The Citation Jet Pilots Owner Pilot Association (CJP) appointed Andrew Broom executive director. Broom brings a 20-year background of association and industry communications and marketing experience to his new role, having previously held senior roles with Honda Aircraft, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Hawker Beechcraft, Eclipse Aviation, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The Canadian Business Aviation Association board of directors elected Rod Barnard chairman and Anthony Norejko vice chairman. Barnard is director of aviation and travel services and chief pilot for Kal Aviation Group, and Norejko is director of travel services and aviation/chief pilot for Walmart Canada.
Baldwin Aviation named Sonnie Bates v-p/COO. Bates was most recently IS-BAO program director at the International Business Aviation Council and has also managed Dassault Falcon programs for CAE and held safety and standards roles for a business aircraft operator and the U.S. Air Force.
Greg Cox has joined AEG as executive v-p business aviation. Cox spent 23 years with Universal Weather and Aviation, most recently as senior v-p of UVair, Universal’s fuel division. He has also served with Osage Aviation and Phillips Petroleum.
Delta Private Jets appointed Nicholas Portaro v-p of sales. Portaro, who has a quarter century of sales and leadership experience, was most recently v-p of insights for Information Services Group (ISG) and also spent 14 years with Gartner.
Pentastar Aviation promoted Doug Levangie to v-p of maintenance and advisory sales. Levangie, who joined Pentastar Aviation 30 years ago, was director of aviation advisory services and maintenance and avionics sales manager.
Sandel Avionics named Steve Fulton v-p of sales and marketing. Fulton, who has 30 years of technical and commercial industry experience, has been a longtime advisor to Sandel, most recently as senior test pilot and PBN advisor for Avilon.
Jim Cannon joined Argus to serve as the corporate flight department liaison. Cannon brings 40 years of industry experience to his new role, having held positions that included director of flight operations for Home Depot, chief pilot for several business aviation flight operations, president of Jet Professionals and the IS-BAO program director for the International Business Aviation Council.
Dennis Santare, v-p of sales and marketing for Aircraft Propeller Service, was named to the board of directors of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, which commemorates Long Island, N.Y.’s contributions to aerospace, science and technology.
Phillips 66 Aviation appointed R.G. (Greg) Still general aviation manager; Smith Underwood director of sales, general aviation; and Charlie Schouweiler coordinator, supply, general aviation. Still has 35 years of industry experience, having most recently served as branded sales manager wholesale. Underwood joined Phillips 66 predecessor company Conoco in 1997 and was most recently manager of data-driven marketing. Schouweiler was previously a rail coordinator for Phillips 66.
FlightSafety International promoted Robert Standley to manager of the Seattle training facility. Standley joined FlightSafety at the Tucson learning center in 1996 as a maintenance instructor and was most recently assistant manager of FlightSafety’s Dallas learning center.
Elliott Aviation hired Michael Parrish to serve as senior director of regional sales and business development. Parrish has 25 years of aviation experience with the U.S. Air Force, Global Aviation, McKechnie Aerospace and, most recently, StandardAero.
Paul Woodard has joined SevenJet Private Travel as senior director of sales. Woodard has 30 years of business aviation experience, having previously held senior sales and marketing positions with Raytheon Aircraft, Piaggio America and, most recently, Executive AirShare.
Global Jet Capital appointed Matthias MĂĽller sales director for Europe. MĂĽller has 25 years of business aviation experience and spent the past 13 years with GE Capital Corporate Aircraft Finance.
James Saia joined Global Jet Services as a King Air maintenance instructor. Saia has four decades of experience with airplanes and helicopters, having previously served with CAE and FlightSafety International.
New Flight Charters hired Mark Baroni as charter manager. Baroni previously served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years, as the U.S. presidential travel advance agent, NATO international diplomatic officer and director of the Air Force Wing Flight Safety Program.
Kerry Kunkel has joined the sales team of Freestream Aircraft USA. Kunkel has 24 years of experience in the aircraft management, sales and acquisition business and is type rated in various Falcons, Citations, Learjets and King Airs.
Sue Folkringa, an aviation tax specialist for Wolcott & Associates, has joined the Florida Aviation Business Association board of directors. Folkringa, who holds an ATP license, has worked at Wolcott & Associates for nine years.
Summit Aviation hired Joseph Moore to serve as business development manager for government aircraft services. Moore, who retired from the U.S. Army in 2006 after a 28-year career, has since served as director of business performance for Systems Products and Solutions, v-p of Army program/program manager Amcom Express for Belzon and at Boeing as senior manager, business development Army integrated logistics. o
​Awards and Honors
The Wichita Aero Club awarded $5,000 Edward W. Stimpson scholarships to Zavier Luciano, an aviation maintenance technology student at Wichita Area Technical College, and Talon Michelle Wanless, an electrical engineering student at Wichita State University. The scholarships are designed to encourage and support students who have demonstrated success in a major course of study and have established a clear aviation-related career path. Luciano, a sport pilot who enrolled in the Airframe and Powerplant program at Wichita Area Technical College in February, has spent much of the past decade as a mechanic at Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing, BE Aerospace, Cessna and United Technologies. Wanless, pursuing her goal of being a third-generation aviation professional, also serves as an avionics and electrical intern at Textron Aviation.
John Mininger, a licensed pilot and active member of several aviation associations, was selected as this year’s Phillips 66 Aviation’s EAA Young Eagles Leadership Award winner. A participant in Young Eagles for the past 22 years, Mininger has flown 750 children. He has served as the EAA Young Eagles flight coordinator for Quakertown Airport in Pennsylvania. In addition to his involvement with EAA, Mininger has also participated in AOPA and the Quakertown Pilots Association. o
​Final Flights
Robert (Bob) Lewis Emery, a longtime corporate pilot, died June 17 at the age of 76. Born in Abilene, Texas, in 1939, Emery was one of four sons of Lewis and Lourene Emery. He grew up around his father’s company, Executive Aircraft Services, which became a division of Cooper Airmotive (now Aviall). Robert Emery became a corporate pilot, flying for Gulf Oil in Houston for 20 years and retiring as chief pilot. He later started his own consultancy, Emery Aviation Services, which adopted the same logo used by his father’s company. With deep industry contacts, Emery successfully ran the consultancy for years in Friendswood, Texas, without advertising.
He was preceded in death by his parents and younger brother, William Ralph, who co-founded K-C Aviation with his brother Richard and later founded Aviation Concepts. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Marion; son Mark; daughter Leslie Emery Perryman; and brothers Richard and Joe.
Janice Barden, the founder of Aviation Personnel International (API) who was well known within the business aviation community for her contributions over nearly six decades, died on July 31.
Born in Cleveland, Barden obtained a degree in industrial psychology from Kent State University and then spent 15 years working for an airline personnel placement firm. In 1971 she decided to start her own business, API, in New Orleans, establishing the first female-owned and -operated personnel search firm dedicated to business aviation. The firm, now run by her daughter Sheryl Barden, has placed thousands of professionals in business aviation.
Barden was actively involved with NBAA, serving eight terms as the local committee chair for the association’s annual Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition. She also helped create the annual NBAA Careers in Business Aviation Day.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed Barden to a presidential blue ribbon panel to research training options to address the pilot and aviation maintenance technician shortage. She was also appointed to the President’s committee for the rehabilitation of returning Vietnam prisoner-of-war (POW) pilots.
“In everything she did, Jan always made people feel special and valued. She will be greatly missed,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.
Barden was the recipient of numerous awards, among them NBAA’s John P. “Jack” Doswell Award for her lifelong achievement in support of business aviation and the NBAA American Spirit Award for her pursuit of excellence and service to others in aviation. She also received a National Aeronautic Association Distinguished Statesman of Aviation Award and was inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.
“I am immeasurably proud of the lifelong accomplishments and impact that my mother has made in the lives of professionals working in business aviation,” Sheryl Barden said. Along with her daughter, Janice Barden is survived by her husband, Chuck McKinnon, the former head of IBM’s flight department.
Bart Gault, a long-time corporate pilot known for his expertise in international operations, died in July as he turned 67 following a battle with ALS. Born July 2, 1949, in Chicago, Gault moved to Beverly Hills, Calif., as a young teen and learned to fly there. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967, serving two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He was an artillery specialist and involved in special forces in operations and intelligence. After the war he worked at Santa Monica Airport in California, where he met his wife, Pam. He ran a charter operation and flew for a number of clients, including Howard Leight. He relocated to San Diego when Leight’s company moved there, spent time flying for Jenny Craig in Carlsbad and later moved to Phoenix, where he flew for the owners of the Phoenix Suns basketball team.
Over the past decade he had flown under a number of short- and medium-term contracts. “He successfully managed flight departments in some very challenging environments,” his son Travis said, “places folks only hear about in the news after something bad has happened.” He spent months working in Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan, India and the UK and flew in Cameroon, Niger, South Africa, Mauritius, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, Peru, Congo and Kenya, among others. Gault, who was Jewish, was caught in the Arab Spring in Egypt for months before his aircraft owner decided to leave the country. “Never afraid…he respected all people and kept friends of all political persuasions,” said Caterina Taylor, a long-time friend and industry colleague who is manager of North American business development for Jetex Flight Support.
Gault’s symptoms of ALS appeared late last year, bringing his flying to an end. In addition to Pam Boldizar Gault and Travis, he is survived by his sons Gavin and Zach.
