NBAA Applauds NAA Recognition of Business Aviation Leaders

Dec. 9, 2016

NBAA welcomed the recognition of five members of the business aviation community, who were honored at the fall awards dinner of the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) on Dec. 8 in Arlington, VA.

Clay Lacy, Randall Greene, Preston Henne and Dr. Peggy Chabrian each received NAA’s 2016 Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman of Aviation Award. Established in 1954, the award honors “outstanding Americans who, by their efforts of an extended period of years, have made contributions of significant value to aeronautics and have reflected credit upon America and themselves.” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen was at the event, and presented the awards to Chabrian, Greene and Henne.

• The recipient of NBAA’s Meritorious Service to Aviation Award in 2011, Lacy has been a leading figure in business aviation since the 1960s, when he established his FBO at California’s Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and became the Western distributor of the new Lear Jet. Lacy has amassed more than 50,000 hours aloft, including time as an Air Force aviator, airline pilot, air racer and videographer specializing in air-to-air sequences for Hollywood movies and TV commercials.
• Greene, chairman, president, and CEO of Safe Flight Instrument Corp., has made significant contributions to aviation, from 15 patents to his ongoing support of NBAA charities. He is also chairman of the board of the Corporate Angel Network, which helps cancer patients by arranging free transportation to treatment centers across the country using empty seats on business aircraft. Greene’s father, Leonard, was a founding member and pilot of the first CAN flight in 1981.
• Known for his expertise in advanced aerodynamics, Henne began his career in 1969 with McDonnell Douglas. He joined Gulfstream in 1994 and led the teams that designed, developed, and certified the Gulfstream V, G550 and G650.
• Chabrian founded Women in Aviation International in 1994. With more than 13,000 members, the organization provides networking, education and scholarships to women and men who seek careers in aviation.

Also honored was another CAN founder, Pricilla (Pat) Blum, who received NAA’s 2016 Katherine Wright Trophy. Named for the Wright brothers’ sister, the award recognizes an individual who “has contributed to the success of others, or made a personal contribution to the advancement of the art, sport, and science of aviation and space flight over an extended period of time.” A commercial pilot, Blum, along with Jay Weinberg, both cancer survivors, originally conceived the CAN concept.

NAA was founded in 1905, and is the oldest national aviation club in the United States. NAA is dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the United States. Learn more about NAA and its awards program.