Hundreds expected for 2025 GALA celebration honoring women in aviation
Tickets are still available for the event which will be held March 7 at Peter O. Knight Airport in Tampa.
The airfield at Peter O. Knight Airport near downtown Tampa will once again be transformed into the venue for this year’s annual GALA event celebrating women in aviation of the past, present and future.
The fundraising event recognizes Women’s History Month, as well as the anniversary of the world’s first all-woman airshow held at Peter O. Knight back in 1947. The money raised will provide scholarships for Tampa Bay area women pursuing careers in aviation.
The first GALA, which stands for Woman Achieving Leadership in Aviation, was held in 2022, marking the 75th anniversary of the historic airshow. One of the pilots who flew that day was Betty Skelton, known as the “First Lady of Firsts.” The Florida native earned her nickname in the air as the first Female Aerobatic Champion, on the ground driving a jet-powered car to 300 m.p.h., and even became the first woman to go through the same NASA training and physical testing as the Mercury 7 astronauts, earning her the nickname “No. 7 ½.” Skelton set 17 aviation and race car records, helping to pave the way for women in aviation, sports and business. Scholarships received at the GALA event are named in her honor.
This year’s keynote speaker and winner of the Jane Davis Doggett Spirit of Flight Award will be aviation legend Patty Wagstaff, the first woman to become the U.S. National Aerobatic Champion and one of only a few pilots in the world to win that title three times. Wagstaff will share her story and words of inspiration for females pursuing careers in aviation.
The 2025 GALA event will be held March 7, 2025, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. under the stars at Peter O. Knight Airport. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available through the Tampa Bay Aviation Association website. Tampa International Airport is a proud founding sponsor of the event.