Peggy Chabrian Honored At Annual Flight School Operators Conference

Nearly 120 flight school operators, chief flight instructors and industry partners attended the Sixth Annual Flight School Operators Conference presented by the Flight School Association of America (FSANA). The event, held on January 27-30 in San Diego, CA addressed critical issues facing flight schools across America in a series of topical sessions and workshops. 

During the opening session, presentations from officials of the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), TSA, and FAA had a tremendous response from flight school operators. The agencies' reports of new policy, updated portals and developing methods to better communicate held encouraging news for attendees. 
 
FSANA again held its annual achievement awards ceremony during the conference. This year, Peggy Chabrian (pictured), president and founder of Women in Aviation, was presented with FSANA's Moyer Leadership Award for her many years of dedication and hard work to engage women in the aviation and aerospace industry. John and Martha King of King Schools were recipients of FSANA's Pinnacle Award for their many years of service to the general aviation industry.
    
Miriam Hernandez, a reporter for KABC TV in Los Angeles, received the FSANA Media Award for her coverage of a flight school which closed in Long Beach California in 2014 and left over 20 students without recourse to complete their flight training.

Also receiving special recognition at the ceremony was Utah Helicopter, Spanish Fork, Utah, for recently achieving FSANA Flight School Accreditation certification. Utah Helicopter is a FSANA member which operates five exclusive helicopter pilot training facilities across the Western United States. The FSANA Accreditation Committee is working with the U.S. Department of Education to become an accrediting body. One of its major goals is to gain access to Title IV funding for independent flight schools. "Financing remains one of the biggest challenges for flight training operators. As an association that solely supports the business of flight training, we hope to achieve this goal within one to two years," said Bob Rockmaker, president and CEO of FSANA. 
 
The Flight School Association of North America is the first and only association of its kind dedicated solely to the flight training industry. Established in 2009, the association promotes best business practices to help flight schools and their industry thrive and increase the pilot population.

(Image provided by FSANA)

FMI: www.fsana.com