Last week during the Minnesota Aircraft Maintenance Technician Conference advisory panel meeting, I was reminded that applications and nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 General Aviation Awards Program. At the end of the meeting, Jim Niehoff Minnesota FAASTeam Manager presented Janese Thatcher Manager of Aviation Education, Safety, and Training for the MnDOT Office of Aeronautics, with both the 2012 Minnesota and Great Lakes Region aviation maintenance awards. Congratulations Janese!
From the GA Awards website comes the following program description:
For nearly 50 years, the General Aviation Awards Program has recognized a small group of aviation professionals in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance, avionics, and flight safety for their important contributions to the aviation community on the local, regional, and national levels.
This program is a cooperative effort between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and aviation industry sponsors. Candidates are judged based on sustained superior performance in their respective fields as well as specific accomplishments and contributions to aviation safety, education, and professionalism. The selection process begins at the local level. Winners at the local level then move to the regional level. Panels of aviation professionals from within those four fields then select the national winners from the pool of regional winners.
The FAA administrator annually has presented the national awards in July during a “Theater in the Woods” program at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The 2012 winners will be presented their awards on Wednesday July 25th at 7:30 PM. Included in the prize packages for each national winner is an all-expense paid trip to Oshkosh for the recipient and a guest to attend the awards presentation and other GA Awards activities. Generous contributions from industry sponsors pay for the winners’ expenses, while the FAA provides the support and structure for nominations to proceed from local to national levels.
The application/nomination period is open from July 1 to September 30. To read about the 2012 award winners and to download an application/nomination package for the 2013 program visit: http://www.generalaviationawards.org/
