The Commemorative Air Force and the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center will host its annual evening of dinner and dance, The Victory Ball, on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Dallas Executive Airport. This year’s ball will feature live music by The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, a cocktail reception, and a VIP Meet & Greet. The evening will include a cocktail hour, a three-course dinner, an open bar, and plenty of time to dance the night away. Guests will enjoy the night in a re-created World War II era.

The Victory Ball aims to bring together community, industry, and trade leaders for a night of jazz and dancing. Ticket proceeds will benefit the educational programs of these organizations.

Featuring Special Guest, Tammie Jo Shults:

Tammie Jo Shults possessed an early interest in flying, but she faced various obstacles on her path to becoming a military pilot. Applying her lifelong trait of perseverance, she eventually became one of the first female F/A-18 Hornet pilots in the United States Navy. 

After concluding her Navy career, she became a pilot for Southwest Airlines. Tammie Jo’s incredible history and talent received wide acclaim on April 17, 2018, when she successfully landed a Southwest Boeing 737 after an engine exploded at high altitude, causing multiple system failures and a rapid depressurization. The successful landing of Flight 1380 in Philadelphia saved 148 total lives including passengers and crew, as detailed in her National Best Seller book, Nerves of Steel. 

Tammie Jo and her husband Dean live in Texas, and Dean also enjoys flying for Southwest Airlines. The couple has two adult children and are committed to living out their faith and serving in their community. They are active in their church and volunteer at a school focusing on at-risk youth. While Captain Shults retired from commercial flying in September 2020, she continues to dedicate herself to volunteer piloting and serves on various boards, including the first DOT Women’s In Aviation Advisory Board to the FAA, Pearl Harbor Aviation Board, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation Board. In addition, she has received a number of aviation awards, the latest being inducted into the International Aviation Hall of Fame.