shortage, we have shortages at the executive level. So, we need to be continually sparking interest in young people. We need to introduce young people to the general aviation industry, and encourage them to learn more about the world of opportunities out there.” Berg’s own introduction to the industry came from his uncle, a pilot who later became the Assistant Division Manager, DOT/FAA Southwest Region, Flight Standards Division. “As a young man, just knowing that I had an uncle who was a pilot, I thought that was really cool,” Berg says. “I started as a line boy at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) when I was a junior in high school and also learned to fly there. I continued working on the line at VNY even into college when I was at Pepperdine. After gradu- ation from the University’s Aviation Administration program, I began my career managing airports in 1976 at Auburn Municipal Airport in Washington. So, it truly has come full circle, now that I’m lectur- ing at Green River College in Auburn, my classroom window overlooks the Auburn Airport’s runway.” Berg says retirement has taught him to see the beginning in every ending. So, while he plans to spend time with his family, he’s also re-devoting himself to teaching. “At my last job, working at Boeing Field, the view out my window looked directly out on the Signature FBO ramp. I can tell you, I would stand at the window watching the line service people move airplanes, fuel airplanes and meet and greet customers, and I’d just get lost in memories. It was just such an experience, after a long and successful career of running airports and educating young people, to look out on that FBO and remember the start of it all so clearly and so dearly.” DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD: Gerald Dillingham, Ph.D. Distinguished Public Service Award, testi- fied before Congress more than 100 times and oversaw the creation of more than 200 aviation reports in his three-decade run as Director of Civil D Aviation Issues for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), before his retirement in March. “For me, this recognition from NATA is a welcome indication that a partnership can exist—and can be meaningful and useful—between government and industry,” Dillingham says. “It is not necessarily an adversarial relationship, and much can be accomplished through such a partnership. It was a pleasant surprise at the end of a long career to receive such an accolade from an industry group whose activities and inter- ests had been the subject of several GAO reviews and evaluations. I always felt it was a strong and mutually- beneficial partnership, and it’s an honor to learn that NATA and its members recognized that as well.” Unique among this year’s NATA Awards winners, Dillingham says his first passion was for academia. Love for aviation came later. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, then followed it up with a Masters in Continued on page 27 r. Gerald Dillingham, win- ner of NATA’s Aviation Business Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018 25
