Without the success of the air show, survival of the museum and its future growth would be in peril.
Sonoma County’s largest stage is about to unfold for the thousands of participants attending the Wings Over Wine Country Air Show 2015—and your business should be there, too—as a sponsor.The air show, which will take place September 26 and 27, is a signature event for the Pacific Coast Air Museum (PCAM) that includes more than two days of extreme aviation and patriotic symbolism. This is the event that’s sustained the museum and let it build the largest airplane collection on the North Coast, from San Francisco to Oregon and beyond. It’s also the event that will help the museum build its new home at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport.
Why is it so important to support the museum and its bid for a permanent facility? Because the museum has shown it’s capable of bringing visitors to our region throughout the year. PCAM has also become an educational tool for schools and youth organizations to teach students the importance of aviation history, of which Santa Rosa has played an integral part.
Ticket sales to the museum and to the air show barely help us get by. Without the success of the air show, survival of the museum and its future growth would be in peril. Without sponsors, the air show would be in peril.
Over the years, our requests for help from businesses and individuals have remained fairly constant. The growth of our President’s Club and our VIP section has let us provide a special flare for those who support us. We’ve also grown the general audience with the introduction of bleachers and a greater selection of vendors. But the biggest investment we’ve made for the event’s success is in the quality of the performers with whom we’ve contracted.
This year will see one of the greatest aviation spectacles to grace the skies of Wine Country. We have an international team of performers, including the famed Canadian Snowbirds, the equivalent to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. This is a world class air show, and your company can be on a world stage, too.
Traditionally, the air show has been the greatest opportunity to display patriotic pride in the past and future of U.S. aviation. Budget cuts affected many air shows around the country, including Wings Over Wine Country, but the show has gone on. We’ve seen a continued effort on the part of the U.S. Air Force to bring the F16 and C-17—extraordinary examples of today’s military—to a large audience.
For 2015, we’ve secured an amazing display of the U.S. Air Force’s Parachute Team. Additional stars of the sky can be found on the PCAM Air Show website, WingsOverWineCountry.org. We’ve created a front row seat for our sponsors and the public.
So what can we do to make this event even bigger and better for Northern California and Sonoma County in particular? We can promote those who’ve given this event a chance to compete on an international scale.
Our sponsors can invest at a variety of levels. Sponsors can plan to bring their staff, clients or family to enjoy the first-rate service provided under the VIP tent, which includes breakfast, lunch, beer, wine and soft drinks throughout the day. This tent and outdoor seating area provide one-on-one contact with the performers and their crews. It’s an opportunity that rarely comes along, but we make it happen in Sonoma County.
Our goal has been, and continues to be, finding the major sponsors that can have naming rights to the largest spectacle to take place in Sonoma County. In return, we’re prepared to design a sponsor package to meet your company’s needs, and we’ll promote your company alongside our museum for the duration of your commitment. The show will last for a weekend; the recognition will go on for the year and even longer.
We recognize that not every company can be a naming sponsor, but we welcome participation at all levels. Many of Sonoma County’s leading companies and community leaders have long supported our efforts. We ask that you join them by becoming a sponsor this year and into the future.
This is more than a weekend extravaganza. The air show and the museum can be a life-changing experience for the aviators of the future. The wonderment of what we do can be seen on the faces of youngsters who are having their first introduction to a machine that will take them closer to the heavens. That same wonderment that can be found on the face of a veteran, whose past includes an intimate connection with the machines we restore and preserve for future generations to see.
Roger Olson is Pacific Coast Air Museum’s business development director. For more information, contact rogerolson427@gmail.com or call (707) 396-3425.
