Current board members
Ray Chadwick, President, currently serving first three-year term Jan. 2024 through Jan. 2027.
Retired.
With over 35 years of business experience, Ray Chadwick has served in leadership positions in businesses ranging from small entrepreneurial enterprises to divisions of Fortune 100 companies with multiple plants and an international business scope.
Ray has been a member of the Board of Trinity High School for eight years, a Boy Scout Assistant Scoutmaster (including four years as Troop Committee Chairman), an advisor to the Planning Committee of the Moore Center, and a National Ski Patrol member since December 2005.
Since 2009, Ray has been a Board member, and Chairman from 2017 to 2025, of Granite State Taxpayers, a non-profit advocate for New Hampshire taxpayers.
Ray joined the Aviation Museum Board on Aug. 11, 2023.
Ray and his wife Kathy reside in Bedford, N.H. and have two sons. Ray’s hobbies include flying (Commercial certificate, 2,950 hours), music (drums) and downhill skiing. He has been on the Ski Patrol at Pats Peak in Henniker N.H. for 20 seasons.
Greg Michael, Vice President, currently serving one-year extension term Jan. 2027.
Affiliation: Bernstein Shur.
Gregory Michael is an ‘Of Counsel’ attorney with Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, PA in Manchester, N.H. After graduating from Suffolk University Law School in 1972 and admission to both the New Hampshire and Massachusetts bars, Greg entered active duty in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate at McGuire AFB, N.J. His principal duty was prosecuting and defending military courts-martial. Upon completing active duty, Greg remained in the Air Force reserve attached to Pease AFB.
Upon closure of Pease, Greg was selected as a military trial judge and in that capacity traveled to Air Force installations worldwide to preside over military Courts-Martial. In 2003 he retired as Chief Trial Judge (reserve) with the rank of Colonel.
As a civilian attorney Greg practiced in Merrimack and Manchester, N.H. and in 1986 was appointed a part time District Court judge and served until 2017 in both the District and Circuit Courts.
In 2020 Greg was appointed as the first attorney member and chair of the newly formed New Hampshire Housing Appeals Board. In that capacity he established the Board’s rules and procedures and authored the first 25 case opinions. He retired from the Board in 2022.
Greg is a commercially licensed instrument rated pilot holding single and multi-engine land and single engine sea ratings.
He lives in Bedford, N.H. with his wife Wendy.
Jay Carter, Treasurer, currently serving second three-year term Jan. 2025 through Jan. 2028.
Affiliation: IT Consultant
Jay D. Carter grew up in Rhode Island and began his aviation life at age 11 by filling his childhood living room with aircraft models he built. Vacation trips later in life invariably included a visit to at least one aviation museum. He is once and forever a student pilot.
His Information Technology career also began at age 11, when he emptied his savings account to buy a TRS-80 model III. The long progression through PCs and bulletin boards in the 1980s and ’90s eventually led to three decades (and counting) as a self-employed IT consultant serving small technology businesses and non-profits. He’s built and maintains the Museum’s several flight simulators and watches over its other IT systems.
An Amateur Radio operator (callsign KA1RVR), Jay is an active member of Amateur Radio Emergency Services. He lives in Epping, N.H. with his wife and two dogs.
Knans Beth Hayes, Secretary, currently serving one-year extension term through Jan. 2027.
Knans Beth Hayes has been on the board of directors at the Aviation Museum since 2020. She is a multi-engine instrument-rated pilot and retired educational sales and training professional, having supported the Smithsonian Science for the Classroom and the Full Option Science System during her career.
A lifelong aviation enthusiast, she mentors young learners in the Aviation Museum’s student plane-building partnership with the Manchester (N.H.) School of Technology and Tango Flight. Residing in Milford, N.H., with her spouse and their puppy, Sadie, Knans enjoys exploring New Hampshire on the marvelous trail systems, visiting museums, traveling, and embracing all things flight-related.
She also dedicates her time to volunteering with Honor Flight of New England and serving as a pen pal to home-bound veterans.
Robert Hough, member at large, currently serving second three-year term, Jan. 2024 through Jan. 2027.
Retired.
Bob Hough retired in June 2015 after working for 39 years in the Telecommunications Industry as a Quality Assurance Engineer and Consultant. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and a BA in Physics from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Penn.
Bob’s passion for aviation began when he was 10 years old, flying with his father. He has been flying for 46 years. He holds a Private Pilot License with Single Engine Land & Sea and Multi-Engine Land & Sea ratings with instrument airplane. He flies a 1943 Grumman Widgeon and a 2005 Vans Aircraft RV-8A.
In 2003 as part of the centennial of flight celebrations, Bob was selected by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) to represent the State of N.H. in the “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk” program, where he flew the N.H. flag to Kitty Hawk in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight. Also, for the centennial of flight, Bob built a 1903 Wright Flyer Simulator that toured local schools which enabled children the chance to experience “hands-on” flying of the very first aircraft.
Bob has been a volunteer at the Aviation Museum of NH since 2003 and served as board president for five years until December 2018. He continues on the board of directors as past president. In 2019, as part of his work with the museum, he introduced the Tango Flight aircraft build program to the Manchester School of Technology. Bob has also facilitated multiple fly-ins and EAA Young Eagle® events for the museum.
Bob and his partner of 35 years, Annette Ricci, live in Windham, N.H. They also spend considerable time during the winter at Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala, Fla.
Fred Kocher, member at large, currently serving first three-year term Jan. 2024 through Jan. 2027.
Affiliation: WMUR.
Current Producer/ Host, “NH’s Business” WMUR-TV; former President NH High Tech Council (now N.H. Tech Alliance); former President NH AARP; Founder “Politics & Eggs” NH Presidential Primary Forum; Co-Founder NH International Trade Center at Pease International Tradeport; Co-Founder NH Coalition for Business & Education; Co-Creator “NH Forum on the Future;” former Chair Downtown Concord Revitalization Committee; 2007 NH Business Leader of the Year by Business NH Magazine; 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from Business & Industry Association of N.H. Navy & Marine Corp veteran.
Tom Horgan, member at large, currently serving first three-year term Jan. 2025 through Jan. 2028.
Affiliation: Founder/President, Deinde, LLC.
Thomas R. Horgan has nearly four decades of leadership experience in higher education. He is the Founder and President of DEINDE Consulting, a strategic management consultancy that works with higher education institutions on executive searches and leadership advising.
From 1993 to 2017, Dr. Horgan served as President of the New Hampshire College & University Council (NHCUC), a statewide consortium comprised of public and private, higher education institutions. Upon his retirement, he was named president emeritus in recognition of his nearly quarter-century of service to the organization. The NHCUC leads collaborative initiatives in academic and student affairs, library services, and public policy.
After retiring from the NHCUC, Dr. Horgan served as Senior Advisor to the President of New England College from 2017 to 2020 and founded DEINDE Consulting. Dr. Horgan is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Morningside University, holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Nebraska, and earned a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from New England College. He and his wife Sue have five grown children and five granddaughters. They reside in Manchester, N.H.
Bob Di Meo, Past President, currently serving first three-year term Jan. 2026 through Jan. 2029.
Affiliation: Elbit Systems, Merrimack, N.H.
Bob Di Meo originally hails from Providence, R.I. After earning a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., he was employed for 34 years at the Digital Equipment Corp. in circuit and computer design, later specializing in the applications of computing in telecommunications.
Bob began flying in 1980 as a private pilot; he’s owned several aircraft, and built his own Van’s Aircraft RV-8, which he continues to fly. He later become a flight instructor and noted consultant to the home-built aircraft community.
In 2005, Bob landed his “dream job” with Kollsman Instrument Co. of Merrimack, N.H., where he organized a flight department to conduct testing for an advanced pilot vision system adopted by clients including FedEx and Gulfstream. He stayed with the company when it was acquired by Elbit Systems, Inc.; in 2017, he began managing the firm’s development of a night targeting system used in Cobra helicopters. He continues to work for Elbit on a consulting basis.
For the Aviation Museum of N.H., Bob served as president from 2020 to 2024; he currently serves as past president. Bob is also technical consultant and flight advisor for EAA Chapter 106 at Lawrence (Mass.) Municipal Airport, and for 25 years has played a mean saxophone as a member of the Bedford (N.H.) Big Band.
About the board
The Aviation Museum of N.H. and its parent organization, the N.H. Aviation Historical Society, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization governed by a board of directors. The board meets at noon on the second Friday of each month, and also holds an annual meeting each January for all Aviation Museum members. There are currently no formal subcommittees.
Board members serve three-year terms. Normally a board member’s service is limited to two terms, but exceptions can be made. The board’s duties, responsibilities, and procedures are spelled out in the Aviation Museum’s bylaws, which may be reviewed on this website by following the link below.
Minutes are taken of each meeting. They are typically reviewed by board members for accuracy and completeness, then amended/approved at a subsequent meeting. Minutes may be reviewed on this website by following the links below.
The public is invited to attend all board meetings with the exception of portions held in executive session, which is allowed by N.H. law to discuss personnel issues, contract negotiations, and several other topics where confidentiality is appropriate.
Board by-laws
The board is governed by a set of by-laws, last amended on April 10, 2020. The by-laws can be read and downloaded below.