The Midwest Schedulers & Dispatchers Group held their biannual meeting on October 20th, 2005 in Waukegan, IL with 75 business aviation professionals in attendance that were there to network and hear a presentation by Universal Weather and Aviation on International Customs and Handling.

The event, co-sponsored by DB Aviation, drew people from as far away as Alaska and offered the participants an evening of dinner, networking and education. Starting out the presentation was Kandi Spangler, Chairman of the Midwest Schedulers & Dispatchers Group, who announced the inception of a new Board of Directors for the group. Kim Bean with the Wm. Wrigley flight department was named President, Kelly Tolomeo with Flight Crews Unlimited was named Director and Membership Coordinator, and Theresa Lushina with Motorola’s flight department was named Director, Ex-Officio as the founding member of the organization.

Also making a brief presentation was Dr. Durwood Heinrich, NBAA’s Regional Representative who spoke on the pressing issue of airport user fees and the dispatcher’s role within the corporate flight department to exercise diligence with regards to safety. His poignant message demonstrated that upholding the safety standards set forth by the department is not the sole responsibility of the pilots, but in fact starts at the scheduler’s or dispatcher’s desk.

Then Fred Towers, with Universal Weather and Aviation took the podium for the evening’s featured presentation on International Customs and Handling. Towers, whose past experience as a dispatcher made the presentation easy to understand, began with an overview of forms and information needed for international destinations and described the differences between certain countries and their individual requirements. He explained the “do’s” and “don’ts” of preparing for a successful international trip and the additional requirements needed of Part 135 operators. He then went into the regulatory side of international operations, highlighting areas of interest such as overflight permits, agricultural issues, and new regulatory changes in the works. Whether those in attendance use a 3rd party handler like Universal to arrange for international customs and handling or not, everyone gained a wealth of knowledge that they were able to take back to their flight departments.

The Group’s next meeting will be a network gathering held on the evening of May 5th, 2006 featuring a Chicago lakefront dinner cruise. The Midwest Schedulers and Dispatchers Group is a grass roots organization of business aviation professionals coming together to network, share information and learn through valuable educational presentations all while upholding the goals and values of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) on a regional level. Membership mostly encompasses professionals in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri, but is open to anyone nationwide.

FMI: www.mwsdg.org