HEATH-NEWARK-LICKING COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY
                      PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE					CONTACT:
December 17, 2002                 Rick Platt, 740-788-5500 ext. 35

          SPEAKER HOUSEHOLDER TO VISIT PORT AUTHORITY TECH CENTER
Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center to Host Speaker’s Visit Friday

HEATH, OHIO – Representative Larry Householder, Speaker of the Ohio House, 
will visit the Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center at 9:30 a.m. 
on Friday, December 20, 2002 in Heath.  Householder will meet with business 
and government officials as part of a tour of the Port Authority’s Tech 
Center.  State Senator Jay Hottinger is also expected to join in the tour.

The Speaker’s visit will be hosted at the Port Authority offices, 851 
Irving-Wick Drive, Heath and include a briefing presented by the major 
tenants of the Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center (COATC).

The Tech Center is a nickname for the COATC, which was established on 
property of the former Newark Air Force Base and expanded with land 
acquisitions completed earlier this year.  The 350-acre campus is owned 
and managed by the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority.

“The Speaker’s visit follows a recent visit by U.S. Senator George Voinovich 
and is consistent with a new Port Authority strategy to build a caucus of 
support among federal, state, and local officials in order to help sustain 
and grow the COATC, “ said Port Authority Director Rick Platt.  “The Port 
Authority will acquaint the Speaker with recent COATC developments and 
emphasize the current and future potential impact of the Tech Center with 
it being among the largest concentrations of the aerospace and defense 
industry in Ohio.”

Additional background information on the Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology 
Center is available at coatc.com.

                              #  #  #