Committee focuses on name for museum
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on August 16, 2012 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/TROY HERRING
Allan Pedersen looks on as Goldsboro Assistant City Manager Tasha Logan addresses the Air Force Museum Citizen Committee during a meeting Wednesday afternoon.
There weren't enough members of the Air Force Museum Citizen Committee on hand Wednesday afternoon to vote on it, but those who attended the meeting selected a name for the museum for public consideration.
Of 19 listed names on a large poster, Dan Murphy, a consultant joining by teleconference, singled out one: Seymour Johnson Air Power Museum.
That option, he said, wasn't getting discussed and he felt it was more intriguing than other options, including the "military aviation center" option.
The committee debated the influence of the word "museum" versus the word "center," but all the members voiced their desire for the name to be inclusive, striking out names that included "4th" or "Fighter."
That name also served that purpose, Murphy pointed out, offering much flexibility.
Tricia Cook, another consultant on teleconference, voiced her support for the name as well.
"Everything else pales in comparison," she said, adding that the name spoke to the future of aviation and the U.S. Air Force.
There were still echoes of another popular name, Aces and Heroes, but that talk was ultimately dismissed, as Murphy noted that to continue discussing when the committee had seemingly made a small choice could serve to convolute the committee's proposal.
The committee had originally expected to present three name options to the public, but determined to keep it to just one, although it was altered to The Air Power Museum at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base before the committee moved on to mission statement discussions.
Concerning the museum's written vision, there was little discussion of the sample provided by the consultants, except for a suggestion to remove verbiage that seemed to imply it would honor only airmen in the air, continuing the committee's concerns about inclusion of all wings and airmen stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base or who flew in the Eagle Squadron, which preceded the 4th Fighter Wing.
The mission statement and name options will be voted on at the next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 22, while several more meetings are planned tentatively for September and October. All meetings of the committee are open to the public.