Continuing its mission to educate the public and elected officials about the importance of general aviation, the Alliance for Aviation Across America (AAAA) held a press conference on the eve of the NBAA Convention in Orlando to highlight the advocacy organization’s recent achievements. Participants included board members NBAA president Ed Bolen; Helicopter Association International president Matt Zuccaro; Tom Hendricks, the recently appointed president of the National Air Transportation Association; and Niel Ritchie, executive director of the League of Rural Voters, who has been a key supporter of the grassroots movement since its inception. The Alliance has recently launched a new website, www.aviationacrossamerica.org, and among its features is an interactive map of the U.S. showing a snapshot of the economic impact of general aviation by state and by community, taken in most cases from state-sponsored studies. “This has been a huge resource for our members to get out there and make the case for general aviation,” said Selina Shilad, the association’s executive director.
The organization has been instrumental in educating and rallying support from elected officials. So far, 46 of the 50 state governors have signed proclamations recognizing the value of general aviation to their constituents. “If you look at where our industry was a few years ago there were a lot of governors who didn’t even know what general aviation was,” said Bolen. “They weren’t about to go out and say general aviation is critical to my state.”
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