NATA Industry Awards Continued from page 23 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: Randall D. Berg A.A.E. 2017, and a Founding Partner of Aeroplex Partners Group (with fellow NATA Board Member Curt Castagna), is the recipient of the NATA Distinguished Service Award, recogniz- ing outstanding service R and ongoing contributions to the general aviation industry. Berg retired on March 31, 2018 from a four- decade career as an airport executive, most recently as Director of Aviation for King County, Washington and its King County International Airport/Boeing Field—a general aviation airport with 150 tenant businesses that supports over 16,000 jobs and gener- ates approximately $3.5 billion in economic impact. “Candidly, it makes me feel both honored and humbled to receive this award from NATA and be recognized for my contributions to the aviation indus- try,” Berg states. “I looked at the list of previous recipients, and was both pleased and flattered to be included in this distinguished group of individuals.” Before taking the job in King County, Berg served for nearly 15 years as Director of Airport Operations for the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, where he was responsible for the department’s two gen- eral aviation airports and the daily operations of the Salt Lake City International Airport, handling approximately 23 million passengers and over 300,000 annual aircraft operations. He has also held andy Berg, a cur- rent NATA Board Member since executive-level airport management positions with the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority; the City of Long Beach, California; El Dorado County, California; and, the City of Auburn, Washington. Berg says service to the industry as a whole has been a personal priority throughout his career, and he plans to serve out his term as a NATA Board Member. He served as President of the Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) from 1997-1998, and as President of the Aero Club of Southern California from 1999-2001, and has served on the Board of the National Aeronautic Association, among other aviation organizations. Just before joining the NATA board in 2017, he served as Chairman of the American Association of Airport Executives (2014- 2015), after serving as a member of AAAE’s Executive Committee since 2011. He recently received the AAAE Chairman’s Award at the 2018 Annual Meeting. “My background is with airports and my passion is with aviation education, so this award from NATA sort of ties it all together and recognizes my work in the industry as a whole, not just the airport side, and that again, humbles me greatly,” Berg says. While he has retired from the former, he plans to continue with the latter, indefinitely: Berg has been an adjunct professor in Aviation Management at California State University Los Angeles for 32 years, and at Westminster College in Salt Lake City for 13 years; and, recently, added a new teaching gig lectur- ing at Green River College in Auburn, Washington. “When I step back and take a look at the mark I have made to the industry, I feel my real contribution has been my passion for educating and mentoring young people in aviation,” Berg explains. “Some of them are no longer young! It shocks me to hear them talking of their retirement plans. It’s just a blessing to know I’ve had a role in helping them choose their career path and be successful. I’m reminded every day, and it’s always worth remembering, that we badly need young people in this industry, because we have shortages all around. We have a pilot shortage, we have a technician 24 Aviation Business Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
