Washington, DC – The Board of Directors of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has selected Paul H. Poberezny as the recipient of the 2001 NBAA Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation and Myron W. Collier as the recipient of the 2001 NBAA John P. “Jack” Doswell Award. The Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation is presented annually to an individual who, by virtue of a lifetime of personal dedication, has made significant, identifiable contributions that have materially advanced aviation interests. The Doswell Award is granted for lifelong individual achievement on behalf of and in support of the aims, goals and objectives of business aviation.
With a career spanning more than 60 years, Paul Poberezny is best known as founder and chairman of the board of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), an international organization representing the interests of amateur aircraft builders, sport aviation enthusiasts and others involved in recreational aviation. Under Poberezny’s guidance, EAA has grown from a handful of members in 1953 to more than 170,000 members worldwide today. Each year, EAA’s international Fly-In Convention, named “EAA AirVenture,” draws more than 800,000 people and 12,000 airplanes to Oshkosh, WI for one of the world’s premier aviation events.
Poberezny also has nearly 30 years of distinguished military service as a pilot, test pilot and a veteran of both World War II and the Korean Conflict. Prior to retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he became the only man in the armed forces to attain all seven aviation wings the military had to offer. In all, Poberezny has logged more than 30,000 hours of flight time and piloted nearly 400 different types of aircraft, including more than 170 amateur-built airplanes. He also has designed and built more than 15 different airplanes and currently is working on a number of separate airplane projects in his private workshop. Additionally, for 34 years, he has served as publisher/editor of EAA’s publications, including five monthly magazines and numerous technical manuals and research papers.
Poberezny is one of the most decorated men in the international aviation community, having received hundreds of trophies, awards and honors for his countless contributions to the world of flight. In 1999 he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, OH. He has served on the board of directors of many local, regional, national and international organizations.
Born in Butler, OH in 1930, Myron Collier began taking flying lessons at age 14 and soloed at age 16. He realized his childhood dream of becoming an “airplane pilot” early, receiving his private pilot certificate at 17 and his commercial pilot certificate, flight instructor rating and airline transport pilot rating by the age of 23. After graduating Ashland College with a B.S. in education in 1953, he taught science classes from 1953 to 1959 while concurrently serving as chief flight instructor at a local FBO. In June 1959, he joined the Cyclops Corporation as chief pilot/manager of flight operations, where he worked for nearly 34 years. He received his Master’s degree in education from Ohio State University in 1963. Collier currently is serving his 42nd consecutive year as an FAA designated pilot examiner. In addition to these responsibilities, he fills in as pilot-in-command for several Citation operators in the Pittsburgh area and assists the Allegheny FAA FSDO with flight instructor workshops.
Collier served as a Member of the NBAA Board of Directors from 1986 to 1994. During this period, he was a member of the NBAA Nominating and Industry Affairs Committees and acted as chairman of the RNAV Subcommittee of the NBAA Airspace/Air Traffic Committee. While chairman of the RNAV Subcommittee, Collier authored an NBAA booklet titled RNAV and the Controller, which was published and distributed to the Membership. With Collier’s permission, this booklet later was reproduced and used as a training aid by all FAA Air Traffic Control Centers in the United States.
Additional Collier writings included nearly 40 articles regarding RNAV and related avionics, which were published by Professional Pilot magazine and other periodicals. Collier’s knowledge of avionics also led to a few innovations that benefited the aviation industry, such as his development of a fully enclosed ADF sense antenna for the Aero Commander series of aircraft. He has acquired close to 33,000 flying hours total, with nearly 24,000 hours flown as a corporate pilot and more than 8,000 hours as a flight instructor.
The Meritorious Service and Doswell Awards will be presented on Thursday, September 20 at the NBAA Awards Banquet during the Association’s 54th Annual Meeting & Convention in New Orleans. For more information about attending the Convention or the Awards Banquet, please contact NBAA at (202) 783-9283 or visit the 54th Annual Meeting & Convention Web site at www.nbaa.org/2001.
NBAA represents the aviation interests of over 6,500 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.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.