Unveiled June 26, 2008, this statue was the first project approved by the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, featuring three half-sized figures: a Boomer who participated in the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893, a WWII Aviator and an astronaut. The WWII aviator represents Lt. Col. Leon Vance, an Enid Native for whom Vance AFB is named. The astronaut represents former space shuttle astronaut Eileen Collins, one of the first women to graduate from pilot training at Vance. Eileen became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle mission as well as the first female space shuttle commander.
Pioneers: Past, Present, Future stands on the NE side of the lawn behind the Garfield County Courthouse facing Randolph Ave.
