Former general to receive award

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard A. Burpee will be honored with the Wiley Post Spirit Award in recognition of his many aviation achievements.

Former Gov. George Nigh will serve as master of ceremonies, and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins will be keynote speaker.

The Pearl Carter-Scott Aviation Scholarship will be presented to a member of the Chickasaw Nation.

Burpee has flown more than 11,000 hours, including 336 combat missions in an F-4 aircraft in Vietnam. He was commander of the 15th Air Force division, served as the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served at the Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon.

"The Wiley Post Spirit Award was created to recognize an individual in aviation who best exemplifies the spirit of Wiley Post,” said Liz Lundin, executive director of the Wiley Post Commission. "In particular, we want to recognize someone dedicated to further advancing the field of aviation. Burpee fits these criteria perfectly.”