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CLEVELAND, Ohio — A driving force behind one of Cleveland’s most beloved and magnificent traditions has just received one of aviation’s highest honors. Kim Dell, executive director of the Cleveland National Air Show, has been awarded the 2025 Katharine Wright Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association. The award, which is presented annually, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of aviation and space flight — or have helped others succeed in doing so — over an extended period. “I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive the Katharine Wright Trophy,” Dell said in a statement. “I will be forever grateful to Chuck Newcomb, who gave me the opportunity to join his team in 1992. This award would not be possible without the years of support I’ve received from my family, friends, board of trustees, staff, volunteers, performers and our amazing Air Show fans.” Under Dell’s leadership, the Cleveland National Air Show has continued to soar as one of the city’s hallmark summer events — a breathtaking Labor Day weekend spectacle that has inspired generations of aviation fans along the Lake Erie shoreline. Unlike other annual events, the air show has experienced a beneficial generational shift over the last several years, which is good news for one of the region’s largest annual tourism draws. Dell has worked in the air show industry for more than 30 years, helping produce over 50 aviation-related events in cities including Cleveland, Atlantic City, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Denver and Miami. In 2015, she became the first female executive director of the Cleveland National Air Show. Del’s impact has been recognized throughout the industry. She has received multiple marketing awards from the International Council of Air Shows and was the inaugural recipient of the Women in Air Shows Award, honoring women who elevate the field as a professional career path. A Baldwin Wallace graduate in speech communications and business/marketing, Dell also received the BW Alumni Merit Award. The Katharine Wright Trophy, established in 1981 by Gates Learjet Corporation in partnership with the Ninety-Nines, International Organization of Women Pilots, is named for Orville and Wilbur Wright’s sister, Katharine — whose financial, emotional and public support helped make her brothers’ pioneering flight possible.
