MAZE: Aviation Day is back
Published 6:08 am Saturday, April 26, 2025
- Last year's Aviation Day was a big success. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
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One of the coolest events I got a chance to experience here in Selma is coming up this week.
Brent Maze is the publisher of The Selma Times-Journal. He can be reached at brent.maze@selmatimesjournal.com.
It’s Aviation Day at Craig Airport and Industrial Park. It is a partnership between them and Wallace Community College Selma to introduce students in the Black Belt to aviation careers.
Selma has a rich history of aviation at Craig Airport. The airport on the former military base was a hub of activity all the way up until the 1970s, when the federal government closed the base.
But I am thankful that the area found a new purpose for it. Historically, it was a training ground for the military. Now, it is a training ground for anyone who wants to enter the aviation field. They have organizations that teach everything from air traffic control to piloting. You can even train to be an aviation mechanic or a worker in other related fields.
“We’ve got the facilities — you see our beautiful hangar. Wallace has the organizational structure, and they’ve got the energy to set up all the tables,” Craig Airport and Industrial Authority executive director James Corrigan said last year. “We coordinated with recruiters, the military, the institutions, civil air patrol and Goodwyn Mills Cawood. All of these organizations that wanted to influence young men and women’s lives.”
WCCS President James Mitchell will see his final aviation day in his current role on May 1.
“This is an opportunity for these students,” Mitchell said last year. “We will offer an aviation pathways program. It is not going to just lock into one area of aviation. Students can go to air traffic control. They can go to avionics. They can go into aircraft mechanics. They can do drone certification. So it just opens up a whole new world for these students.”
It’s important to see Craig Airport and WCCS working together to attract more aviation workers. Hopefully, there will be some students who decide to pursue those good-paying jobs. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
I am thankful for every win we get, and I hope we get more wins through this great partnership.
Brent Maze is the publisher of The Selma Times-Journal. He can be reached at brent.maze@selmatimesjournal.com.
