The Airport Consultants Council (ACC) is pleased to announce the selection of Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Hamiel as the recipient of the 2016 ACC Aviation Award of Excellence. The award will be presented Nov. 15, during the ACC 38th Annual Conference & Exposition awards luncheon in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The ACC Aviation Award of Excellence is presented annually to honor the visionary and innovative contributions of an individual, group or organization that have advanced the airport and aviation industry and served the general public. The lifetime achievements of the recipients are also taken into consideration.
Hamiel was recognized for his extraordinary leadership within the airport and aviation community, as well as his significant improvements to the MAC's seven-airport system. He helped instill renewed confidence in the industry as the chair of the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, by contributing legislative and policy solutions that set the stage for the aviation industry's rebound. He played a key role in the creation of the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), which is managed by the Transportation Research Board/National Academy of Sciences. As vice-chair of the ACRP Oversight Committee, he offered ideas on proposed research topics and helped to foster the growth of the program and ensure the quality of ACRP reports. Hamiel has also been a leading voice in identifying and addressing the looming pilot shortage problem, including hosting a forum in Minneapolis to bring industry stakeholders together on the issue.
"ACC is honored to present the 2016 ACC Aviation Award of Excellence to Jeff Hamiel," said ACC President T.J. Schulz. "Jeff is a well-respected leader within the airport community who has had positive impacts on the U.S. aviation system, and has enhanced the airports under the MAC to better serve his local community. As he is retiring from his long-held position this year, ACC is especially pleased to recognize his many contributions."
Hamiel has served as director/chief executive officer of MAC since 1985 and has worked for the Commission since 1977 as its first manager of noise abatement and environmental affairs. He was a pilot in the United States Air Force for more than seven years and following that served as chief pilot and retired as squadron commander of the United States Air Force Reserve 96th Airlift Squadron in 1998. In 2013, Hamiel served on ACI-NA's Governmental Affairs and International Affairs Committees and served as chair of the board in 2001.In 2011, he was named executive committee chairman of the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies.
Hamiel was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2003.
