Celebration Held At Beginning Of 2014 Strategic Leadership Conference

On Oct. 15, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) celebrated its 30th birthday with a reception and dinner to open the 2014 Strategic Leadership Conference (SLC). The event continued on Oct. 16 with a full agenda that explored the state of the aviation maintenance industry.

For participants, the invitation-only SLC is a yearly opportunity to explore the issues most important to repair stations, their customers and the flying public. Through a series of speakers, panels and discussions, this year’s participants investigated public relations and international market development; providing executive-level industry leaders a forum to explore the future of global aviation maintenance.

For ARSA, 2014’s SLC was a perfect opportunity to celebrate three decades of service. In October of 1984, the association’s board of directors convened its inaugural meeting. Industry representatives worked with the fledgling staff to define a set of objectives for the one trade group that would be devoted to the unique needs of civil aviation maintenance.

“Looking back on those initial meetings and activities, it is amazing how far the industry has evolved while facing some of the exact same challenges today as in yesteryears,” said Sarah MacLeod, ARSA’s executive director, who was integral in its founding.  “Thankfully, the association is in a better position to address issues in the short and long term due to its record of persistence and perseverance.”

“My father was one of the association’s earliest supporters, so supporting ARSA is as much of a family enterprise as my own business,” said Gary Fortner, ARSA board member and vice president of engineering and quality control for Fortner Engineering in Glendale, Calif. “For 30 years, this has been my repair station’s runway to a larger world – a single voice that stands up and keeps this industry strong.”

“ARSA does so much for the repair station community,” said Gary Jordan, president of ARSA’s board of directors and president and CEO of Jordan Propeller Service in San Antonio, Texas. “Celebrating its birthday this week is very fitting. Industry leaders come together every year at the SLC to tackle the challenges that face us now and plan for successes to come. We’re honoring this association’s history by charging ahead into its future.”

FMI: http://arsa.org/30-years-of-arsa