Washington, DC, October 3, 2012 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today announced that Congressman John L. Mica (R-7-FL) will be a featured speaker during the Opening General Session at NBAA's 65th Annual Meeting & Convention (NBAA2012), which runs Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at the Orange County Convention Center and Showalter Flying Service on Orlando Executive Airport in Orlando, FL.
Mica serves as the chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, which is one of the largest congressional panels in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“We are pleased to welcome Chairman Mica as a featured speaker during the Opening General Session for NBAA’s Convention,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “As chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, he is a national leader on transportation policy in the United States, including aviation issues. I’m sure his comments will be of great interest to Convention Attendees, and everyone in the business aviation community.”
Mica served as chairman of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation from 2001 through 2006. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he led the effort in Congress to restore stability to the aviation industry, and co-authored the Aviation and Transportation Security Law. During his tenure, he has championed many policy initiatives of importance to general aviation, and helped secure federal funding for airport maintenance and improvement projects, which has provided critical assistance to airports of all sizes across the country.
NBAA honored Mica in 2005 with its American Spirit Award for his support of the business aviation community and his work that year to help the Association relocate its Annual Meeting & Convention from New Orleans to Orlando in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Mica will join a host of other speakers during the Opening General Session, which will run from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, the first day of NBAA2012. Joining the congressman on the stage will be Michael Huerta, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of Forbes magazine, and Bill Crutchfield, the founder of Crutchfield Corporation, the renowned consumer-electronics company.
Also during the Opening General Session, NBAA will honor FedEx Express, a division of FedEx Corp., and its founder, Frederick W. Smith, with the 2012 Al Ueltschi Humanitarian Award, which recognizes the use of aviation for humanitarian purposes. For more than 30 years, FedEx Corp. has been the leading aviation sponsor of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital, which brings together dedicated eye care professionals and aviators to give the gift of sight to people in developing countries around the world.
NBAA2012 will feature indoor exhibits in more than a million square feet of the convention center, an on-site, outdoor Static Display of Light Business Airplanes and Helicopters at the Orange County Convention Center, and a Static Display of Aircraft at Showalter Flying Service on nearby Orlando Executive Airport. In addition, there will be more than 100 education sessions. Learn more about NBAA2012.
