A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/472615
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015 NATCA DAILY DISPATCH 9 NATCA Honors Contributions to Safety, Union Today's Awards Luncheon honored individuals for their outstanding work protecting and improving the NAS. NATCA's Professional Standards team, Jeff Richards, Garth Koleszar, and Andy Marosvari, announced a new Professional Standards Award. The annual award will recognize individuals who exemplify the values of professional standards in air traffic control. They will be taking nominations for CFS 2016. Mike Odryna presented the Helping Hearts Award to the facility with the highest rate of trained AED operators. This year that honor went to Lambert St. Louis Tower, with 56% membership trained. Since its inception, the program has trained over 9,000 people, deployed 12,000 AEDs in the field, and saved five lives. Attendees of Sunday's future leaders dinner were asked to write an essay about what NATCA leadership means to them. This year's essay winner was Dean Cunday (BFL). Cunday took the opportunity to thank current leadership for their work, and shared his vision of a strong, unified NATCA in the future. NATCA Charitable Foundation President Elena Nash and Robin Hill presented the NCF Award to Denise Geoghagan for her dedication and vision for NCF. She started with an incredibly successful balloon fundraiser at NATCA in Washington, and hasn't slowed down since. Rick Dalton and Bob Everson from Southwest Airlines presented a recognition plaque for C90, ZAU, and MDW for their extraordinary work during the ZAU outage from Sept. 26, 2014 – Oct. 13, 2014. Fittingly, Toby Hauck (ZAU) presented the next award to Everson from Southwest Airlines for his essential collaboration on CART, a program that has created an open dialogue between Chicago-area controllers and flight crews. The program has been so successful that it will soon be deployed throughout the country. NATCA National Safety & Tech Director Dale Wright recognized Margaret Jenny, President of RTCA, for her work creating a culture of collaboration between NATCA and the FAA. Steve Hansen and Tom Adcock recognized two individuals who were integral to the Recurrent Training program. Victoria Stein and Jamaal Haltom have both dedicated countless hours to creating and implementing the incredibly successful program. Lastly, Paul and Trish presented the Steve Hansen Safety Advocate award to ASI Chairman Chad Sneve. In Oct. 2011, Sneve took over as chairman of the ASI Committee. His tenure has been marked by a great relationship with the NTSB and he has led our team of air safety investigators with great skill and dedication.