Scholarships, Grants and Awards

Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships		Each year, The Ninety-Nines award Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships and awards to qualified members for aviation education and flight training. Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships have been used for the completion of everything from multi-engine ratings to airline transport pilot certificates, jet type ratings, and college degrees. Future Woman Pilot Awards help student pilot members to complete their private pilot certification. Sometimes special awards are available, such as the Maule Tailwheel Training Award. Applications for the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships and Awards are on our website beginning each August, with a submission deadline at the end of the year. For detailed information and application forms, go to our main AEMSF page. Various 99s Chapters and Sections also offer their own additional scholarships for anything from learning to fly to advanced ratings.
Ninety-Nines Award of Merit		The Ninety-Nines Award of Merit recognizes individuals or organizations outside The Ninety-Nines who have made significant contributions to aviation, aviation education, science, aviation history or to The Ninety-Nines. The Aero Club of New England (ACONE) was organized on January 2, 1902, nearly two full years prior to the Wright Brothers flight at Kill Devil Hill. The Aero Club of New England is the oldest aeronautical club in existence in America and the second oldest in the world. The Aero Club of New England has championed aviation as both a career and an avocation. The club has awarded the prestigious Godfrey L. Cabot Award since 1952. This award, named for one of ACONE’s early presidents, is presented to individuals or teams that are first in their field and have changed the course of aviation and/or aerospace. A scholarship program was started in 1984 that awards scholarships to students throughout the New England states seeking a wide range of careers in aviation. Since the program’s inception, students have received over $240,000 in awards. These scholarships have also been expanded to include FAA-sponsored ACE (Aviation Career Education) camps. ACONE has also developed an active Safety Program with guest speakers discussing all areas of aviation safety.
Award of Inspiration		The Award of Inspiration is given by the Board of Directors to a member whose contributions to The Ninety-Nines should be an inspiration to us all. WOMEN IN AVIATION INTERNATIONAL, INC. Women In Aviation, International (WAI) was founded in 1990 as a conference by Dr. Peggy Chabrian. It was formally incorporated as an organization in 1994. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of women in all aviation career fields and interests. With 7,000-plus members, WAI provides year-round resources to assist women in aviation and to encourage young women to consider aviation as a career. WAI offers educational outreach programs to educators, aviation industry members and young people nationally and internationally and offers significant annual scholarships. To date, more than $5 million in scholarships has been awarded. In addition, WAI promotes public understanding of the accomplishments and contributions of women in aviation. It also publishes Aviation for Women, a bi-monthly magazine. Some of the positions held by WAI President Dr. Chabrian, a multi-engine pilot and flight instructor, include Academic Dean and Associate Vice President of Parks College, Dean of Academic Support for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Arizona campus, Director of the Center of Excellence for the Aviation/Space Education at ERAU’s Daytona Beach, Florida campus and Chair of the aviation department at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
President's Award		The President's Award honors those 99s who, in the estimation of the President, have gone above and beyond in their service to the organization in a given year. Sue Phillips was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and has lived in her hometown all of her life. She began studying education in 1966 at the University of Oklahoma. In 1970 Sue graduated from Oklahoma University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education.Her professional experience includes includes working with her family’s bookstore, being a sixth grade teacher as well as an advertising manager. Sue began working with Merrill Lynch in 1981 and has been handling the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund (AEMSF) brokerage account since the mid-1980s. When she came on board, the account had been languishing and there hadn’t been any real “management.” Sue stayed within the guidelines of the AEMSF Resolution but began a very close relationship with the Trustees. She typically attends the Trust Board meeting when they are in Oklahoma City and stays in close touch by telephone and email. With Sue’s guidance, the Fund reached the million-dollar mark. Because of the success with the AEMSF, the remaining Ninety-Nines Trusts made the decision to work with Sue on their brokerage accounts as well. Even though Merrill Lynch is an extremely large company, Sue is able to manage the investment funds for all four Ninety-Nines Trusts in a very personal manner. She cares deeply about the organization and the individuals with whom she works, and she knows that the financial solvency of the Trusts will help perpetuate the growth of the entire organization.
Katherine B. Wright Memorial Award		The Katherine B. Wright Memorial Trophy, honoring the sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright, is presented jointly by The Ninety-Nines and the National Aeronautic Association to a woman who has made a personal contribution to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation and space flight over an extended period of time. COLONEL CATHERINE A. CHILTON “With rigorous work in engineering, test, acquisition and policy, Colonel Catherine Chilton has made significant contributions to the advancement of air and space technology,” wrote Frank G. Klotz, Lieutenant General, USAF, in his nominating letter. “Every facet of Colonel Chilton’s career to date has enhanced the exploration and exploitation of air and space. She is the ideal example of a consummate Air Force officer who gives every endeavor her all.” Colonel Chilton has served the Air Force in a number of diverse capacities and currently serves as Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Capabilities Integration at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “Her unique blend of enthusiasm, strong technical ability, and congenial personality enables the success of subordinates, peers and family while furthering her own work in the advancement of air and space technological innovation,” wrote Klotz. The 2007 award is given in recognition of Colonel Chilton’s work as a United States Air Force officer, flight test engineer, test director and aeronautical engineer, and also in recognition of the crucial emotional, mental and public support she has provided her husband, the first astronaut to achieve the military rank of four-star General. General Chilton currently serves as Commander of the Air Force Space Command.