In a joint meeting of the Chamber’s Economic Development and Military Affairs Councils held at Port San Antonio’s headquarters, members received an update on plans for the Kelly Field Learning Center and Airman Heritage Training Complex, a location set to honor the legacy of airmen in San Antonio and inspire future generations.
In partnership with Air Force and Space Force, Air Education and Training Command (AETC), the 16th Air Force, the Dee Howard Foundation, and Port San Antonio, the Heritage and Learning Center Foundation is currently raising capital and seeking partners to support aerospace and aviation education related initiatives through 2023 and aim to have two buildings up and running by 2025.
Throughout their presentation, both Jack Hebdon, Principal at Bakke Development Corp, and Douglas King, Executive Director at the Heritage and Learning Center Foundation, emphasized their intention to not reinvent the wheel and overshadow the great work other organizations are already accomplishing in this exciting space. Instead, they envision the Learning Center and Complex as a collaborative project to host partner businesses and organizations who look to celebrate and promote San Antonio’s rooted history in the aerospace industry. The learning center would serve as a venue to support STEM education and provide various programs and museum exhibits to educate youth on various opportunities in the aviation and aerospace industries.
The Airman Heritage Training Complex will be located at the Parade Ground at JBSA - Lackland and the Kelly Field Learning Center will be located across the runway from Port San Antonio’s Tech Port, which will ultimately be linked by shuttle, transporting visitors from JBSA-Lackland to Kelly Field at Port San Antonio, thereby connecting the two buildings and their underlying purposes. The Complex will be used by trainees and their families to understand the heritage and their bright future in the Air and Space Forces, while the Learning Center will focus on San Antonio’s history of commercial and military flight in San Antonio and will help to serve as a hub of education and community outreach efforts. With Port San Antonio continuing to grow and develop, the location is ideal to draw both native San Antonians and tourists.
The councils also heard from military partners and community leaders on initiatives in the Alamo Region in the coming few weeks and received updates on the 52nd annual Celebrate America’s Military events, along with key Chamber advocacy initiatives for 2023, including VIVA San Antonio, our advocacy day in Austin, and SA to DC.
For more information on participating in the Chamber’s Councils and Committees, visit www.sachamber.org/councils and for more details on the Heritage and Learning Center Foundation, visit their website here.