for girls 10-17 with activities designed to spark girls' interest in aviation careers. Three of Rod's four daughters - Hannah, Hilary, and Heidi - attended the conference with him on Saturday.

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