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AKM founder Job Conger in center with blue shirt and members of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.
The August 25 ribbon cutting ceremony arranged following AeroKnow Museum’s becoming a member of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce led to two new projects that are now underway.
Left: Roger Blickensderfer, Springfield Airport Authority Director of Facilities and Maintenance, Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Springfield, Illinois USA poses with Job.
The first was the need for an entry-level way to support AKM and a way to elicit $5 from people inclined to contribute a saw buck in order to be on a new newsletter e-mail list as a “Lincoln Flyer.” On August 28, an insert for our color and our black & white brochures was created. The new brochure offers Lincoln Flyer status and continues to offer membership in Abe Lincoln’s Air Force for $15.
The second task was to create a guestbook in which visitors visiting the WELCOME Room ground floor office are invited to leave their name, city/state and e-mail address to receive updates from AKM. It was placed on the case August 31, and the first to sign it was my friend E. Vern Taylor of Springfield, who visited for the first time.
FIRST to sign the new AKM Guestbook: E. Vern Taylor — Springfield artist visiting AKM for the first time, and he took the complete tour! 🙂
Since I never verbally ask for donations from visitors, the inserts ask for me since all visitors receive the color brochure. Everyone who signs the AKM Guestbook is also invited to choose a free postcard from those displayed on the top of the glass display case, obvious to anyone entering the WELCOME Room.
Second to sign “The Book” was a US Navy student pilot who arrived in the front seat of a T-45 Goshawk trainer, accompanied by is instructor. 
To encourage more good people to visit AKM, I have announced that ONE of the first 10 people to sign the THE BOOK will receive an autographed copy of my book Springfield Aviation from Arcadia Publishing. On Sunday September 1, I asked Josh, one of the courteous and expert line service team at Horizon Aviation, the host FBO of AKM to write a number between one and 10 on a piece of Springfield Air Rendezvous note paper, to not let me see the number, and to place it, folded into a clean Lindsay’s Olives jar I had brought from home for this occasion.
Josh — Horizon Aviation line service person extraordinaire, sworn to secrecy regarding the number in the olive jar. .
As he watched, I sealed the jar lid with strips of Tamiya yellow modeling masking tape, and returned with it to the WELCOME Room for another picture.
the JAR
When the tenth person signs the guestbook, I will reward that tenth person with one-each of all the new AeroKnow Museum postcards. We will then open the sealed olive jar to learn what person receives the copy of Springfield Aviation.
Stay tuned, world.
Later this week, I will share the text of the new brochure insert and what we mean with the insert’s message: “Serving P.I.E. from the SKY — Preserving, Inspiring, Educating.
Thanks for reading this post. Happy Labor Day.
Abe Lincoln's Air Force 