NBAA Event's Charity Initiative Sees First Decade
The Pay-It-Forward charity component has been a part of NBAA's Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference for the past 10 years.
In the span of a decade, the Pay-It-Forward charity initiative has become an integral part of NBAA's annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. Debbi Laux (l.), who has served as chair of the S&D advisory committee's Pay-It-Forward campaign since it began, shows off some of this year's donated clothing items along with NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, and Pay-It-Forward vice-chair Mi Kosasa, vice president of marketing with Air Service Hawaii. (Photo: Curt Epstein)
In the span of a decade, the Pay-It-Forward charity initiative has become an integral part of NBAA's annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. Debbi Laux (l.), who has served as chair of the S&D advisory committee's Pay-It-Forward campaign since it began, shows off some of this year's donated clothing items along with NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, and Pay-It-Forward vice-chair Mi Kosasa, vice president of marketing with Air Service Hawaii. (Photo: Curt Epstein)

Before NBAA’s 2011 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC), held in Savannah, Georgia, several members of the S&D advisory council got together and decided that the show should leave a positive mark on the host city. The S&D Pay-It-Forward initiative—one of the event's hallmarks—was born. What celebrated its 10th anniversary at this year’s show in Charlotte, North Carolina, started off as a clothing drive. Attendees are asked to scour their closets for gently-worn business attire, which is donated to a local charity. This year it was Dress For Success Charlotte, and Suit Up Charlotte. The advisory council has partnered with the local chapters of Dress for Success for the past eight years in each of the cities SDC has visited. The first year, attendees donated a total of 74 garments.