Accreditation Requires Training, Testing, And Certification

The total number of Certified Aviation Managers (CAMs) working in business aviation passed 200 this month with the certification of four new CAMs, according to the NBAA. Established by NBAA in 2003, the CAM credential recognizes professionals qualified for leadership roles in aviation through experience and training requirements, independent testing and certification.

“This is a significant benchmark in the growth of the CAM program,” said NBAA Director of Professional Development Jay Evans. “The credential has been respected in the industry for many years, but now we’re reaching a point of ‘critical mass,’ and the CAM is becoming a standard that is often expected.”

Reflecting the diversity of the entire CAM community, the four CAMs certified this month include two schedulers, one pilot and an FBO sales manager:

• Sharon DeFreitas is the manager of flight operations at Cigna in Windsor Locks, CT, where she supervises the aviation department’s flight attendant and scheduling staff. With more than 20 years of scheduling experience in business aviation, she has a dispatcher license and a private pilot license, which she earned while attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
• Troy Ladue has been an executive flight coordinator for MassMutual since 2001. He began his aviation career at Aetna, working in the parts department before he was hired as a scheduler. With an NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers (S&D) Scholarship, he received his dispatcher license in 2004. He currently serves on the NBAA S&D Committee.
• John McIntyre is a captain for Philip Morris International based at Westchester County Airport (HPN). A Gulfstream 550 pilot, he has flown for General Motors, Aerodynamics, Inc. and began his career with Tradewinds Aviation. He has an airline transport pilot license, an MBA from Ellis College and a Bachelor’s in aviation from Western Michigan University.
• Kelvin Boyette is the avionics sales manager for Landmark Aviation in Winston Salem, NC. Prior to his current role, he founded Collinear Solutions, a sales and operational consulting firm. Formerly, he was president of Boyette Aviation, where he managed FBO operations, a flight school, and maintenance and aircraft sales. He is also a private pilot with experience in several single-engine aircraft.

“NBAA congratulates these CAMs on earning their certification," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Their achievement, and that of the broader CAM community, now more than 200 strong, is a testament to the professionalism of the people who work in business aviation, as well as our industry’s commitment to continuous improvement.”

Now in its 10th year, the CAM program is currently pursuing formal accreditation by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, an independent agency that oversees the quality of professional credential programs. As part of the accreditation process, the CAM Governing Board recently released the program’s first annual report, for 2012.

FMI: www.nbaa.org/prodev/cam/