posted 09-16-2003 10:06 AM               

The Columbia Shuttle Memorial Trust Steering Committee is chaired by Richard Gelfond, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of IMAX Corporation. Trust members include Academy Award-winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment who directed and produced, respectively, Apollo 13; former astronaut Frank Culbertson of SAIC; Alan Horn, President of Warner Brothers Entertainment; former astronaut Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, President and CEO of COSI; Norman Augustine, Chairman Emeritus of Lockheed Martin Corporation; former astronaut Dr. Guion "Guy" Bluford of the Aerospace Technology Group; General Jack Dailey, Director of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum; Elliot Pulham, President and CEO of the Space Foundation; former astronaut Charles Bolden of TechTrans International; Richard Edelman, President and CEO of public relations firm Edelman; and Shawn Smeallie, Executive Director of the Trust and Managing Director, American Continental Group. The Trust is also championed by former astronaut John Glenn and an ex officio membership of public officials including Sean O'Keefe, NASA Administrator, and several Members of Congress.

The Trust is planning to host an evening at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum on February 2, 2004 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Columbia Shuttle tragedy. Preliminary items on the agenda for this prestigious event include a reception followed by a ceremony in the IMAX theatre where an IMAX movie tribute to the Columbia (currently under development) will be shown. Notable guests President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney will likely join us at this affair and make comments to participants who will include top government officials, business officials and top NASA management, including Sean O'Keefe.

The Columbia Shuttle Memorial Trust will provide funds raised directly to the families and erect the proper memorials for the Columbia Shuttle in those communities critical to NASA's debris recovery effort. Monies may also be made available to Columbia Shuttle legacy programs.