You know sometime as I go about my regular day to day activities and events, I come across something that just makes me sit up and take notice.   This occurred for me yesterday as I was reading an article published by MATT HAINES in the Jul 13, 2020 edition of gambit, an online publication all about news, events, and life down in the “Big Easy”.
In the article, the author highlighted the intriguing story of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.  This facility is one of the world’s largest space manufacturing facilities and it is where important elements of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft are being built.  But what really caught my attention was the fact that the director of this massive NASA facility is a 1982 West Blocton high school graduate.

The article interviews Robert Champion about the facility’s past, current, and future roles in Manned Space Flight.

I had no idea that this facility has played such an important role in past NASA projects but that it is also critical to America’s future Space Exploration.   I certainly did not know it’s Director had such deep ties to good ole Bibb.

I believe many of the readers of the Bibb Voice will also find this connection of interest.

Be sure to click the image below to read the article.

You may, – as I did, experience a bit of community pride when you realize that there are a lot of great folks in Bibb County that not only help to grow our country’s reputation as a leader in high-quality automotive manufacturing, but Bibb Countians also play their part by helping to send men to Mars and explore the universe.

Now I just think that is cool!      You do us proud Robert Champion!!

Update 8/8/2020:

We contacted Robert Champion to find out who his relatives are in Bibb County.

Here is his reply: “I am related to the Champion, Thompson, and Elam’s in Bibb.

Jim Thompson on Bear Creek road was my grandfather.  Dorothy Alice Elam Thompson was my grandmother.   Lot of history on bear creek road. 🙂

The Champion line lived on the Vance-Johntown road.   George Robert and Ethel Champion.

My mother lives in Woodstock, Linda Hammitt.   My brother and sister are Jason Hammitt and Lori Caraway in Woodstock.

Our family lines have been in Bibb since early 1800’s. 🙂


Robert Champion, director of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility

Photo by:  STEVEN SEIPE / Robert Champion, director of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility stands in front of the Robotic Weld tool in BLDG 103.

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David Daniel, 72, is a resident of Bibb County and lives in Centreville. In 1982 David, with the help of his wife Karen, designed and built the first Cable TV system in Bibb County which served all municipalities in the county. In 11/03/2008, David co-authored a book on behalf of the Centreville Historic Preservation Commission called "Bibb County", Images of America, ISBN: 9780738567297. More than 109 families and individuals contributed to this community effort. Daniel enjoys spending time with his wife and grandchildren and he enjoys working with local history enthusiasts.