Nominations Open for Inaugural Kern Professionalism Award
Washington, DC, Feb. 19, 2016 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is now accepting nominations for the new Dr. Tony Kern Professionalism in Business Aviation Award, which honors individuals in the industry for outstanding professionalism and leadership in support of aviation safety. Recipients will be recognized at the 2016 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), to be held Nov. 1 to 3 in Orlando, FL.
The creation of the new award was announced prior to the 2015 NBAA convention, as part of the association’s yearlong focus on professionalism. Kern, a cofounder of Convergent Performance and distinguished U.S. Air Force veteran, is the author of five books on human performance and an industry expert on the subject.
“We on the NBAA Safety Committee really like the model Dr. Kern has created around professionalism, and we’ll be using his key categories as a standard for reviewing nominations,” said Mark Larsen, NBAA senior manager of safety and flight operations. “We hope to use this award as an opportunity to recognize hardworking professionals at national and local levels as examples of the high level of professionalism that is out there in the industry.”
To be considered, an individual should excel in leadership in the following six areas:
- Professional ethics: Defined by Kern in his 2011 book Going Pro as “doing the right thing.”
- Vocational excellence: “Doing the right thing at an expert level, from both a technical and nontechnical perspective.”
- Continuous improvement: Career growth
- Professional engagement: Related both to customer service and to industry best practices
- Professional image: “The external indicator of our attention to detail and pride in our profession.”
- Selflessness: Mentoring, giving back, volunteering.
Nominations must be made through the NBAA website, and nominators should include explanations why the individual in question exceeds expectations in these six areas. Also required are an additional supporting recommendation letter from another business aviation professional and the nominee’s resume. Review the nomination form.
Nominations for the 2016 awards can be submitted until May 31.
Learn more about the Dr. Tony Kern Professionalism in Business Aviation Award.
