NBAA’s Local and Regional Group Committee’s In-Person Roundtable drew more than 40 attendees who took the opportunity to connect, learn and collaborate with peers and leaders from regional aviation groups across the U.S. This invitation-only event – the first in-person roundtable since 2019 – took place Aug. 16 and 17 at the conference center at Addison Airport (ADS) in Addison, TX. The agenda was tailored for the leaders of new, growing and established regional groups.
Discussion sessions covered topics such as member engagement, events and succession planning. For the first time, the roundtable included a student engagement component, where young people interested in business and general aviation could learn from working professionals.
“I think everyone understands that pilots, maintenance technicians and other notable careers are in need,” said Kyle Eiserer, president of Airside FBO LLC, and chair of the NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee. “However, we also wanted to highlight other industry paths, such as aircraft sales, being an attorney, accounting support and insurance.”
The event also featured networking opportunities with association leaders.
“This was a nice way for these leaders to get together and say, ‘What are you doing in your part of the country or your part of the state?’” said Jessica Belcher, marketing manager at Exclusive Aircraft Sales and vice chair of the NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee. “‘What has worked for you in this past year, or what did you try that maybe wasn’t as successful as you thought?’”
“When it comes to political advocacy or workforce development, a lot of that starts with those local and regional groups, so we want to make sure that each of these organizations continue to grow.”
Kyle Eiserer President of Airside FBO LLC / Chair of NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee
While issues of interest might have varied, the one shared goal is to help business aviation grow and thrive.
“This is just one of many pillars that we’re just trying to provide resources for,” Eiserer said. “I think one of the things that many of us, including NBAA, have realized is that when it comes to political advocacy or workforce development, a lot of that starts with those local and regional groups, so we want to make sure that they continue to grow and foster the appropriate initiatives, whatever is pertinent locally or on a regional or national scale.”
The first such roundtable was held in 2013. The committee is planning another roundtable for the 2023 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), which runs Oct. 17-19, in Las Vegas, NV.
Review NBAA’s regional group resources at nbaa.org/regional.
DVBAA Gears Up for Growth
The Delaware Valley Business Aviation Association (DVBAA) has been reborn and is on a path for growth, according to Paige Kroner, DVBAA co-chairperson.
“We’re starting to build our board, and we have some exciting things happening,” she said. “We’ve recently established an S&D (schedulers and dispatchers) committee and they have already had one meeting so far this year. They’re starting to collaborate on different issues that the schedulers find in their day-to-day issues that are probably more specific to the region.”
Like other peer aviation groups, the association’s primary goal is to provide value to its membership through education, legislative activities and networking. It is open to individuals, company leaders and their employees working in aviation. It offers members a wide range of benefits, including educational seminars, social and networking events, and provides an advocacy voice at the local, state and national levels of government.
Major issues the association is working on include best practices for event planning as well as succession planning, said Kroner. “As a brand new organization, we’re trying to put our SOPs (standard operating procedures) in place and trying to make sure we have our foundation properly established.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.