April 11, 2011
Safety events hosted by regional business aviation groups are not only beneficial for the important information they convey, but also for the hosting group’s visibility, fundraising efforts and membership, as well the opportunity for networking that safety days afford attendees.
The value of hosting a safety day, plus invaluable tips on how to plan for and hold a local safety event, were the subject of a recent NBAA Regional Group Leadership Webinar, one in a series of webinars that NBAA hosts for the benefit of and at the request of regional business aviation groups nationwide.
“Hosting a Successful Regional Business Aviation Safety Event,” the fourth webinar in the series, featured presentations from three highly knowledgeable veterans of safety days: Dave Lehman of the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association (PNBAA), Jeff Agur of the Georgia Business Aviation Association (GBAA), and Ben Lewis of the Partnership for Corporate Aviation Training (PCAT).
NBAA’s regional representatives also participated in the webinar, and Kristi Ivey, NBAA’s Northwest regional representative, was quick to point out that even those regions of the country that currently don’t have a regional group could still consider hosting a safety event—the event gives a group a reason for existence and helps bring various aviation interests together.
Topics covered in the webinar included safety day planning considerations—financial concerns, content, speakers, time constraints, location, and more—as well as ideas on how to keep annual safety days fresh from year to year for those groups who are hosting established events.
Agur of GBAA encouraged groups to get attendee feedback as well as pay close attention to “hot topics” that will attract a crowd, and both he and Lehman of PNBAA stressed the importance of learning from other organizations and established safety events such as Bombardier’s Safety Standdown and Flight Safety Foundation’s annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar (CASS), co-presented with NBAA.
Lewis noted that PCAT gets support from the local aviation community for its events, including the Air Force, and that attendees find that a regional event for safety training in their area is usually much more efficient for them then having to travel to another part of the country.
NBAA members can view the presentations from the Regional Safety Event webinar, or watch the recorded webinar. Members are encouraged to visit NBAA’s Regional Groups Library for information on the Regional Webinars as well as ideas and documents useful for putting on career fairs, golf tournaments, safety days and other events, as well as additional resources for regional groups.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.