November 4, 2013
How familiar is your local or regional business aviation group with NBAA? Could that relationship be improved? That is precisely the concept behind the new Insights Connection program being developed by the Association.
“We had requests from Members for more personal interaction between Members and the staff, including the leadership, at NBAA,” said Stave Hadley, NBAA’s director of regional programs and Southwest regional representative, who noted the concept began forming among regional representatives at the 2012 Convention in Orlando, FL.
This year, NBAA’s senior leadership was well represented at a Convention meeting that has become a tradition: the annual Local and Regional Group Networking Session held during the show, which this year took place in Las Vegas, NV.
Among those speaking to the capacity crowd were NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, Chief Operating Officer Steve Brown, Senior Vice President for Legislative Affairs Lisa Piccione and other NBAA representatives.
“The idea [behind the new Insights Connection initiative] is to enhance the already existing two-way connection between NBAA staff and Members,” Hadley said. “Together, we can focus on the issues that are important to all of us.
“It’s also an opportunity for regional groups to share information that might not otherwise be able to find and would have to develop on their own,” Hadley added. “There’s no sense in one group coming up with a great idea, while another group has to reinvent the wheel.”
Brown emphasized the importance of grassroots mobilization in the business aviation community when he spoke to the Local and Regional Group Networking Session.
“The gridlock in Washington, DC, makes the work you do all the more important,” he said, noting that most airports are municipal entities, making the input of local and regional groups essential at the national level.
The first NBAA Insights Connection meeting is scheduled to be held in the Northeastern U.S. early next year, Hadley said.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.