Recognizes Pilots, Government Official For Efforts On Behalf Of Aviation

AOPA handed out four awards on the final day of its annual event in Long Beach, CA.

The Joseph B. "Doc" Hartranft, Jr. Award went to Victor Bird, director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. The Joseph B. "Doc" Hartranft, Jr. Award is presented annually to an elected or appointed government official, whether federal, state, local, or foreign, who has made significant contributions to the advancement of general aviation. "State aviation directors are often overlooked as key promoters and protectors of general aviation," said AOPA President and CEO Craig L. Fuller. "As the director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, Vic Bird has done an outstanding job in using the state's resources to advance the cause of the state's 113 public airports, creating a climate in which general aviation will grow and thrive."

In 2007, Bird was instrumental in winning support for the Oklahoma Airport Modernization Bill, which would have made 49 of the state's regional airports eligible for grants for specific airport-improvement projects, including the costs for projects primarily used for general aviation.
In 2008, he followed that with the Aerospace Industry Engineer Work Force Bill, which provided new engineers with a $5,000 state tax credit for choosing to work for an Oklahoma aerospace company, and also provides state tax credits for the companies that hire them. He also lead the push for 2005's House Bill 1577, which exempted aircraft maintenance, repairs, and overhauls performed by Oklahoma aerospace companies from sales tax.

His most recent accomplishment centered on the passage in 2010 of the Aircraft Pilot and Passenger Protection Act, which protects the state's public-use airports and military bases from height obstructions and incompatible land use by giving the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission authority to regulate construction in designated approach areas. With the increasing prevalence of tall man-made obstructions all over the country, this legislation provides a model for other states to follow to ensure that development of this nature will not undermine aviation safety.

The Laurence P. Sharples Perpetual Award went to Marjy Leggett, a volunteer for AOPA's Airport Support Network, for her efforts to promote and protect her home Airport, Vista Field in Kennewick, Washington. The Laurence P. Sharples Perpetual Award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the advancement of general aviation.

When, in 2008, the city of Kennewick began exploring how best to use the airport land, including possibly closing the airport, Leggett rallied fellow pilots and other airport supporters to prove to the city that keeping Vista Field open was the best option.

The situation at Vista Field was complex. Although located within the City of Kennewick, the airport is owned and operated by a separate governmental body, the Port of Kennewick. Leggett solicited help from other pilots, forming a local chapter of the Washington Pilots Association, and organized local business leaders to explain to city officials just how important the airport is to those businesses. Their community education efforts led to the election of a number of aviation-friendly City and Port candidates, and ultimately to a unanimous vote this year by the Port of Kennewick Commission to keep the airport open.

A self-described "Mooney Girl" is this year's recipient of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's (AOPA's) Joseph Crotti Award for service to general aviation (GA) in California. Jolie Lucas, founder of the Mooney Ambassadors, was honored for her work to protect Oceano Airport (L52) in San Luis Obispo County.

A local developer decided he had a better idea of how to use the land Oceano sits on and, over the objections of county officials, pressed ahead with highly controlled "public" meetings to try to win community support to close the airport and let him build on it. Lucas organized local pilots to attend those public meetings. With her encouragement and constant communication with pilots and AOPA, the developer's meetings were overwhelmingly stacked against closure of the airport. She recruited pilots and began a campaign to win community support, organizing a beautification project for the airport, which had become somewhat rundown. Buildings were painted and drought tolerant plants planted, all with volunteers and donated materials. She and her fellow pilots also hosted a "movie night" at the airport, inviting pilots and the public to watch movies in a camp ground adjacent to the airport.

Finally, the second annual Let's Go Flying Award went to U.S. Marine Corps Captain Gabriel Glinsky for his efforts to organize and teach a ground school for his fellow unit members while on active duty in Afghanistan.
 
In 2009 while serving in Afghanistan, Capt. Glinsky, a V-22 "Osprey" tiltrotor pilot and certificated flight instructor (CFI), volunteered to teach ground school for more than a dozen fellow Marines. His students, mostly enlisted Marines, had expressed an interest in learning to fly once they returned to the U.S., so Glinsky offered to help them prepare to take the FAA knowledge tests for Sport and Private Pilot certificates. He contacted AOPA for assistance in gathering the necessary materials. The Let's Go Flying Award is presented annually to a person who has made significant efforts to draw new people into flying.

FMI: www.aopa.org