The Answers May Surprise You

By ANN Correspondents Rose Dorcey and Aleta Vinas

More than 2,500 women, and a surprising number of men, are attending the 16th Annual Women in Aviation Conference in Dallas this weekend. We asked a few brave (male) souls what brought them to the convention, and what it's like to be here.

"Several years ago, I came in kickin' and screamin'," said Charlie Cooper, an aviation author and retired Air National Guard Major General and Master Navigator. "I said, 'Me, do I look like a woman in aviation?' But over the years I have become very excited about this convention because of the tremendous talent, enthusiasm and variety of aviation backgrounds. I got so excited, that I even decided to join the organization."

Charlie said that the networking opportunities for women, and men, are wonderful at the conference and that he's seeing more men in attendance as the conference grows.

It's a trend Women in Aviation, International is well aware of. Amy Laboda, Editor in Chief of Aviation for Women magazine, said that 10-percent of the organization's nearly 7,000 members are male, and the number is slowly growing. "Men come to the conference because they get noticed by airline recruiters," she said. "Many of our scholarships are not necessarily gender specific. All that's required in many cases is to be a member of Women in Aviation, International."

While women make up the majority of membership and conference participants, men are welcomed and encouraged to join the organization. "It's not a cut-throat atmosphere here," Laboda said. "It's an atmosphere of support."

Dick Koenig, Vice President/Publisher of FLYING magazine, who serves as WAI treasurer, stressed at Thursday's WAI annual membership meeting that the organization is open to men and women. He encouraged men to join and support the organization and applauded those who attend the conference.

Here are some of the other responses we received as we strolled the conference.

Brett Black, USAF (above): "This is a minority type situation for me, so this is different. The general nature of women compared to men, you guys are much more supporting of each other in this career field. I think that's great. It's kind of a team building atmosphere, so I think it's real positive."

Orion McMahon, RJ Captain for Chautauqua Airlines: "It's different. I was a little nervous at first about coming here but everyone I spoke to have positive things to say. I'm here with a friend of mine, so I have female support if I need it."

Cody Prairie Falcon Air Force Academy retired from flying 2002. "Squawk."

Major David Eiland, Marine Corps: "In the capacity of what we do here, it doesn't matter to me. We're here to find young women and/or men that happen to be walking around too, that want to be Marine officers and particularly Marine Aviators. Not a lot of people know that the Marine Corp even has pilots much less has female pilots, so we're here to try to raise awareness."

Billy Floreal Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Alumni Relations: "It's great. This is my second WAI conference. Not only is it good to be just one of a few guys here but it's also good to see the positive attitudes that women have. What I learned when I was in Memphis last time (at the WAI conference) was the mentoring that happens. It's not like guys seek out other guys (to mentor). When I told some of my friends I was coming here, they said 'Oh, you're so lucky.'"

Dan Venverloh, Jr. (above), a Boeing employee and President of the Amelia Earhart Society, East (AES). He is at the conference to present a $2500 AES scholarship. The conference is his third: "I'm overwhelmed with seeing so many talented young ladies. You can just sense the electricity and energy of what they see and do here. Whenever I walk away from these conferences it makes me wish that I could fly, and it makes me realize that I can if I just follow through on it."

FMI www.writeflyers.com