NEWS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
CONTACT:
Melissa George Bowman
Director, Marketing & Communications
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce
www.montgomerychamber.com
mbowman@montgomerychamber.com
Office: 334-230-8300 ● Cell: 334-207-3197
April 11, 2016
Top Air Force officials join Montgomery leaders for presentation of Altus Award National award for outstanding support of Air Force makes it official – Montgomery really can claim bragging rights as “Best Hometown in the Air Force!”
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – When the Montgomery Chamber recruited the Wright Brothers in 1910 to locate a school of powered flight on land that would become Maxwell Air Force Base, a long-lasting relationship between the Montgomery community and the men and women of Maxwell-Gunter began.
Tonight, top Air Force leaders joined elected and business leadership of the region to celebrate that relationship with presentation of the prestigious Altus Award. The Altus Trophy, also known as the Air Education and Training Command Community Support Award, is presented annually by the Altus, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce to a community judged to have shown the most outstanding support to an AETC base. Maxwell and Air University fall under the command of Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson, AETC commander, who personally travelled to Montgomery for the presentation.
“All the communities surrounding our bases provide stellar support to our Airmen,” Roberson said. “In earning this year’s Altus Trophy, the people of Montgomery deserve our deepest appreciation. I, along with the Airmen and families at Maxwell, am thankful for all the people of Montgomery do for us every day in helping us carry out our mission to recruit, train and educate America’s Airmen.”
Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange was honored to accept the award on behalf of the community. “We’re incredibly humbled to receive this distinction, but we are even more humbled by the service and sacrifice of the Airmen who call or have called Montgomery and the River Region home.” Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean Sr. agreed. “From launching the Montgomery Internet Exchange to building parks and volunteering in our schools, our Air Force men and women work throughout Montgomery giving back in so many ways. Our support of them is out of gratitude and appreciation for their service and friendship,” said Dean.
Montgomery Chamber Chairman A. Bruce Crawford noted that while the economic impact of Maxwell-Gunter is critical to the regional economy, the value of the partnerships and the quality of life improvements that service men and women bring to the River Region is immeasurable. “They are the friends and neighbors we are proud to have living in our communities, and we are honored to support them in every way we can,” said Crawford.
Other finalists for the 2015 Altus Trophy included Little Rock, Arkansas, and Spokane, Washington. This is the first Altus Trophy awarded to Montgomery. Since the award’s inception in 2010, Altus trophies have been presented chronologically to San Angelo, Texas; Columbus, Mississippi; Wichita Falls, Texas; Del Rio, Texas; and Enid, Oklahoma.
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Committed to exceptional service, the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce works to improve the economic well-being of the business community and enhance the quality of life of the area through the creation and preservation of jobs.
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A special thank you to the Chamber’s Imagine a Greater Montgomery II Investors
LEGACY: City of Montgomery | Montgomery County Commission | Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC | Alabama Power Company | Regions Bank | The Colonial Company | Alabama Gas Corporation | Aronov Realty Management, Inc. | Baptist Health | Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc. | Hodges Warehouse + Logistics | Larry Puckett Chevrolet | SABIC
SUSTAINING: BBVA Compass | Advertiser Media Group | Alfa Insurance Companies | Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, PC | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama | Barrie and Laura Harmon | Information Transport Solutions, Inc. | Jackson Hospital & Clinic, Inc. | Jerry Kyser Builder | Merchant Capital Investments, a division of Stifel Nicolaus | Montgomery Industrial Development Board | Montgomery Water & Sewer Board | Rheem Water Heaters | ServisFirst Bank | Southeast Alabama Gas District | Stivers Ford Lincoln Mazda
