Roger Messik, WestWind COO, receives a plaque from Irma Tuder, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors. (Click photo to enlarge)

Roger Messik, WestWind Chief Operating Officer (COO), said that the project is a unique public-private partnership.

“This unique public-private partnership is the first time the Port of Huntsville has partnered with a small business on a project like this. We are expecting that this project will bring numerous opportunities to this region,” he said.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle pointed to WestWind as an example of the strength of Huntsville.

“With events like this you see the vitality of this community and you see that in companies like WestWind,” Battle said.

The event also marked the creation of the company’s Alabama Wall of Honor, a tribute to Alabama’s soldiers who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. To celebrate the occasion, Mike Durant, author of Blackhawk Down and a owner of Huntsville-based Pinnacle Solutions, and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and former Vietnam Conflict prisoner of war (POW) Leo Thorsness spoke.

“We are here today because we have a passion for aviation. In my military career I had to rely on the type of work they are doing at Army Aviation and Missile Command and the Program Executive Office Aviation and their predecessor organizations. Soldiers can’t just rely on the government, they also rely on contractors like you,” Durant said.
Leo Thorsness ended the event by recollecting his time in Vietnam as a POW, including his account of a him and fellow soldiers stitching together an American flag from cloth, string and other materials. Thorsness said that contractors are a big part of effort.

“When you talk about those who serve, it takes a whole team to work, and you are a big part of that. You are American all the way."