Viewpoint T BY ALEXANDRA CONNOLE NATF Building a Foundation for Our Future he National Air Transportation Foundation (NATF) supports NATA’s mis- sion to represent the general aviation industry in the areas of education and training. Through the Foundation, NATA staff and members have been focusing on an industry issue that has increasingly needed special attention: work- force development. NATF’s array of scholarships, donations and grants support industry efforts to empower the next generation of industry leaders—assisting individuals who are passionate about aviation, whether in high school, college or looking to advance their aviation career. NATF also works to inspire future aviation professionals through its grants program. Teachers from grades K-12 are eligible to apply for funding of an avia- tion program they wish to implement in their classrooms. In the classroom setting, students can associate aviation with “real life” and teachers can relate aviation to virtually any subject they are instructing in school. On the scholarship front, after increased organizational efforts, NATF saw a sig- nificant growth in scholarship applications this past year and recently announced recipients for the five scholarships offered. The applicants for each respective scholarship vary from high school seniors heading to college to pursue degrees in aviation, to employees at our member companies looking to further their educa- tion. NATF applicants come from all walks of life—eager and excited to make the aviation industry their home. NATF is grateful for the participation of industry members who volunteered this year as scholarship judges and assisted in selecting excellent recipients based on the skills and merits of each applicant. Please see the sidebar for a list of 2018 scholarship winners and visit www.nata.aero/Scholarships to read more about each recipient. In addition to NATF’s scholarships and grants, the Foundation supports its mission in many other areas. For example, NATA and NATF have a long-standing relationship with the Aviation Education and Career Expo hosted in Loudoun County, Virginia, by NATA member company, ProJet. This past October, NATA and NATF both were pleased to have a booth at this event, where team members interacted with young aviation professionals and raffled off two free NATA Student Memberships. NATF plans to continue attending such events and finding new opportunities to gain traction in addressing workforce development challenges. With workforce development continuing to be top-of-mind, NATF is developing additional resources for industry members to utilize in the coming months. NATF is here as a tool for NATA members to use; our support does not end with scholar- ships and grants. There are ample opportunities to get involved with NATF efforts, such as volunteering to be a scholarship judge, posting internships and job oppor- tunities on NATA’s website, donating to the Foundation or contacting NATF with suggestions on how we can help you. If you are interested in more information or have any questions, please contact Alexandra Connole at [email protected]. Aviation Business Journal | 4th Quarter 2018 NATF SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS DAN L. MEISINGER, SR. MEMORIAL LEARN TO FLY SCHOLARSHIP Andrew Daly student at Kansas State University PIONEERS OF FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIP Miguel Salguero student at California Polytechnic State University NATA BUSINESS SCHOLARSHIP Laura Young employee at Bergstrom Aircraft RICHARD L. TAYLOR FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP Austin Evers student at University of Central Missouri NAVIGATE YOUR FUTURE SCHOLARSHIP Stratton Mills student at Louisiana Tech University For more scholarship information and to read full recipient bios, visit http://nata.aero/Scholarships 11
