Washington, DC – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) tonight honored two individuals, Rodney K. Kauber and Janice K. Barden, as well as Member Companies that received the 50 Year Safe Flying Achievement Award, at its Annual Awards Banquet, held at the close of the 53rd Annual Meeting & Convention. NBAA presented Kauber with the John P. “Jack” Doswell Award, which is granted for lifelong individual achievement on behalf of and in support of the aims, goals and objectives of business aviation. In a surprise announcement, the Association also renamed an NBAA aviation scholarship after Barden, in honor of her work on behalf of the aviation community.
Rod Kauber has had a distinguished career in both military and civil aviation. After he retired from the U.S. Navy, where he flew as a carrier pilot, he held positions in civil aviation with Flight Safety International, Meredith Air, Inc., Peoples Express and the State of Illinois. He also founded a company, Energy Control Consultants. In 1988 he joined Mutual of Omaha as their aviation manager/chief pilot, and he expects to retire from Mutual in 2001. Kauber has benefited business aviation by championing the cause of higher education in the field of aviation management, particularly through his involvement in the NBAA Professional Development Program (PDP).
Janice Barden, founder and president of New Orleans-based Aviation Personnel International, has been active in the aviation community for over 30 years. She did undergraduate work in Miami University’s college of business administration and was the first person granted a degree in industrial psychology by Kent State University. Since its founding by Barden in 1971, Aviation Personnel International has contributed to hundreds of outstanding flight operations, setting standards for the industry in quality and performance.
Barden has served as NBAA Local Committee Chairman for a total of six times, more than any other person in NBAA history and the only woman to serve as chair. The Local Committee chairman traditionally acts as a liaison between NBAA and the Convention’s host city in the year leading up to the Show. In addition to the 53rd Annual Meeting & Convention this year, Barden also has chaired the 1975, 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1994 Conventions, all located in New Orleans.
Others recognized during the Awards Banquet were this year’s NBAA 50 Year Safe Flying Achievement Award winners: CSX Aviation Department, General Mills, Inc., Hercules Incorporated and Lockheed Martin Corporate Aircraft. These Member Companies have achieved the safety milestone of flying for 50 years or more without an aviation accident.
NBAA represents the aviation interests of over 6,200 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.