On December 3, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Donald McDonald Hangar, Murfreesboro Municipal Airport, 1930 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN the EAA Chapter 419 Commemorative Award, “Universum Exploratum Est Magnum Opus … Semper Gratis” (For Your Greatest Achievement; the Exploration of Space … Our Unending Gratitude) will be presented to Hoot and Rhea by Robert Schwinghamer, Retired NASA Associate Director, Technical, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL.  We are hoping that this presentation to Hoot and Rhea will be a complete surprise.  Such an award has never before been given by EAA Chapter 419 and the accompanying Trophy is one of a kind, a two foot high wire frame working model of the Space Shuttle Launch configuration. 

The event is the annual Murfreesboro EAA Chapter419 Christmas Banquet.  Astronaut Dr. Rhea Seddon, M.D. will be this year’s keynote speaker.  Astronaut Dr. Seddon and Astronaut Hoot Gibson are married to each other and they and their children make their home in Murfreesboro, TN.  Preliminary events will include the presenting of the Murfreesboro Airport “Bum Of The Year” award to an unsuspecting candidate by Murfreesboro Mayor, Tommy Bragg.

NASA Associate Director Schwinghamer worked directly with Astronaut Hoot Gibson in the investigation of the Challenger accident.  Schwinghamer was hired by Rocket Scientist Wernher Von Braun in 1957 and has been involved in every NASA Space program from its inception.  Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Schwinghamer has been awarded about 12 US and 7 foreign patents relative to Materials and Processes essential in the Space program.  He was awarded the Presidential Rank Distinguished Executive by President George Bush in 1992.  In 1990 and again in 1992, he was named the top engineer in NASA and one of the top ten engineers in the Federal Government.  In 1997 and again in 1999 he received the highest honor NASA confers, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.  He is the proverbial Rocket Scientist! 

Astronaut Gibson was the Chief Pilot for the Shuttle Program flying a total of 5 Shuttle missions as Pilot of one and Commander of four.  Dr. Seddon flew on 3 different missions as a Mission Specialist performing many experiments.  Hoot Gibson is well known in the aviation industry as an Air Racing pilot and builder of record holding experimental aircraft.  He is a retired Navy Captain and Top Gun pilot and now serves the aviation industry as a nationally recognized expert witness.