PRESS CONFERENCE SLATED TO RELEASE RESULTS OF CAF NAME CHANGE VOTE

Midland, Texas (Nov. 6, 2000) - Officials from the Confederate Air Force (CAF) will release the results of a vote by the general membership of the CAF to change the name of the organization at a press conference slated to take place 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, 2000, at CAF Headquarters in Midland, Texas.

The vote to change the organization's name was taken at the organization's general membership meeting held Oct. 6, 2000, at CAF Headquarters. Members also had the opportunity to vote by absentee ballot.

Following is the amendment that was voted on:

The Confederate Air Force Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The name of the organization "Confederate Air Force" shall continue until Jan. 1, 2002.
2. The General Staff will appoint a committee of seven members from the membership at large to review suggested new names for the organization and make a recommendation of four new names for the organization to the General Staff at the Summer Advisory Board conference to be held in July 2001.
3. The General Staff will place a referendum of these four names to be voted on by the members at the annual membership meeting to be held in October 2001.
4. From the four names submitted on the referendum to the membership, the name receiving the most votes will become the new name for the organization, effective Jan. 1, 2002."

According to the CAF Constitution, 75 percent of those members who voted must approve the amendment to change the name of the organization. As stated in the amendment, if the vote does pass, a new name for the organization would not be adopted until Jan. 1, 2002. Currently results are being tallied by the auditing firm of Elms Faris & Company of Midland and Odessa, Texas.

The proposed name change was first discussed in July 1999 at the CAF Summer Advisory Board Conference and again at the Wing Staff Conference in February 2000. Currently, many members are of the opinion that the name does not accurately reflect the primary objectives of the organization which are: 1) to restore, maintain, and fly World War II aircraft; 2) to maintain museum facilities for aircraft as a tribute to the thousands of men and women who built, serviced, and flew the planes; and 3) to perpetuate in the memory and the hearts of all Americans, the spirit in which these great planes were flown in the defense of this nation.

The CAF has over 9,000 members in 27 states and four countries and has retained its original name since its inception in 1957.

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