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Aviation Group

• The Mid-Ohio Valley Aviation Association meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the General Aviation Building. Yearly dues are $25.

• For more information on the association, contact Jim Bennon at 304-482-7161.

WILLIAMSTOWN - Several years after the Mid-Ohio Valley Aviation Association slipped out of existence, new and former members are bringing it back to the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport.

"The MOV Aviation Association is up and running again," association president Jim Bennon said. "Right now, there are about 50 paid members and I expect we will have 100 or more members by the end of the year,"

The association was founded in 1972 and had its ups and downs with membership and participation before it slowly disappeared in 2006. Bennon became interested in starting it up again because of his history with the airport - his father, Wallace Bennon, was a former manager of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport - then the Wood County Airport - and Jim Bennon had spent his childhood at the facility.

"This association is kind of a labor of love for me," Bennon said. "Like all organizations, it has cycled up and down and now is a period of rebuilding."

The group held its first meeting this summer and in September adopted a mission statement that states the organization was "formed to enhance the abilities and support the activities of general aviation in the Mid-Ohio Valley."

"We really plan to help Terry Moore (manager of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport) in a lot of ways," Bennon said. "The MOVAA wants to work in association with the airport management to help in whatever the airport needs."

The association's three top items to work on are to provide assistance to the airport to fix and update the aging fuel island and provide a comprehensive fuel program to members, a realistic and progressive maintenance program for the airport's hangars and an overall cleanup of the airport and facilities.

"With everyone working together, we will be able to accomplish our goals," Bennon said.

Moore said he is looking forward to working with the association in several ways, including to let area pilots and renters of hangar space know what is going on at the airport.

"In the past, I had several events that I could have gone to a meeting to let the pilots know what is going on, but there was no association I could go to and I don't have contact information for all of the pilots in the area," Moore said. "This restart of the association will make it a lot easier for me to keep pilots and others who use the airport informed of airport happenings."

Bennon said there has been interest in the association from people in Ravenswood, McConnellsville and Elizabeth along with other cities in the area.

"This isn't just a Wood County or Washington County organization; it's for the entire Mid-Ohio Valley," he said.

The association is also not open to pilots only, but to anyone with an interest in aviation.

"It is important for people to understand that this is an aviation association, not a pilots' association, and we are open to anyone who has an interest in aviation," Bennon said.

The organization meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the General Aviation Building. Yearly dues are $25.

The next meeting is Thursday and the speaker will be Karen Gebhart, executive vice president of communications for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

"She's a significant person to come and speak to us," Bennon said.

For more information on the association, contact Bennon at 304-482-7161.