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Reel Stuff film festival at risk in 2010
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By John Nolan,
Staff Writer
5:35 PM Tuesday, November 10, 2009
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The money crunch that prompted the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s board of trustees to terminate half of the organization’s professional staff may also make it impossible to bring back the annual Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation in 2010.
Robbie Robinson, the board’s chairman, and Janet Bednarek, a board member, said the Reel Stuff event is likely to happen in 2010 only if a sponsor steps forward to financially support it.
Even then, the event would occur later on in 2010, not as originally scheduled at the end of February, they said. The Dayton-based event, a showcase for aviation films, has existed for two years.
“If and when sponsors become available, we can schedule it for later in the year,” Bednarek said. “A lot of this is just the economy. Business aviation, which has been a big supporter of ours, has been hit very hard.”
NetJets, a company which caters to business aviation and has suffered with that industry’s financial slump, had sponsored the Reel Stuff event in 2009 but is unable to do so in 2010, Robinson said.
Last week, the board abruptly terminated the organization’s executive director, Ron Kaplan, and another full-time employee, and reduced the hours of two remaining paid employees, as part of a belt-tightening Robinson said was necessary to ensure that the nonprofit organization can continue to pay its bills.
“We’re going to miss Ron tremendously,” said Joe Ponte, a board member. “In losing Ron Kaplan, we have lost a very valuable asset to the National Aviation Hall of Fame who has served very professionally and effectively. As a result, there’s going to be an enormous hole to fill with his departure.”
The organization receives essentially rent-free space in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, and a staff of volunteers interact with the hall of fame’s visitors. But, the organization has to cover operating costs, including utility bills, even as it addresses fund-raising needs, Robinson said.
Robinson vowed that the all-volunteer board will keep the National Aviation Hall of Fame and its key commitments going, returning to the organization’s 1962 roots as a volunteer entity. That includes its hallmark annual July weekend events marking the induction of additional aviation pioneers into the hall of fame; the annual Wings of Women conference that brings young women together with prominent female aviators; the Combs Gates Award, given to recognize a project judged exemplary in promoting or preserving the nation’s aerospace heritage, and the A. Scott Crossfield aerospace education teacher of the year award.
The NAHF incurred extra expenses this year when it ramped up the July enshrinement event to honor visiting Apollo program astronauts and the 40th anniversary of the mission that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon.
Betty Darst, an NAHF board member who is a key organizer of the Wings of Women event and plans to continue with that work, said she is concerned that the volunteer board faces a major challenge in running the organization.
“I think this will be very difficult, but I feel the organization needs to survive,” Darst said Tuesday, Nov. 10. “I think it’s very important to our community, and to the aviation community, that it survive.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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