Wilson Air Center to host Memphis celebration of local global aviator

MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- After 69 days and nearly 25,000 miles, local businessman Wei Chen will be making his triumphant return home after successfully becoming the first Chinese citizen to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engine plane.

Chen, CEO and founder of Sunshine Enterprises in Memphis, is extremely eager to be reunited with his wife Isabel and their three daughters, but his family isn't the only group to be greeting him home.

Chen's adopted hometown of Memphis is celebrating his return with a gathering at the Wilson Air center at the Memphis International Airport on July 29, 2011. They will welcome his touchdown at approximately 10:30 a.m. with a press conference to follow at 11:00 a.m.

The event will be catered by renowned Blake Carson of Carson Rotisseries and Memphis chef, Robert Hayes, who has been featured in twenty-six cookbooks as well as ABC, CBS and NBC. Fellow Memphian and owner of Cornerstone Cellars, Michael Dragutsky, is also sponsoring the event.

Notable guests to the celebration include Memphis Mayor AC Wharton and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell. Also in attendance will be Elgen M. Long, best known for being the first person to fly around the world over both poles in 1971 and David W. Jourdan, the founder of Nauticos and member of the Explorer's Club.

Chen departed from Memphis on May 22 of this year determined to fulfill his lifelong dream of piloting his plane, The Memphis Wei, around the world. Along the way he has visited over 40 cities in 29 countries. In each one he has touted Memphis, the city he now calls home.

SOURCE Wei Around the World