NBAA Expands Regional Rep Program, Increasing Local Advocacy

April 30, 2018

The association has grown its regional representative program to increase its advocacy efforts.

While business aviation is national, and even international in nature, policies regarding taxation, operations and other matters can vary at the state and local levels. That’s why NBAA is growing its regional representatives ranks, and realigning each region, to enable an increased advocacy focus on a state-by-state basis.

“Our members regularly tell us they greatly value the involvement of an NBAA regional advocate when state legislatures, city councils, airport authorities and other decision-makers are considering policies that could impact their day-to-day operations,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.

“We know that our regional representatives provide this highly valued service, and with these changes, NBAA will bolster the level of local representation our members receive from the association.”

Steve Hadley, NBAA regional programs senior director and Southwest regional representative, agreed, noting that the new structure would include an added Mid-Atlantic region, encompassing the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, along with Washington, DC.

The new region will have the dedicated attention of Paige Kroner, NBAA’s seventh regional representative. Kroner is uniquely qualified to support members on local issues in the Mid-Atlantic – prior to joining NBAA in 2014, she worked for Signature Flight Support, serving as manager of industry and government affairs, then as FBO duty manager at Washington Dulles International Airport. She is a recognized expert on the Transportation Security Administration’s DCA Access Standard Security Program, and participates in a variety of industry boards and committees.

Hadley added that the changes to the program impact NBAA’s Northeast region as well. In December 2017, Dean Saucier, who represented NBAA members in the region for most of two decades, retired, and the newly reconfigured Northeast region now includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. The region is now represented by Brittany Davies, a long-time business aviation advocate with direct involvement in grassroots organizations.

Davies most recently served as the first executive director of the Westchester Aviation Association in White Plains, NY, and has represented the Northeast as a member of NBAA’s Local and Regional Groups Committee. In 2007, she was a founding member of the Colorado Aviation Business Association.