SANTA MARIA,
Calif. -- Sequester
cuts have impacted military outreach shows across
the country but including some air shows.
But locally,
the "Thunder Over the Valley" air show dedicated to the military and veterans is
still taking off.
The Santa Maria Air Show isn't until August but organizers here
have been scrambling around the clock to make sure it still happens.
Come rain or come sequester, the Santa Maria Air Show must go
on.
"The museum is going forth with the Air Show as planned," says CEO of
the Santa Maria Museum of Flight Mike Geddry.
But not
without some extra cost. Expenses formerly paid for by the military will be
passed onto Air Show organizers.
This year, because of the sequester the Santa Maria Air Show
will have to worry about paying temporary transit and fuel costs for the
military to attend, causing even more economic hardship on the show.
"We're like David and Goliath," says
Geddry. "We're competing against
military shows and large civilian shows just to get the air craft we need for
our show."
And those aircraft cost money. Money
that will have to come from private funds.
"We have to appeal to the public,"
says Geddry. "If everyone contributed one or two dollars, we could know
that whatever the military requires, we could meet that cost."
The air show is the third largest non-profit event in Santa Maria. Organizers say they can produce a $150,000
show on a budget of $85,000.
The air show brings in anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 attendees a year who fill up local hotels and
patron local businesses adding a boost to the local economy.
