When asked about ongoing mediation, Trust President and CEO Elson Strahan echoed Bader’s assessment, but was unable to go into further detail due to a confidentiality clause.
Adapting to change
For Strahan and the Trust, the spring/summer of 2013 may be best remembered as the season of adaptability, as the organization found itself without a venue for its educational programs and aviation camps. Instead of canceling events, the Trust made the very business-like decision to adapt to a changing environment; to begin using a Trust-owned and operated hangar (located southeast of the museum) as a venue for its many programs.
The hanger, now known as the Pearson Field Education Center, was used for storage before getting cleaned and repurposed during the spring of 2012 for a new Clark County Skills Center aviation program organized by Leadership Clark County and several aviation-related businesses.
“Rolling into this year, we were able to further adapt the hanger with simulation labs and other resources we had utilized in the museum,” said Strahan. “It worked out extremely well and we were pleased that we didn’t have to cancel any of that programming because the aviation summer camps are very popular.
“We are a very entrepreneurial organization, so that mindset [of adaptability] is part of how we do business on a daily basis,” he added.
Community support
If there’s one thing that the Trust and Park Service don’t need mediation to agree on, it’s that the community continues to support educational programming.
According to Tracy Fortmann, superintendent of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, since reopening Pearson Air Museum (under NPS management) on February 27, the museum has recorded more than 10,000 visitors.
Laureano Mier, director of aviation education programs for Pearson Field Education Center, said that he has been humbled by the strength of volunteerism and community support that is happening at the airfield.
“The underlying force behind the success of our educational programming has been the tremendous support we’ve received from our volunteers and from the community, including our business sponsors and our partners,” said Mier. “It’s amazing considering everything we’ve been through and accomplished since February.”
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