State Assembly Honors Paul Poberezny

The State Assembly Thursday honored the life and public service of Paul Poberezny, the founder of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. Experimental Aircraft Association founder Paul Poberezny loved all things airplane — building, restoring, and flying the aircraft. Assemblyman Gordon Hintz represents Oshkosh. He says Poberezny’s name was synonymous with aviation, EAA and by extension with Oshkosh. The former military pilot, who died less than two months ago, started a club for recreational flying enthusiasts 60 years ago with just 35 people in Milwaukee. Poberezny moved the EAA to Oshkosh in 1983; the aviation club has grown to over 180,000 members in more than 100 countries. Poberezny’s son Tom told lawmakers his late father was neither a Democrat nor a Republican, just a life-long Wisconsinite. About half a million aviation enthusiasts from all corners of the state, across the nation, and 60 countries gather in east central Wisconsin for AirVenture, bringing an estimated $110 million in economic impact to Oshkosh-area counties each year.