By Sigrid Tornquist

Long before flight enthusiasts flock to the Dayton International Airport for the Vectren Dayton Air Show each year, Glawe Awnings and Tents and COO Kathy Schaefer start preparing to install tents for the event. Each year since the show’s inception in the 1970s, Glawe has been the show’s tent provider, and in July 2011 installed 28 8-meter clearspans and more than 100 support tents, including luxury corporate chalets.

A significant revenue stream for the company, the event also serves as a unifying project for employees. “For the two weeks prior to the show, there’s little else that happens at Glawe,” Schaefer says. “The sewing staff even comes out to help with cleaning vinyl windows on the chalets.”

Two of the crew, in addition to Schaefer, attended extensive TSA and FAA training to receive credentials to access the restricted area. “The airport closes one of the active runways two weeks before the show,” she says. “No one on our crew can go anywhere on airport grounds without one of the three of us escorting them.”

Sigrid Tornquist is a freelance author and editor based in St. Paul, Minn. She is also the associate editor of InTents magazine, a publication of the Advanced Textiles Association.