Events

The Boise City Council this week unanimously approved a street name change to honor the work and legacy of Edward W. Stimpson, former Boise Airport commissioner and prominent aviation advocate, who passed away in November 2009.

South Ulm Street, which connects Gowen Road to the new Boise Airport control tower, will now be known as Ed Stimpson Way.

Mayor David H. Bieter credited Stimpson with a long list of achievements, including the airport's success in keeping key flight control functions in Boise. The mayor noted that even as he battled with a terminal illness, Stimpson worked tirelessly to win increased flexibility in airport bonding authority; voters statewide approved such a measure last November, a year after Stimpson's death.

"The aviation industry never had a better friend than Ed Stimpson, and neither did our city," Mayor Bieter said. "His accomplishments in the areas of public policy and economic development were many and profound. And the philanthropic support that Ed and his wife Dottie gave to such organizations as the Treasure Valley Family YMCA, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, City Club of Boise and the Idaho Human Rights Education Center will have a positive impact on our community for years to come.

"Ed Stimpson flew higher than anyone I know, and he taught all of us to look beyond the horizon."

Mayor Bieter appointed Stimpson to the Boise Airport Commission in 2005. At Tuesday night's city council meeting, fellow Commissioner Mike Pape called it appropriate that Stimpson's name will be on the street that leads to the tallest building in the state, the new Boise Airport tower.

For 25 years, Stimpson was president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), representing more than 50 companies involved in the manufacture of aircraft and component parts. During this time, he was instrumental in the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which alleviated the huge product liability costs that had depressed the industry. In 1996 he became Vice Chairman of GAMA and headed the "Be A Pilot" program, the largest effort ever undertaken to encourage more individuals to learn to fly.

Stimpson was appointed by President Clinton in July 1999 as the Representative of the United States of America on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). He served as ambassador to ICAO until December 2004.

He is a member of the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame, received the Federal Aviation Administration's Extraordinary Service Award and was the 1998 recipient of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, one of aviation's most prestigious awards.