Jeff Bergosh Blog: If Louisville Can Name Their Airport for Muhammad Ali--Pensacola Can Name our Airport for Chappie James!!

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I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following : Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

If Louisville Can Name Their Airport for Muhammad Ali--Pensacola Can Name our Airport for Chappie James!!

General Daniel R. "Chappie" James was an aviator. A fitting tribute to this great American would be for his hometown to name its airport in his honor---just as Muhammad Ali's hometown recently did for Muhammad Ali. The airport would be a much more apropos and prestigious honor than would be the naming a bridge for this hero!

General Daniel R. Chappie James deserves a great memorial in his hometown of Pensacola. There is no doubt about that and I believe this sentiment is universal in the community. So instead of tearing away the Beall family name from the replacement bridge that is currently under construction over Pensacola Bay (which would be the net effect of "re-naming" this structure for Chappie James)--It just seems to make a lot more sense to re-focus efforts aimed at re-naming the bridge toward naming Pensacola's airport for Chappie! There has been some noise out there that "this can't be done!" but I do not believe this is the case. If Louisville can name their airport for Muhammad Ali--then Pensacola ought to be able to name our airport for Chappie James. Doing this would truly be transformational and would be a great example of really BOLD, DECISIVE leadership. A recent article describes in detail just how Louisville did this over the course of a couple of years. If they can do it, why can't we? from the article:

"Muhammad Ali once said his "greatness came and started in Louisville."Now his name will be among the first things visitors and travelers see when they fly into his beloved hometown. City officials announced Wednesday that Louisville International Airport will be renamed after the boxer and humanitarian often called "the Greatest."The new name: Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport."Muhammad Ali belonged to the world, but he only had one hometown, and fortunately, that is our great city of Louisville," Mayor Greg Fischer said. "Muhammad became one of the most well-known people to ever walk the Earth and has left a legacy of humanitarianism and athleticism that has inspired billions of people."It is important that we, as a city, further champion The Champ's legacy," Fischer continued. "And the airport renaming is a wonderful next step."The Louisville Regional Airport Authority board approved Fischer's motion that the airport be renamed. But the SDF code will not change, officials said."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM LOUISVILLE HERE