Categories
General Meridian Teterboro

Meridian Attends NJ Hall of Fame Induction Dinner

The Meridian team attends the 47th Annual Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ.

We at Meridian are proud to support our friends at the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum. Last week, the organization held its 47th Annual Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ, the first time in three years due to the pandemic. This year, five inductees were admitted into the Hall of Fame: Dr. Eugene Richardson, Lt. Col. Edward Ballanco, Michael Castania, Dorothy Johanna Fulton (Slinn), and William Thomas Watkinson, Jr. For more information about these aviation pioneers, click here to read their bios in Horizons, the event program. http://ow.ly/XQ4r50LxMv2

Founded in 1972 and located at Teterboro Airport, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. The men and women, whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought world-wide recognition to the state, are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Categories
General Uncategorized

Meridian Honors New Jersey Aviators into Hall of Fame

Meridian shows its support for the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame at the 43rd Annual Induction Dinner.  The ceremony was held on September 27, 2016 at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ.
Meridian shows its support for the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame at the 43rd Annual Induction Dinner. The ceremony was held on September 27, 2016 at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ.

Wood-Ridge, NJ – On Tuesday, September 27, 2016, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey held its 43rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ. This tribute dinner honors local aviation pioneers and financially supports the hall of fame and museum, located on Fred Wehran Drive in Teterboro, NJ. It is one of the museum’s biggest fund raising events of the year.
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. Men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought worldwide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Meridian is a proud supporter of the museum, and representatives of the company enjoy attending the induction dinner every year. Ken Forester, Sr., who founded Meridian with Bob Hewitt back in 1946, was himself inducted into the hall of fame in 2008. His son and Meridian CEO, Ken Forester, Jr., was among those who attended the ceremony for the company.
This event recognized three individuals who are connected to New Jersey and who have each uniquely contributed to the advancement of human flight.
The 2016 NJ Hall of Fame Inductees were:
Robert J. Cenker (1948 –       )
Born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania Mr. Cenker has lived in East Windsor for the last 40 years. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers. He is an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, belongs to the Association of Space Explorers, and is a registered Professional Engineer. He is also a member of the engineering honorary society, Tau Beta Pi, and the aerospace engineering society Sigma Gamma Tau.
After receiving his MS from Penn State in 1973, Cenker was employed at RCA’s Astro Electronics Division in East Windsor. There he worked on the new field of commercial communications satellites, returned to college at Rutgers for his MS in Electrical Engineering, and became a manager in 1980. He held management positions overseeing the design of several satellites, the last being the Satcom Ku program, for which he was the Manager of Systems Engineering.
It was from this position that Cenker was selected by RCA and NASA to fly as an astronaut on the space shuttle Columbia for the launch/deployment of the Satcom Ku1 spacecraft on Space Shuttle Mission 61-C in 1986. During this flight, Mr. Cenker traveled over 2 million miles in 96 orbits and spent 146 hours in space. Cenker left RCA in 1990 and has since been consulting with various firms in the areas of spacecraft design, assembly, flight operations, and micro-gravity research.
Janine K. Iannarelli (1961 –       )
Born in Fair Lawn, Iannarelli graduated from Montclair State University in 1983 earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a major in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. Iannarelli joined Amstat Corporation in 1983 as an Account Executive/Market Researcher operating exclusively in the business aviation industry. In 1984, she joined Aerosmith/Penny, Inc., an international business aircraft dealer specializing corporate jet sales, where she became Vice President of Sales & Marketing. In 1997, Iannarelli founded Par Avion Ltd., an international jet brokerage and consultancy firm based in Houston with an office in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
With over 30 years of experience, Iannarelli is considered a pioneer among women in business aviation. She is a highly-regarded “industry icon” and business aviation advocate. Her extensive experience selling Dassault jets has earned her the nickname “The Falcon Lady.” The Fort Worth Business Press named Iannarelli a “Great Woman of Texas” in 2011. She appeared on the cover of the November/December 2013 issue of Aviation for Women Magazine. Iannarelli was named among four finalists for the 2015 Texas Business Woman of the Year Award by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas and a 2016 Woman on the Move by Texas Executive Women.
In 2014, Iannarelli was appointed to the Governor of Texas’s Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee and named presiding officer in 2016. She is a member of and volunteer with European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and Women in Aviation, International. She supports charities that benefit children and animals. As a sought-after speaker and mentor to youth and women’s organizations, she often shares insights on career development, entrepreneurship, and perseverance.
William McE. Miller, Jr. (1926 –       )
A longtime resident of Princeton, Miller was born in Iran to missionary parents. His abiding passion for aviation began early in childhood. At 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and became a Naval Aviator during the immediate post-war period. Miller flew Grumman F-4U Corsair fighters off the carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge and from the Naval Air Station in Willow Grove, PA.
After earning a Masters at Princeton Theological Seminary he was employed in international Christian missions’ work, as well as projects involving Australian Aboriginal art until 1967 when he was asked to lead a start-up aviation technology company named Aereon. Aereon was well-known in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s for its efforts to develop a commercially viable “Aerobody,” a trail-blazing, cargo-carrying hybrid of the rigid airship and the airplane. In 1973 a book by New Yorker magazine writer John McPhee, “The Deltoid Pumpkinseed,” popularized the company’s efforts to test small-scale models of the aerobody and put it into series production as the “DYNAIRSHIP.”
While under Miller’s multi-decade leadership, Aereon successfully pursued Project Tiger, the construction and flight testing of a piloted prototype aerobody, the Aereon 26. The company also developed the WASP (Wide Aperture Surveillance Platform), and conducted DynASTOL contract research on a military version of the aerobody for the defense department. In the 21st century, several large defense contractors announced aerobody projects of their own thus vindicating Miller’s long time dedication to the concept.
One of his alma maters, McCallie School, gave Miller its 50 years Distinguished Service Award in 1994.

Categories
Aircraft Management Detailing Executive Terminal (FBO) General Maintenance Private Air Charter

Meridian Honors New Jersey Aviators into Hall of Fame

The Meridian table at the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. (Standing left to right): Chris Battaglia, Anthony Banome, Emil Iannone, Kirk Stephen, and Mike Moore. (Seated left to right): John Langschultz, Ken Forester Sr., Ken Forester Jr., Susan Forester, and Dennis O'Connell.
The Meridian table at the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. (Standing left to right): Chris Battaglia, Anthony Banome, Emil Iannone, Kirk Stephen, and Mike Moore. (Seated left to right): John Langschultz, Ken Forester Sr., Ken Forester Jr., Susan Forester, and Dennis O’Connell.

Wood-Ridge, NJ – On Tuesday, September 29, 2015, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey held its 43rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ. This tribute dinner honors local aviation pioneers and financially supports the hall of fame and museum, located on Fred Wehran Drive in Teterboro, NJ. It is one of the museum’s biggest fund raising events of the year.
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. Men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought worldwide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Meridian is a proud supporter of the museum, and representatives of the company enjoy attending the induction dinner every year. Ken Forester, Sr., who founded Meridian with Bob Hewitt back in 1946, was himself inducted into the hall of fame in 2008. He was among those who attended on Tuesday evening.
This event recognized three individuals who are connected to New Jersey and who have each uniquely contributed to the advancement of human flight.
The 2015 NJ Hall of Fame Inductees were:
Capt. Janis K. Blackburn (Born 1948)
A longtime resident of Belmar, Blackburn began her flying career as a flight instructor and charter pilot. Her true goal was to work for the scheduled carriers. The time was the late 1960s and the major airlines were, by and large, not accepting applications from women for cockpit positions. Blackburn persisted in spite of repeated rejections and was finally hired by Princeton Airlines, a small NJ carrier. This was the beginning of a long and successful career with Summit Airlines, Sun Country, Eastern, Kiwi, and Spirit (from which she retired in 2013.) At virtually every carrier Blackburn was the first female in her position including becoming the first women to crew the A-300 in America and the first female captain at Kiwi. After flying her last trip with Spirit she began working as a consultant with the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, a position she holds today.
Throughout this period Blackburn served the aviation community in a myriad of other ways. Among the organizations that she contributed to, usually in leadership roles were the Ninety-Nines women’s flight organization, the Civil Air Patrol, the New Jersey Aviation Education Council, the Mooney Aircraft Pilots Association, the Air Line Pilots Association and the FAA Safety Counselor Program. She even travelled to Africa to participate in missions work in Kenya. Always interested in youth aviation education, Blackburn recently became an author with the publishing of her first children’s book, Teddy, The Airplane.
Still an active flight instructor with the Monmouth Area Flying Club Blackburn has logged over 22,000 piloting hours during her lifetime.
Henry M. Holden (Born 1939)
Making his home in Randolph, Holden is a prolific aviation historian and author. In 1994, Mr. Holden was honored in the United States Congressional Record for his work in recording the history of American women in aviation. He was the recipient of the Author’s Award from the New Jersey Institute of Technology for his book Her Mentor Was An Albatross – The Autobiography of Pioneer Pilot Harriet Quimby. In 1996 Holden launched the Women in Aviation Resource Center, an online repository of educational, historical, and networking resources for women interested in all aspects of aviation. In 2010 He was given the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of NJ’s Distinguished Service Award.
Holden is the author of over 1,000 magazine and newspaper articles appearing in national publications. Holden has also published 43 books, and is the founder of the DC-3/Dakota Association. His two volume history of the DC-3 is considered to be the definitive work on this legendary aircraft. Holden is a member of Women in Aviation International, AOPA, and EAA. He speaks at aviation events cross the country as a guest lecturer. His work has been the subject of a number of radio and television programs including one on the History Channel. Henry is a former News Editor East for Airport Journals and had been a monthly contributor.
A selection of aviation magazines that he has written for, includes: Private Pilot, Plane & Pilot, Airport Journals, Skylight, World Airnews, InFlight-USA, American Aviation Historical Society Journal, Women in Aviation, Woman Pilot, Airport Press, Aviation History, Vintage Airplane, Warbirds, and Sport Aviation Magazine.
General James E. Young (Born 1920)
Raised in Passaic and Nutley; Young joined the U.S. Army Air Force in January 1942, about a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Upon earning his wings he was initially assigned to flying B-24s and B-25s on 43 anti-submarine patrols off the East Coast. In January 1944 Young was re-assigned to Italy where he flew both B-24s and B-17s on combat missions that included four raids on the Ploesti Oil Fields. In June of that year Young was transferred to England where he went on to complete 34 more missions on B-17s, some of which involved supporting the D-Day invasion. During this time he was awarded both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
Upon release from active service at war’s end Young joined the NJ Air National Guard. He was recalled to active duty during both the Korean War and the Berlin Crisis in 1961-62. After returning to New Jersey he was promoted, in 1967, to Commander of the ANG 170th Military Airlift Group at McGuire AFB. He remained its Commander in 1977 when it became the 170th Air Refueling Group after transitioning from transport aircraft to KC-135 Jet Strato-Tankers. In 1979 Young was promoted to Brigadier General and became Assistant Adjutant General for Air, NJ Department of Defense. He retired from this position in 1980 after 39 years of service and 11,000 flying hours on 15 aircraft types.
During Young’s Air Force and Air National Guard career he was awarded a total of 18 medals and commendations.

Categories
General

Meridian Honors Inductees into NJ Aviation Hall of Fame

The Meridian table at the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. (l to r): Anthony Banome, Betsy Wines, Andrew Ladouceur, Jr., Andrew Ladouceur, John Langschultz, Ken Forester Sr., and Kirk Stephen.
The Meridian table at the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. (l to r): Anthony Banome, Betsy Wines, Andrew Ladouceur, Jr., Andrew Ladouceur, John Langschultz, Ken Forester Sr., and Kirk Stephen.

Wood-Ridge, NJ – On Tuesday, October 7, 2014, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey held its 42nd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ. This tribute dinner honors local aviation pioneers and financially supports the hall of fame and museum, located on Fred Wehran Drive in Teterboro, NJ. It is one of the museum’s biggest fund raising events of the year.
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. Men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought worldwide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Meridian is a proud supporter of the museum, and representatives of the company enjoy attending the induction dinner every year. Ken Forester, Sr., who founded Meridian with Bob Hewitt back in 1946, was himself inducted into the hall of fame in 2008. He was also in attendance on Tuesday evening.
This event recognized three individuals who are connected to New Jersey and who have each uniquely contributed to the advancement of human flight.
The NJ Hall of Fame 2014 Inductees were:
Maj. Joseph Crecca (Born 1940)
Born and raised in New Jersey, Crecca graduated from Bloomfield High School and went on to earn a B.S. degree from Newark College of Engineering in 1962. He entered the USAF in 1964 and began flight training. He finished Officer’s Training School as a Distinguished Military Graduate. After being certified as an F-4C Phantom Weapons Systems Officer, Crecca shipped out to Vietnam in July of 1966. In November of that year, after flying 87 combat missions, his aircraft was shot down over enemy territory by a Surface to Air missile. He was captured and spent the next six years and three months incarcerated by the North Vietnamese; including time spent in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” P.O.W. camp. After release in 1973 Crecca went through jet requalification in the T-38 and then became an F-4E pilot. For the next four years he was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where, in addition to flying, he held a number of leadership positions.
In 1978 Crecca left the Air Force to become a commercial pilot. He received a position at Flying Tigers and went on to fly the DC-8 and 747. In 1989 Flying Tigers was merged into Federal Express. At Federal Crecca flew MD-11’s as First Officer and Captain. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 for pilots he continued as a Flight Engineer on DC-10’s before retiring in 2005.
Medals awarded to Crecca include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, eight Air Medals, two Purple Hearts, the Prisoner of War Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of gallantry with Palm.
Cpt. Kenneth T. Ham (Born 1964)
Hailing from Plainfield, Ham graduated from the Naval Academy in 1987 with a degree in aerospace engineering. He later earned an M.S. in the same subject from the Naval Postgraduate program. After being commissioned an officer Ham was assigned to the NASA-JSC Zero-g flight research program at Ellington Field in Houston. In 1989 he became a Naval Aviator and reported to Florida’s NAS Cecil Field where he trained on F/A-18’s prior to joining the Privateers of VFA-132, and later the Gunslingers of VFA-105. He completed two carrier deployments involving combat missions over Northern Iraq and Bosnia. During this time Ham served as Air Wing Strike Leader. Following this posting he became a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and test flew the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.
In 1998 he was selected to be a NASA astronaut. Ham’s first spaceflight was aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission in 2008. He served as pilot and spent nearly two weeks in orbit, including a docking with the International Space Station (ISS). In 2010 Ham was Mission Commander of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-132 mission, also to the ISS. By the close of this mission Ham had logged a combined total of 24 days in space. After leaving NASA he became Chair of Aerospace Engineering at Annapolis, only recently departing to join a commercial spaceflight company.
Ham is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, and the Association of Space Explorers. He has logged over 6,000 hours piloting more than 40 aircraft types and has made more than 300 carrier landings.
Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer, Jr. (1918-2007)
A childhood resident of Orange, Zeamer was an Eagle Scout by age 13. In 1940 he graduated from M.I.T. with a degree in civil engineering. Already an Army reservist with an interest in aviation, Zeamer joined the active force in 1940 and graduated from flight school in 1941. Stationed in New Guinea at the time of Pearl Harbor Zeamer became a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot. By May 1943 he had already won two Silver Stars on combat flights.
On June 16th, 1943 Zeamer was in command of a B-17 photo-reconnaissance mission over Japanese-held Bougainville. On the return flight his aircraft was intercepted by an estimated 17 enemy fighters. In a 45-minute running battle he and his crew shot down at least five aircraft despite eight airmen, including Zeamer, being wounded. The B-17 was heavily damaged, losing both oxygen and hydraulic systems. Despite being severely injured, and drifting in and out of consciousness, he directed his crew to a safe landing at a base 580 miles away. For this action Zeamer was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor along with his bombardier, the one casualty of the mission.
After the war Zeamer earned a Masters degree in aeronautical engineering from M.I.T. and worked as an engineer for Pratt & Whitney, Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon before retiring in 1968. When he passed away in 2007 he was the last living USAAF Medal of Honor recipient.
In addition to the Medal and the Silver Stars Zeamer was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals.

Categories
General

Meridian Honors Aviation Pioneers at Hall of Fame Induction Dinner

NJAHOF Logo
Wood Ridge, NJ – On the evening of Tuesday, October 15, 2013, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey held its 41st Annual Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood Ridge, NJ. The event honored three aviation pioneers hailing from the Garden State. This year’s honored guests included: Timothy Chopp, founder of the Berlin Airlift Historical foundation; Neil Nederfield, nationally honored aviation maintenance safety expert; and Lt. Col. Thomas Robert Vaucher, WWII B-29 Superfortress commander. Meridian proudly supports the NJAHOF, which sent ten representatives from the company to the gala, including Kenneth Forester, Sr., who was inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008.

For more information about the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey, visit their website at www.njahof.org.

Categories
General

Meridian Congratulates NJAHOF Inductees

Meridian is well-represented at the NJAHOF Inductee Dinner held at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ.
From left to right: John Langschultz, Susan Forester, Ken Forester, Jr., Ken Forester, Sr., Dan Govatos, Sheila Carson, Mike Moore, Per Karlsson, Kirk Stephen

On the evening of Tuesday, October 9, 2012, the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame held its annual inductee dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the event was heavily attended by the Teterboro aviation community, as well as by members of the broader aviation community throughout the State of New Jersey. Ten Meridian colleagues were among dozens of other attendees who gathered in Wood-Ridge to support the honorees on this special occasion. In addition to the award presentations, the evening included a cocktail hour, a 3-course dinner, and a chance to catch-up with old friends and colleagues from the industry. Among the guests was Meridian founder, Ken Forester, Sr. In 2008, Mr. Forester was inducted into NJAHOF.
Meridian is proud to support this important organization and its mission, and congratulates the three newest inductees:
Susan M. Baer (1950 – )
Director of Aviation
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
Susan Baer of Montclair, NJ earned degrees at Barnard College and New York University and began her distinguished career with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in 1976 as an analyst. In the 1980s she became the first woman to manage the Lincoln Tunnel and, later, the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. In 1988, Baer joined the Port’s Aviation Department becoming General Manager of Aviation Customer and Marketing Services. By 1994 she was General Manager of La Guardia Airport, and during the next 13 years became the only person in Port Authority history to manage all three major NY and NJ airports including Newark Liberty and Kennedy International. In 2009, Baer was made Director of Aviation, the first woman to hold that position. As Director she is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of all five of the agency’s airports: Kennedy, Newark, La Guardia, Teterboro and Stuart, which together make up the world’s busiest airport system. Baer is active in the communities surrounding the airports she oversees, serving on the boards of Vaughn College and the Newark Museum. She is also on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Future Aviation Advisory Committee and the FAA’s NextGen Advisory Committee. Baer has been honored by, among others, the NJ AFL-CIO; the Newark International Airport Airline Managers Association; the Newark Regional Business Partnership; Barnard College, The YWCA, and the Boy Scouts.
Henry M. Rowan (1923 – )
New Jersey Business Aviation Advocate
Hailing from Ridgewood, Henry “Hank” Rowan’s lifelong involvement with aviation began in 1943 when he enlisted as a U.S. Army Air Force Cadet with a desire to learn to fly as a U.S.A.A.F. pilot during World War II. While the war ended before he was able to fly combat missions, Rowan was checked out on six aircraft including both the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress. After the war, he earned a degree in electrical engineering from M.I.T. where he graduated with honors. In the early 1950s Rowan designed and built his first induction furnace in his NJ home’s garage. He soon created Inductotherm Industries Inc. Today more than half of all induction melting systems in the world are Inductotherm furnaces, some of which are used in aerospace applications. Rowan was one of the first chief executives of a NJ company who saw the potential for business aviation. He built Inductotherm’s airport at the firm’s Rancocas headquarters. Later, when local opposition to the airport mounted, Rowan was personally able to save the facility from the threat of closure. By 1990 he was a Learjet-qualified pilot, and just two years later the company fleet had reached 10 aircraft. Rowan is perhaps best known for his 100 million dollar donation to Glassboro State College in 1992, the largest gift to a public college up to that time. In gratitude the school was renamed “Rowan University.”
Robert H. Widmer (1916 – 2011)
Famed Military Aircraft Designer
Born in Hawthorne, Widmer received his training to become an aircraft designer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Caltech. At Rensselaer he was named the best aeronautical engineer in his class after designing and building his own bi-plane as a thesis project. Widmer worked for Consolidated-Vultee (later Convair) during World War II and helped refine the airfoil for the most produced military aircraft in U.S. history, the legendary B-24 Liberator. After the war he went on to play a pivotal role in the design of the largest American Bomber ever flown, the eight-engined B-36 Peacemaker. Perhaps his greatest creation was the Convair B-58 Hustler, our nation’s first supersonic bomber, an aircraft capable of reaching twice the speed of sound and an altitude of over 75,000 feet. As Widmer’s career progressed, he was responsible for the design of the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Tomahawk cruise missile. Later, working for Lockheed and its corporate successor, Lockheed-Martin, he was instrumental in creating a number of still highly classified aircraft designs. During this period he was one of the few civilians working for national defense contractors who received federal protection for both he and his family. Among many honors Widmer earned during his over fifty year career were the Spirit of St. Louis Medal, the Reed Aeronautics Award, and induction into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame.