Far be it from me to lay claim as being some kind of aviation expert or the go-to guy when it comes to knowledge on the very rich history of aviation and aerospace in West Virginia. Despite sitting through probably more than a 100 Benedum Airport Authority meetings over the last 20 years and learning the lingo, my status would be considered “novice” at best.

 

With that in mind, I was a little perplexed by what North Central West Virginia Airport Director Rick Rock announced at the meeting early this month of the Authority – the airport’s governing body – as it related to the new West Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame. As those that follow this page know, the statewide Hall of Fame will be located in the terminal building of the airport.

 

The names Rock rattled off probably don’t come as a surprise to many. The first Hall of Fame class will include Chuck Yeager, Captain Jon McBride, Brig. Gen. James Kemp McLaughlin, Don Judy and Bill Pancake. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller was chosen as an honorary selection.

 

Who am I to argue with those selections? Even those names that don’t immediately ring a bell have something to do with the history of aviation in the state or nationally or even the creation of the Hall of Fame itself.

 

None of those names have me perplexed. What has me perplexed is a name that isn’t on the list. And that name is one Angelo C. Koukoulis whose fingerprints are not only all over the massive aerospace industry that is booming here in Bridgeport, but over the entire state’s aerospace and aviation sector.

 

Ask anyone in the state with long-time or even shorter ties to aviation and they know Angelo Koukoulis. And in the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that not only am I friend of Angelo and his family, but I also wrote a letter of support for him to be nominated for the first-ever class of the state’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

 

You want to know the coolest thing about Angelo Koukoulis – and there are plenty of things to choose from – as it relates to aviation? Here’s a man that earned his aircraft airframe and power plant certificate (a mechanic’s license) before he went to World War II (D-Day plus 12 days where he worked on P47 planes) and then got his inspection authorization in 1949. The inspection authorization has to be renewed and according to his son Chuck who has worked with an FAA inspector on determining this, he’s held that authorization longer than anyone in history. As of today, he still maintains it after 65 years.

 

There’s just so much more. If he wasn’t responsible for the first industry at what was then Benedum Airport with AeroMech, it was among the first. It spawned what today is a sprawling aerospace campus that includes a multitude of businesses – including his son Chuck’s KCI Aviation – that have a massive impact on the local economy. In fact, as part of the NCWV Airport’s recently released economic impact study, the airport has an impact of greater than $1 billion annually on this region’s economy.

 

While Koukoulis, who has even served as one of the country’s first Cessna dealers, isn’t responsible for all of that, he was on the ground floor when it started. How do you put a value on that? You probably can’t, but a Hall of Fame nomination certainly would have been nice.

 

Rock and several others were disappointed – and publicly said so – that Koukoulis wasn’t selected. I don’t know why he wasn’t chosen and it’s a moot point now. Maybe those involved didn’t think he was worthy and maybe those on the board had biases that were geographical in nature. Of course, as the above picks show, it’s hard to argue those that got in didn’t deserve to be there.

 

Still, it’s a shame. After all, it would have been nice to have a man from Bridgeport, entrenched in the community, whose initial work is still paying dividends to this day to be included in the first hall of fame in his own home town. And it’s not because he’s from Bridgeport that I believe he should have been in there, this novice believes he should be in there because he deserved it.

 

One final note: It’s been with great pleasure that I’ve watched a handful of municipalities statewide trying to earn Home Rule status. And it’s even with greater pleasure to see some seeking the ability hit residents with a sales tax. This isn't just picking on those cities who appeared Monday at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex for a state Home Rule Board hearing for cities seeking to be included; this is for all those who talked trash that are among the 20 seeking the 16 slots for Home Rule.

 

While the sales tax for some may be justified, that’s not my concern. As both a journalist and in my job as an engineer that had me traveling with and meeting with municipalities statewide – many who are in this most recent pool – the insults leveled at the City of Bridgeport in particular and even other cities that had Home Rule status were juvenile at best and simply ignorance at worst.

 

At least a dozen times I heard how Bridgeport or the other Home Rule cities were getting special treatment when those same cities didn’t take the time to apply for Home Rule status that was freely available for them. And even more times in regular encounters there was talk about how Bridgeport and others were doing it for taxation purposes and to create a sales tax (which isn’t part of Bridgeport’s Home Rule package). Whether you think that’s the case is of no concern, but I find it greatly satisfying that multiple cities that laid that claim at the feet of Bridgeport and the three other cities are asking the Home Rule Board for permission to add a sales tax to their own residents.

 

A word of advice in this social media age – someone is always listening and perhaps even recording. I’ll be a good middle-aged man and not mention any names.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Angelo Koukoulis, second from left, at the dedication of the terminal at what is now the North Central West Virginia Airport in 1968 with his arm around Sen. Jennings Randolph. The other dignitaries are not identified. In the middle photo, Koukoulis is on the campaign trail in Bridgeport with presidential candidate Hubert Humprhey in 1960, while the third photo involving Koukoulis shows him being interviewed at an unknown event at the airport. All photos provided by Chuck Koukoulis. Bottom photo, courtesy of WDTV, shows Monday's Home Rule meeting Bridgeport.