Transforming a Community: Available at McNally Robinson

October 24, 2012

Last night Winnipeg Airports Authority, together with Heartland Associates, authors Tim Higgins and Laird Rankin, and special guests, celebrated the launch of Transforming a Community: from Airfield to Airport City at the Prairie Ink Restaurant at McNally Robinson.

The authors each took turns reading excerpts of the book to a crowd of aviation enthusiasts and history buffs.

The story of aviation in Winnipeg is a tale studded with firsts, beginning with Canada’s first commercial aviation company (founded by Winnipegger James Armstrong Richardson in 1926) and the nation’s first Customs Port of Entry, designated in 1930. Winnipeg is also the site of North America’s first post-9/11 airport - appropriately named Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport - which opened in October 2011.

The focus of Transforming a Community is mainly the new airport, with its state-of-the-art terminal, and the ‘airport city’ that is rapidly growing around it. However, the book also examines the creation of Winnipeg Airports Authority, which took over the management of the airport from the Government of Canada in 1997, and peeks into the future of commercial aviation in an airport located in the heart of North America and ideally positioned for continental and global trade.

Published by Heartland Associates, the book features many photos from years past and present day. You can purchase a hardcover copy of Transforming a Community for $39.95 (plus taxes) at McNally Robinson Booksellers at Grant Park Shopping Centre. Stay tuned for more locations where you can get your copy!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Laird Rankin
Apart from seven years with the Hudson’s Bay Company’s head office in Winnipeg, Laird Rankin spent his working life in the non-profit sector, first with the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, then with the Alumni Association of the University of Manitoba (where he edited its quarterly Alumni Journal) and finally, as the founding Executive Director of Canada’s National History Society and publisher of its popular history magazine, The Beaver, now known as Canada’s History.

A published journalist, Laird is also the author or co-author of five books.

Tim Higgins
Tim Higgins has lived in Winnipeg since 1952. His B.Sc. in zoology and graduate work in human genetics naturally led him to a career in acting, directing and writing for television. He has two Blizzard nominations for screenwriting; one for an historical documentary, the other for drama.
 
Since 2000, in addition to his television work, he has written and staged four plays about Manitoba history and authored or co-authored five books, including three for Heartland.

Tagged: Winnipeg Airports Authority, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Transforming a Community, Tim Higgins, Laird Rankin, Heartland Associates

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