Speaker, Nancy Royer is the Learning Center Director of WACO Air Museum and Aviation Learning Center.

After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Education, and graduated Salutatorian of her college class, Nancy taught in the public and private schools for 6 years before spending 17 years home educating her own children who are now 24, 22, 21 and 18. She was a co-founder and administrator of School on the Rock, a Miami Valley home education co-op, for 10 years. During this time, she also owned a home-based business of 17 years and worked with volunteers in our community.

Nancy has found WACO to be the perfect place to combine her education degree, her business experience, her adventurous spirit, and her familiarity with training volunteers, with her childhood love of flying. Having grown up with a father who was a pilot, Nancy began her flight training at age 15. Although she did not complete her training as a teen, she is once again working towards her private pilot certificate. She finds it invigorating to teach the history of WACO and the role it played in aviation while using aviation topics to challenge students in science, technology, engineering and math.

Nancy presented some updated 2015 statistics about WACO. There were 1232 on-site attendees to programs presented, 695 off-site attendees; over 7,000 instructional hours. WACO benefits from the support of over 110 volunteers sharing 1,338 hours of their time. Nancy brought a model of the lifesize theater where individuals can relax in a replica of the CG4A glider that was built in Troy to watch a 30 minute movie. The Fun With Flight program for Preschool and Elementary age students, 6 lessons developed by NASA. (Imagine preschoolers saying “viscosity,” “thrust,” “drag”!) is a huge success. Other projects are the Gliders, Hot Air Balloons, Kites, and the Airplanes

Nancy resides with her husband in Vandalia. She enjoys gardening, reading, hiking, biking traveling, and exploring new outdoor adventures.

The Troy Noon Optimist Club has been supporting the youth of Troy for 60 years. The club motto is “Bringing out the Best in Kids. A few of the service projects that the Club is involved in include sponsoring the Hometown Halloween Parade and Costume Contest, the Hometown Holiday Celebration, our own “Avenue of Flags” and the

Troy Noon Optimists Strawberry Festival Booth. Our “Avenue of Flags” program provides the majority of our funds to support our five scholarships awarded yearly to Troy graduates and allows us to continue our Troy Noon Optimists Oratorical Contest for Jr. and Sr. High students. It also gives us the ability to provide support for kids programs like The Lincoln Center, Girl Scouts, Destination Imagination, Sheriff’s Summer Youth Camp, Brukner Nature Center, Kids Read Now, and many others. It’s an honor to be a part of this enthusiastic group that is contributing to all the great things that make Troy one of America’s Best Communities!” For information about joining our Troy Optimist Club please contact any member and/or attend a Monday lunch meeting at the LA Piazza for lunch.

Nancy Royer holds a model simulator that is now on exhibit at WACO. She is pictured with Optimist Club President Jules Conner (left)