ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Helicopter Association International (HAI) is proud to announce its “Salute to Excellence” award winners. The 2008 “Salute to Excellence” awards program, now in its 47th year, recognizes outstanding achievement performed by individuals or companies in the international helicopter community. Winners will be recognized during the HAI “Salute to Excellence” banquet and awards ceremony to be held on Monday, February 25, 2008, at HELI-EXPO 2008 in Houston, TX.
The winners are:
AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN AWARD: Milton K. Geltz; Maintenance Director, Metro Aviation Inc., Shreveport, LA
AVIATION REPAIR SPECIALIST AWARD: Gary Royer; Avionics Shop Supervisor, Canadian Helicopters Limited, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
IGOR I. SIKORSKY AWARD FOR HUMANITARIAN SERVICE: County of Los Angeles Fire Department, Air Operations Section, Pacoima, CA
THE JOE MASHMAN SAFETY AWARD: Captain Paul Smith; Pilot, Helicopters Incorporated, on assignment WABC-TV, Linden, NJ
OUTSTANDING CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AWARD: Barry Lloyd; FAA Designated Pilot Examiner and FAA Accident Prevention Counselor, Sacramento, CA
AGUSTA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Richard Dutson, Chief Helicopter Pilot, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, West Trenton, NJ
EUROCOPTER GOLDEN HOUR AWARD: United States Coast Guard HH-65C Crew 6548; San Francisco, CA
EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATIONS AWARD: Barry Desfor; Managing Director, HeliValue$, Inc., Wauconda, IL
HELICOPTER MAINTENANCE AWARD: Phillip G. Difiore; President, Rotorcraft Support Inc., Van Nuys, CA
MD HELICOPTERS LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARD: Daniel B. Scwarzbach; President, Airborne Law Enforcement Association, Houston, TX
LAWRENCE D. BELL MEMORIAL AWARD: Steve and Nancy Sullivan; Founders, Aris Helicopters, Saratoga, CA
ROBERT E. TRIMBLE AWARD: Anthony Reece; Hi Line Helicopters, Inc., Pilot/Owner, Darrington, WA
PILOT OF THE YEAR AWARD: Franz Levitskiy; Pilot/Instructor, UTair Aviation (Russia), Surgut, Russia
For information about the 2008 “Salute to Excellence” Awards banquet and ceremony, contact HAI’s Communications Department by telephone: 703-683-4646, fax: 703-683-4745, or email: [email protected].
For more information on HELI-EXPO 2008, visit www.heliexpo.com.
