Why in the world are we in Washington?
Posted: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:39 AM by Jen Brown
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Where in the World
(By Curtis Vogel, TODAY producer)
With the possible exception of the Olympics, landing an assignment with Matt Lauer for the “Where in the World” series is the most coveted gig for a Today Show producer. You get to travel to exotic places, experience new cultures and immerse yourself in all the food and fun that the destination has to offer.
So, you can imagine my excitement when my boss told me that I would be working on my first-ever Where in the World for Matt. I already had visions of paddling canoes down the Amazon River or riding camels in the Sahara Desert when my boss informed me that we would be going to Everett, Washington.
As in Washington state?
Don’t get me wrong. The Pacific Northwest is one of my favorite parts of the country and the Seattle-area happens to be my father’s new retirement community. I have spent many relaxing weekends riding motorcycles in the Cascade Mountains and enjoying the local seafood in Puget Sound. However, I don’t think it would qualify as an exotic destination for most of our viewers.
Then, my boss revealed that the focus of the show would be the Boeing airplane factory in Everett. This “Where in the World” would look at how airplanes are made and meet some of the people who design and build the planes that all of us fly all the time. I immediately started reading three books about Boeing’s history and role in the aviation industry and interviewing dozens of experts in the field.
I still didn’t really get it until I walked into the Boeing factory for the first time six weeks ago. Whether you are an aviation buff or just an occasional airline passenger, I guarantee the first word out of your mouth when you walk into the Assembly Building would be “Wow!”
Not only is it the largest building in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, but it also houses some of the largest planes in the world. It is an awesome sight to watch the cranes move the wings and fuselage sections of the planes from one part of the factory to the other. It also makes you appreciate the engineering feat it takes to create something so enormous that also manages to get off the ground and carry so many of us around the globe.
Once I had spent some time around the factory and the people at Boeing, it was obvious that this company was a great American success story. A man named William Boeing started the company in 1916, and it is still going strong today. Not only is Boeing the largest employer in the Seattle area, but it is also the country’s largest exporter, and Boeing is the number one commercial airline producer in the world.
We followed the workers as they built a 777 for Air Canada in less than 12 weeks (video). Boeing gave us access to their plane simulators and showed us all of the rigorous tests the planes must pass before they are certified. We even looked at how Boeing is dreaming up new ways to entertain and feed you while you fly. I bet the next time you get on a plane, you’ll look on the information card in the seat pocket to see whether it was made by Boeing and what kind of plane in which you’ll be flying.
The goal of any “Where in the World” is to take the audience to a place they’ve never been and show them something they’ve never seen. I hope we were able to translate the sense of awe and astonishment that all of our crew felt at the live location to your small screen at home, and I hope that you came away with a little insight about those planes that most of us take for granted when we travel.
Most of all, I hope there was at least a couple of times during the show when you said, “Wow!”
