![99ers](https://www.athens.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022_AE_99s-2.jpg)
On April 9, Faith Hooper, an adjunct instructor for the new bachelors degree in Aerospace Systems Management (BS-ASM), met with members of the Alabama Chapter of the 99’s, a women’s aviation organization co-founded by Amelia Earhart in the 1930’s. Faith, a private pilot and aircraft owner, is also a member of the 99’s who seek to advance the role of women in the aviation industry. The occasion was the Annual Amelia Earhart Luncheon, with this year’s proceeds going for support of the Earhart Museum in Aitcheson, Kansas. This year’s speaker was Ms. Tanesha Ross, an employee of United Launch Alliance (ULA) in Decatur, the world’s largest rocket manufacturing plant. Tanesha is a member of a ULA Management group that met with Dr. Wayne McCain and Brandy Conway, our Senior Philanthropy Officer, recently to hear about the new degree and how it would benefit a wide range of ULA employees. The 99’s have several hundred members in Alabama alone and represent a significant movement in the aviation industry, many of whom are interested in advancing their careers with a four-year degree. Faith was accompanied to the meeting by Dr. McCain and his daughter Amelia. Amelia McCain is beginning her pilot’s license study and already has her own airplane! The picture shows Faith (3rd from the left), Tanesha (5th from left), and 99’s Chapter President Ramona Banks (3rd from right) among other members of Alabama’s 99’s Chapter. Ramona and several other 99’s are potential applicants for adjunct instruction help on the new BS-ASM program.