RICHMOND, July 20—Carter Ryley Thomas has been selected to coordinate a national campaign celebrating the 100th anniversary of the world’s first powered flight. The firm will go to work for the congressionally mandated Centennial of Flight Commission and will work with a variety of agencies including NASA; the First Flight Centennial Commission; the First Flight Society; and the Smithsonian Institutions’ National Air and Space Museum.
 
Says CRT president Mark Raper, “This is a wonderful opportunity. We will be helping share this compelling story of innovation while capturing the imagination and inspiring future inventors.” The firm’s plan, he says, is to get as many organizations as possible involved, from airlines to fast food restaurants to schools in all 50 states.
 
“We were impressed by CRT’s thorough understanding of our goals for this anniversary celebration,” said Sherry Foster, executive director of the Centennial of Flight Commission. “Its research, its ideas and its presentation really showed the passion and strengths of CRT. Most importantly, we saw synergy with the entrepreneurial spirit of CRT’s employee-owned firm and our team at Centennial of Flight.”
 
The two-year campaign will culminate in a reenactment of the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight, using an identical replica of the plane, that will occur on December 17, 2003, in Kitty Hawk, N.C.