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 THE WINGS CLUB FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES BILL FRANKE AS ITS 2022 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT

**To Be Presented at the 80th Awards Gala in October** The Wings Club Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce that Bill Franke, Managing Partner, Indigo Partners LLC, will be the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Award. Acknowledging Mr. Franke’s outstanding accomplishments in the field of aviation, The Wings Club Foundation will present this award on Oct. 28, 2022, at the 80th Annual Awards Gala to be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York.

During Mr. Franke’s business career, he has been the Chief Executive Officer of an Industrialn Fortune 500 forest products company, Chairman of a large regional bank, Chairman of a large U.S. convenience store company; and, from 1993 to August 2001, Chief Executive Officer of America West Airlines (now integrated into American Airlines).

Mr. Franke served as the founding Chairman of Airplanes Group, Ltd., a $5 billion aircraft finance vehicle created from the aircraft portfolio of GPA Group plc., the Irish aircraft leasing company. Mr. Franke was the founding Chairman of Tiger Airways (Singapore), served as Chairman of Spirit Airlines (U.S.), serves as Chairman of Wizz Air (Hungary), Frontier Airlines (U.S.), JetSMART Airlines (Chile and Argentina), Lynx Air (Canada), and APiJET an airline flight management software company. He is a director of Volaris (Mexico), and an advisor to Cebu Pacific Airlines (Philippines). He has served on and chaired several public company boards of directors in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. 

Mr. Franke was born in Texas and raised in Latin America. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University and honorary PhDs from Northern Arizona University and the University of Montana. His family includes his wife Carolyn, their five children, and nine grandchildren. The family are major financial supporters of education, including gifts to Northern Arizona University, the University of Montana, the University of Arizona, the Mayo Clinic Medical School of Arizona and Stanford University and Law School.

 The Wings Club’s Distinguished Achievement Award has been presented annually since 1975. Notable past recipients include Neil Armstrong, Senator John Glenn, President George H. W. Bush, Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, Steven Udvar-Hazy, T. Allan McArtor, W. James McNerney, Jr., Tom Enders and Phebe N. Novakovic as well as present and former airline CEOs, including Doug Parker, Robert Crandall, Herbert Kelleher, Gordon Bethune, Sir Colin Marshall, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Sir Richard Branson, Dave Barger, Gary Kelly, and Willie Walsh. 

The Wings Club Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Its mission is to focus on initiatives aimed at supporting scholarships for students who will pursue a career in aviation or aerospace, providing programs to educate in the field of aviation, and supporting charitable organizations that use aviation to help those in need. The Wings Club Foundation comprises more than 1,000 members including industry leaders, pilots, professionals in related service organizations, and students of aviation. 

Recognizing significant achievements that contribute to the advancement of aviation and aeronautics, The Wings Club Foundation presents not only the Distinguished Achievement Award, but also the Outstanding Aviator Award and the Distinguished Scholar Awards. For more information on The Wings Club Foundation, visit www.wingsclub.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.