And Be Nice To Them. They're With Zoom

I've got to say, we have an impressive lineup of editorial, audio, and video talent joining us this year for AirVenture 2010, and our goal is to bring you the best possible coverage of aviation's premier event in the U.S.

Some of us do this every day (heaven help us all). Driven by a passion for aviation and a real desire to bring you a top-notch news product, the ANN staff is a small but growing group of news and aviation professionals who think the pretty much everything that leaves the ground in one way or another is pretty cool.

So, without further ado, we introduce you to the ANN Staff.

Publisher / Editor in Chief Jim Campbell
Way too much to tell. When you see him around AirVenture ... ask him.

Jim Campbell

Senior E-Media Producer Paul Plack
As a boy, ANN's Paul Plack watched planes flying out of what was then called Buffalo International Airport in Western New York, and dreamed of being a pilot. As a teen, he concluded that his eyesight wasn't good enough to become a military pilot, so he bypassed aviation career hopes and turned his love of 1960s Top-40 Radio and technology into a successful 30-year radio career. The DJ known in some markets as "Paul Warren" rode an eccentric sense of humor and bankable voice to success in markets including Buffalo and Rochester NY; Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Orlando, FL and Portland, OR.

Paul Plack

Paul got his Private ASEL in 2003, taking primary instruction in Aeronca Champs and various Cessnas, and also trained to the point of his solo sign-off in gyroplanes. When KUIK was sold in 2005, and Paul found the new owner's plans did not include him, he began devoting his full-time efforts to co-hosting the nationally syndicated Korelin Economics Report weekend radio show with partner Al Korelin, but also set about looking for a new challenge which would combine his broadcast background with his recent rediscovery of aviation.

As it would happen, Aero News Network was looking for a permanent producer for its then-new daily audio podcasts. On Friday, September 15, 2006, Paul began working on the three daily Aero-Casts, and within a few days, he was signed off to solo on the Aero-Briefing newscast and short-form Touch n' Go. A few weeks later, he added responsibilities as the principle interviewer for the Aero News Special Feature, and has now become familiar to viewers of Aero TV as well.

"When I started thinking about finding something that would combine my radio experience with aviation, I remember chiding myself, 'yeah right, what could that possibly be?' Within days, I learned of the Aero news opening," says Paul. "I was pretty green in aviation, but I'm a quick learner, and there's nothing like being immersed in a dozen aviation news stories every day to bring you up to speed!"

Paul In High School. He Provided The Photo ...

These days, Paul lives with wife Cindy near Salt Lake City, UT, where the couple expects to be for at least the next decade. Regarding his rediscovery of aviation in his late 40s, Paul jokes, "I'm grateful to have found a constructive outlet for my mid-life crisis. Aviation was my red
Corvette."

Senior News Editor Tom Patton
Tom took his first airplane ride at the age of 6 years old in a Piper Cherokee 6 ... into the Grand Canyon. His dad took a seat in the back so Tom could ride right front, and he's been looking up every time something flies over ever since.

Tom Patton

Tom got his Private ASEL in 1979 the easy way. He worked at Grissom Municipal Airport (KBFR) in Bedford, Indiana and took flying lessons rather than a paycheck. "My private cost me $50 for the checkride," he says.

Then, life happened. Marriage, kid, job, all pushed aviation to the back burner. "There's a long gap in my logbook from about 1988 to 2010," he says.

Like another ANN notable (see above) Tom's 30 year broadcasting career was put on involuntary hiatus by the faltering economy in 2008, and he answered an ad on Craigslist which turned into his becoming the Editor for Aero-News.net in May of 2009. "I fly, I write, and I appear on Aero-TV. What's not to like? Getting re-acquainted with aviation has remided me why I fell in love with it as a 6-year-old in 1964. Still, you should have seen my jaw drop the first time the R9 system lit up in the cockpit of ANN's Cirrus. I felt a bit like Mr. Sulu at the helm of the Enterprise."

 
Right Seat In 377SR

Tom's aviation goal for 2010 is to get current again so that he can fly himself and his wife Andie from their home in Neptune Beach, Florida (OK, I know there's no airport here, but you get the idea) to Oxford, Ohio for parent's weekend at Miami of Ohio, where his daughter is in college.

Marketing Director Kristen Jurn
Kristen is an avid aviation enthusiast and industry professional with a comprehensive background in both general and commercial aviation operations. Her passion for aviation began in early 1991 when she earned her private pilot license and flew her Cessna 150 across the country from Florida to Arizona.

  
Kristen Jurn

After completing university and living in France, Kristen worked for United Airlines as an international crew member based in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. During this time she was also a lead pilot for the “Traffic Watch” covering the Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware metro areas.

Kristen’s aviation career has grown along with the evolvement of new technology aircraft both in the single engine and light jet category and the ever-changing flying environment. She led the branding, client services and sales operations in the South Florida market for Cirrus SR22 shared ownership programs. Prior to selling Cirrus fractions, she worked with Mach 2 Management as a product specialist for the Eclipse 500 during the early years of the VLJ category introduction. She has over 1,200 hours of flying time and is a single and multi engine instrument and commercial rated pilot.

Kristen has held sales, marketing and management positions with a variety of established and upstart companies. In 2007, she established an aviation specific marketing and sales business development firm specializing in new technology based business models. Kristen is active in her local aviation community and competed in two previous cross country aircraft races (ARC 2007 and ARC 2008). She is an active member of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA), the Ninety-Nines International Women Pilots Organization, Women in Aviation International (WIAI). She is affiliated with the West Palm Florida Aero Club (FAC) and serves as a Board Director for the Greater Miami Aviation Association (GMAA).

Video Manager / Producer Nathan Cremisino
Coming to us from world renown Brooks Institute of Photography, Nathan Cremisino will be heading to Oshkosh for his second year as part of the Aero-TV crew. Prior to his experience with Aero-News Network, Nathan focused his talents on short human interest documentaries; however, he's found the opportunity to be a part of the aviation world a thrilling venture.

Nathan Cremisino

As always, shooting air-to-air footage and in-flight rides are always a thrill for him. Most exciting, however, has been the opportunity to document unique and historical events such as the Google Lunar X-Prize and the first flight of the Cirrus Jet. "Witnessing and documenting such monumental moments is such a privilege for me. I know that they are events that will always remain memorable. It's been an honor and thrill to be a part of that incredible growth in the aviation world." He looks forward to seeing the same unique aviation innovation that will be displayed at Oshkosh this year that he's seen in the past three years that he's covered the event. "I'm extremely excited for the challenge of covering the day-to-day events this year at Oshkosh. I want to capture even more of the emotions, the atmosphere, and the passion that makes AirVenture so unique."

Videographer / Producer James Grosser
James joined the Aero News Network after working as an associate producer at Fuel TV covering some of the most prominent action sports and events in the world.

 
James Grosser

While shooting air shows and air-to-air footage can be quite dynamic, engaging with people remains his favorite activity at Aero-TV. "That's the most exciting part of aviation, Getting to meet all types of people, capturing someone's excitement and passion, that's what makes me feel good about what I do."

"Oshkosh brings together such a variety of people to celebrate the love of flying. I am so honored to be able to experience that sort of gathering year after year. Shooting aviation is such a frontier and being able to continuously push myself to find new and dynamic ways to bring that to our viewers, that is what motivates me every day."

"I have gained a deep respect for aviation and its variety of applications," James says. "Aviation is the a true representation of the beautiful merger of technological engineering and dreams."

Videographer / Producer Ashley Hale
Ashley is the newest member of the ANN team. A graduate of the University of Florida, Ashley has been in the video production industry for the past three years. She has a diverse career history ranging from news and public access programming, to corporate videos and creative production. Ashley has been behind the camera, in-front of the camera and everywhere in between.

 
Ashley Hale

"What I love most about what I do is the creativity and getting to meet interesting and unique people, especially when I have the honor of telling their story," Ashley says. "What I hate most about what I do is the stress." Ashley was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida and has lived there her entire life. "I love the sunshine and couldn't imagine living in any other climate," she says. Some of her interests apart from video editing include music, good books, travel, decorating and an unhealthy addiction to scrabble.

FMI: www.aero-news.net