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John Horan, President of ASRC Aerospace; Cynthia Achorn, Chief Strategy Officer for ASRC Federal; Irma Tuder, Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Chair and ASI Founder; Ken Barnett, President of ASI; Mayor Tommy Battle; and Greg Einfalt, President of ASRC Research & Technology turn over dirt at ASI's groundbreaking cermony for its second building in CRP.

“ASI in many ways represents what is so unique about this community, the belief that anyone can envision and create a sustainable business that attracts great people. And when you hire people who feel invested into the company, they extend and develop that vision and take the company to even higher levels. I can say with great certainty that is the case with ASI, as evidenced by what we are doing here today,” said Irma Tuder, chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors and founder of ASI.

Tuder founded ASI 17 years ago as a federal contractor providing engineering and management support to the federal government. ASI was purchased by ASRC in 2007, making it part of nine subsidiaries.

Cynthia Achorn, former president of ASI and current Chief Strategy Officer for ASRC, spoke on behalf of ASRC.

“At ASI, I went from a PM to a director to a vice president to president and now I am a senior representative with ASRC. It just makes you imagine what all you can do with this company,” Achorn said. “We are committed to investing in Huntsville and committed to our employees.”

Ken Barnett, ASI president, said he was excited to begin construction on the new building and said he hopes to outgrow it just like the other building.

“I’m eager to start building,” Barnett said. “Thanks to the employees and the efforts you put forth. We wouldn’t be here without you. I ask that you continue to support our customers and our community.”

Mayor Tommy Battle congratulated the company on its growth.

“This really is an amazing day. You have done some great things over the years and are truly one of the companies that makes this community so great. In just 17 years you have built something that will go on for many more years,” Battle said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby

“MSIC is critically important to national security as they collect information on foreign missile threats and evaluate foreign missile systems,” said Shelby. “This facility will provide a safe, efficient and modern EOE complex to meet the specialized needs of the Foreign Military Exploitation team’s missile disassembly, research and testing operations.”

The MSIC EOE complex consists of seven stand alone facilities and two open storage facilities to support hazardous and non-hazardous operations and materiels. The explosive operations building, used for missile disassembly, has four work bays and explosion proof infrastructure. The open storage areas will allow for outside explosive storage of oversized foreign materiel with minimal hazards. Other buildings are workspace, conference room, and a communications processing center.

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According to Judy Ryals, President and CEO of the Bureau, “The new site includes streamlined navigation features and offers translation into eight foreign languages.” She adds “Travel in Madison County accounted for nearly $1 billion in economic impact during 2008, according to the Alabama Tourism Department, and we want our site to reflect the technology and cultural diversity of our community.”

In addition to the foreign translation feature, the website features new photos, graphics and video content previously not available online. Visitors will see either day or night photos depending on when they access the site. One click will allow them to switch between the day and night shots. Website exclusive e-postcards can be sent via e-mail from the site. The website will also be mobile enabled which will allow easy access from portable devices such as i-phones and BlackBerries.

Special packages offered by Madison and Huntsville hotels continue to be featured on the site as well as a calendar of events and the Bureau’s Passport program. The Passport, which is available exclusively in the Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center at 500 Church Street, offers discounts to area attractions.

According to Debi Garrison, coordinator of grants at Calhoun, the primary focus of the program is advanced manufacturing technology.

"The focus of this grant is to convert traditional courses in the college's Advanced Manufacturing Technology program into a web-based format," commented Garrison. "Once the project is complete, the courses will be offered in multiple formats to match the needs and schedules of our students."

The areas of instruction in the program include industrial safety, precision measurement, computer-aided design (CAD), fluid systems, introduction to thermal/electrical principles, introduction to computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), material and processes, and quality control concepts.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center was selected to host Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. The exibit is expected to have a major impact on both the state and local economies as thousands of tourists come to see the exibit.

“We’ve got a year to get ready, so we’re going to have some fun with it,” said Larry Capps, the Space & Rocket Center’s CEO. “I suspect you may see some of the Star Wars characters pop up at venues across the state and all around the Southeast promoting this,” he added.

At 12,000 square feet, it is the largest temporary exhibit in the Space Center’s history. It will fill the Center’s original museum building with costumes, models and props from all six movies in the Star Wars saga, along with many interactive exhibits, hands-on displays and laboratories where guests can conduct their own scientific experiments on magnetic levitation and experience augmented virtual reality. Even a replica of the Millennium Falcon cockpit will be a part of the exhibit, where guests can experience a multimedia presentation about making the jump to light speed.

Visitors will be able to see footage from the Star Wars saga and investigate the numerous parallels between technologies in the films and those in the real world. They will explore amazing prototypes in progress and learn about the engineers and designers who are creating new technologies. Throughout the exhibit, visitors will notice intriguing similarities between how scientists and filmmakers think.

“This is a major coup for us. We’ve wanted this exhibit here for several years and we’re delighted to be able to bring it to the Space & Rocket Center,” Capps said.

In fact, it’s a coup for all of Alabama. The Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit is expected to draw thousands of additional visitors, which could translate into a substantial increase in sales for area hotels, restaurants and other attractions. Space Center officials are teaming up with the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, the North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, and the Alabama Department of Tourism to maximize the potential benefit statewide as an effort to bring vacationing families to Alabama next summer.

“We also anticipate a lot of families will schedule their time at Space Camp around a visit just to see this exhibit,” said Holly Beach, the USSRC’s Vice President of Marketing. She added, “You’d be amazed at how many parents drive their children to our camp, drop them off, and then spend the week in Florida or somewhere else before coming back for graduation. This gives us a better chance to direct them to some of the other attractions in Alabama and keep them in Alabama a little longer.”