Make Your Voice Heard!

July 31, 2007
I just received good news from AMTA director and AMTSociety board member Ken MacTiernan. He shares that we are closer than ever to getting a national AMT Day resolution passed by the U.S. Congress. House Resolution #444 goes before the Transportation & Infrastructure committee on Thursday, August 2 for a vote. When passed, it will go on to the House floor for a final vote. We still need to pull together and contact our U.S. representative and urge them to support HR 444 when it comes up for a vote. I just did. I wrote a letter to my representative Tammy Baldwin. Here is what it said: 31 August, 2007 The Honorable Tammy Baldwin 2446 Rayburn Building Representative Baldwin, I am writing once again to ask for your support of HR 444 -- a resolution that is sponsored by Representative Bob Filner of California that will declare May 24 of each year as Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Day. May 24 is the birth date of Charles E. Taylor, the unsung hero in aviation who designed and built the engine for the Wright Brothers that powered the Wright Flyer into the history books. Taylor is recognized as the first aircraft mechanic. Like Charles Taylor in his day, today’s aircraft maintenance professionals are hard working men and women who ensure the airworthiness of our civil aircraft fleet. I had contacted you a few weeks back asking you to sign on as a co-sponsor to HR 444. I have heard that the resolution is moving forward. It is on the calendar for an August 2 vote in the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. When passed, it will be scheduled for a vote on the House floor. Even though you did not sign on as a co-sponsor the resolution, I am asking for your support when the resolution comes up for a vote on the House floor. Wisconsin has deep ties in aviation. It is home to the Experimental Aircraft Association which hosts the world’s largest fly-in at Oshkosh, WI each summer, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and billions of dollars in revenue for our state. Wisconsin is also home to Midwest Airlines and Air Wisconsin. Aircraft Maintenance Technology, the magazine I oversee, is based in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. It is the only aircraft maintenance magazine approved by both the FAA and Transport Canada for recurrency training. I ask you to support HR 444 by voting "Yes" when the resolution comes up for a vote on the house floor. You can help give aircraft maintenance professionals in the United States and its territories the recognition they have long deserved. Thank you, Joe Escobar FAA certified Airframe & Powerplant mechanic/IA #3019874 900 Van Buren St. Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 I encourage you to write a similar letter to your representative. Make it short and to the point. It should be personal in nature, expressing why you are asking for his or her support for the resolution. To contact your representative, or to look up who your representative is, go to www.house.gov. Let your voice be heard! Take a few moments to write your representative and ask for his or her support of HR #444. Thanks for reading. Joe Escobar