The Walt W. Braithwaite Legacy Award is named after the 1995 Black Engineer of the Year, Walt W. Braithwaite. He was instrumental in bringing computer-aided design to Boeing and introducing networked design/manufacturing systems, changing how airplanes are designed and produced.

In 2020, Myron Fletcher received the Walt Braithwaite Award for his contributions to the aerospace industry.

Myron Fletcher is a senior flight test engineer at Boeing, who began his aerospace journey at 16 as an Aerodynamics Engineer at NASA.

In just six years with Boeing, he became the first engineer to deliver qualified space hardware to the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where he was a Rocket Propulsion Engineer working on the core stage for the NASA Space Launch System, the world’s most powerful rocket.

“Myron makes it his goal to give back and uplift others in promoting STEM,” said Dr. Braithwaite at the BEYA event in February, stressing “the importance of mentorship by advocating for diversity and inclusion across Boeing’s enterprise.”

“My father always said, ‘If you dream it, you can achieve it,'” said Fletcher on receiving his legacy award. Growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, Fletcher saw the Boeing 747 Air Force One quite a lot. “Living down the street from Little Rock International Airport, I wondered how planes fly,” he said. “One day, my brother said why don’t you build and fly them? Now, I stand before you as a flight test engineer working on the next presidential aircraft that will fly long after I’m gone. I’m forever grateful to my family for all they instilled in me. I dreamed it, and I achieved it.”