NBAA Announces First Recipient of New International Operators Scholarship

Contact: Cassandra Bosco

Washington, DC, March 15, 2002 – Amanda O’Brien is the first recipient of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) International Operators Scholarship, funded by corporate sponsor ExxonMobil Aviation and the Avitats. Selected from a field of 13 highly qualified applicants by the NBAA International Operators Committee, O’Brien will receive $5,000 to further her professional development. The NBAA International Operators Scholarship was created in 2001 to benefit individuals who are involved or wish to become involved with international business aviation operations in any capacity.

O’Brien currently is an honor-roll student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, where she is pursuing her B.S. in professional aeronautics with a concentration in aviation safety and a minor in business administration-airport management, and where she plans to begin a MBA in aviation in May. Her professional experience includes an internship with Signature Flight Support and jobs as a charter flight coordinator for Elliot Aviation and an FBO accounting clerk. After graduating from Embry-Riddle, she plans to follow in her father’s footsteps and manage an international corporate flight department.

Both the NBAA International Operators Committee and ExxonMobil Aviation and the Avitats are dedicated to promoting education and training as a means for individuals to increase safety and the professionalism of their positions. The scholarship was presented to O’Brien by sponsor representative Melissa Lenkert during the Committee’s 29th Annual International Operators Conference, held earlier this week at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

For more information about NBAA Scholarships, visit the NBAA Web site at www.nbaa.org/scholarships.

NBAA represents the aviation interests of more than 7,100 companies which own or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn annual revenues approaching $5 trillion — a number that is about half the gross domestic product — and employ more than 19 million people worldwide. The NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention is the world’s largest display of civil aviation products and services.