Carr Out; Forrey An 18-Year Veteran Controller

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association's election committee announced Monday that Pat Forrey, an 18-year veteran air traffic controller at Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center and a two-term vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association’s Great Lakes Region, has won election as NATCA president... defeating two-term incumbent John Carr.

Paul Rinaldi was elected as executive vice president. Rinaldi is a veteran controller at Washington Dulles Tower who has served as the alternate vice president for the union’s Eastern Region.

Both the president and executive vice president serve as the national elected officials on NATCA’s National Executive Board. All elected officials on the NEB serve three-year terms, which will begin on Sept. 1.

Prior to his work with NATCA, Forrey was active as a member of the Laborers Union International, Local 310. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations and has completed extensive arbitration advocate training.

NATCA members in good standing vote for their respective regional vice presidents (RVP). Running unopposed in this election were incumbent Alaskan RVP Ricky Thompson and incumbent Southwest RVP Darrell Meachum, along with new Central Region RVP Howard Blankenship, a controller at Kansas City Center, and new New England RVP Mike Robicheau, a controller at Boston Center.

Winning re-election in a contested RVP race was: Phil Barbarello, Eastern Region.

Winning new terms in their contested RVP races were: Bryan Zilonis, Great Lakes Region, a former Chicago Center facility representative; Scott Farrow, Northwest Mountain Region, a controller at Salt Lake TRACON; Victor Santore, Southern Region, a controller at Atlanta Center; Hamid Ghaffari, Western Pacific Region, a former Los Angeles Center facility representative; and Michael McDonald, Region X (non-controller bargaining units), who has served as alternate VP of Region X.

FMI: www.natca.org