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2016 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 232
Commending Let's Fly Wisely.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 5, 2016
Agreed to by the Senate, February 11, 2016

 

WHEREAS, at Let’s Fly Wisely, an aviation event held on July 17, 2015, in Wise County, Flirtey, Inc., successfully conducted the first Federal Aviation Administration-approved research flights for medical package deliveries and demonstrated the powerful humanitarian benefits of unmanned aerial vehicle technology; and

WHEREAS, Let’s Fly Wisely was a pioneering cooperative partnership that brought together Flirtey, Inc., NASA Langley Research Center, Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, RX Partnership, The Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Health Wagon, Remote Area Medical, Ryan Media Lab (formally SEESPAN Inc.), Wise County, and Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise; and

WHEREAS, Let’s Fly Wisely demonstrated the power of collaboration between high-technology start-ups, government entities, universities, and nonprofit organizations to further the common good; as lessons of Let’s Fly Wisely disseminate throughout the country and the world, emergency delivery of essential medical supplies to citizens in need will improve for all people; and

WHEREAS, Senator Mark Warner and Governor Terence R. McAuliffe labeled the Let’s Fly Wisely event a “Kitty Hawk moment” that ushered in a favorable climate and modern ecosystem in the Commonwealth for business and technological innovation in unmanned aerial vehicle applications; and

WHEREAS, the Smithsonian Institution’s Air & Space Magazine reported on the event, stating, “amid the rolling hills of rural southwest Virginia, a bit of American aviation history was written last week at the Lonesome Pine Airport near Wise when a hefty, six-rotor UAV took to the air to deliver medicine to the annual Remote Area Medical Expedition at Wise County Fairgrounds … and made it the first official drone package delivery in this country”; and

WHEREAS, Ryan Media Lab (formally SEESPAN Inc.) conducted the first journalistic interview via drone—“dronalism”—in the United States, interviewing Governor Terence R. McAuliffe at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fairgrounds in Wise; and

WHEREAS, Let’s Fly Wisely marks the beginning of cooperative partnerships among institutions in Wise County and technology firms throughout the Commonwealth that have the capacity to transform the economy of southwestern Virginia into a hub of innovation and 21st-century business; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Let’s Fly Wisely for successfully demonstrating the humanitarian benefits of unmanned aerial vehicles in 2015; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the cofounder and chief executive officer of Flirtey, Inc., Matthew Sweeny; cofounder and chief operations officer of Flirtey, Inc., Tom Bass; advisory board member of Flirtey, Inc., Shyam Chidamber; director of NASA Langley Research Center, David E. Bowles; president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Timothy D. Sands; director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, Jon Greene; executive director of Health Wagon, Dr. Teresa Gardner; clinical director of Health Wagon, Paula Meade; executive director of RX Partnership, Amy Yarcich; The Appalachian College of Pharmacy adjunct associate professor of pharmacy, Dr. Shamly Abdelfattah; chief executive officer of Ryan Media Lab (formally SEESPAN Inc.), Mark A. Ryan and partner Kyle Mark Ryan; Remote Area Medical president, Stan Brock; manager of Lonesome Pine Airport, Jarrod Powers; and Wise County UAS event coordinator, Andrianah Kilgore.