Search Begins For New President

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 03.04.09 1500 EST: The Experimental Aircraft Association has just announced the appointment of Tom Poberezny as chairman of the board. EAA founder and previous chairman of the board, Paul Poberezny, 87, officially stepped down as chairman earlier this month.

Tom Poberezny will continue with his current duties as president while also assuming the chairman's role, according to EAA... while also launching a 'leadership succession initiative' to search for a new President.

After joining the organization, the new EAA president will assume responsibility for day-to-day operations and will focus on enhancing membership value and growth. As chairman, Tom Poberezny will provide ongoing counsel to the organization while focusing specifically on building EAA's endowment fund to sustain future growth.

"It is my goal to responsibly secure the future of this organization and provide continuity of leadership," Tom Poberezny said. "I'm very proud of EAA’s accomplishments over the past half century. The organization is financially strong and ready to invest in its long-term future. I look forward to dedicating my experience and energies toward ensuring EAA's ongoing success."

Paul Poberezny (shown below, signing autographs at AirVenture 2006) founded EAA from his basement in 1953. In the nearly 56 years since, EAA has grown into one of the world's most engaged communities of aviation enthusiasts.

Founded with an emphasis on homebuilt aircraft, today the nearly 160,000 member-strong organization continues to advocate the rights of recreational pilots and experimental aircraft builders... while also becoming increasingly involved in issues pertaining to the larger GA segment as a whole, and even business aviation and aerospace.

FMI: www.eaa.org