with their maintenance because, when you only have two or three aircraft, it’s not enough work to justify your own director of maintenance,” Campion said. “So, I rented a hangar where I could maintain the aircraft that I was flying and began contracting with other charter compa- nies to maintain theirs, as well. Eventually I got to where I had to hire a couple people to help, and within a few years, I met with Jerry Holland from Holland Builders and Sheltair, who took a big chance on us renting space that enabled us to move from our small maintenance hangar into facilities that could be made into an FBO. We named the company Banyan, after the trees around our village in West Africa. As fast as Holland Builders could put these hangars up, we were filling them up with ten- ants, building new relationships with tenants that offered services that complimented Banyan’s services within the complex.” After forty years, Campion and Holland are still expanding: they’ve acquired four other FBOs in recent years, now covering approximately 105 acres with 1.2 million square feet of hangar space and offices. They’re currently developing a new $30 million 20-acre FXE Northside Hangar Complex at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, scheduled for completion in December of this year, with eight new 20,000 square foot hangars and a new terminal. “We were out of space on the southside and opening up the northside is allowing some of our existing cus- tomers to move into fully-customized and brand-new hangars,” Campion said. “We’re now able to attract some new customers because of it, and we’ll use one or two of those new hangars to expand our common storage capability away from the busy activity on the southside. We’re looking for the whole project to be complete just in time for the Super Bowl in Miami in February 2020 at the start of the tourist season. We’re anticipating it will be the busiest we’ve ever been.” Campion says he’ll be sharing the Distinguished Service recognition with his entire team and said he wouldn’t be where he is without Senior Vice President Mike O’Keefe, Chief Financial Officer Jim Barcel, and Vice President of Technical Services Lynn Juengel. Aviation Business Journal | Summer 2019 Campion is eager to share credit, “When we use our talents and our God-given abilities to the greatest extent it is a gift back of thanksgiving for having those abilities and I can say it comes back to the company in bless- ings. It’s something I think back on all the time, from my humble beginnings growing up in the bush to being able to look after the most sophisticated transportation and have CEOs trust us with servicing their airplanes, putting their families’ lives in our hands. I jump out of bed every morning saying, ‘Wow, what a blessing to be leading a group of achievers that want to make an impact in our industry by serving it with excellence.’” Distinguished Public Service Award: Dorenda Baker Dorenda Baker—who retired from her position as Executive Director of the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) on November 30, 2018, after a 32-year career with the Federal Aviation Administration— is the recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award. The award recognizes outstanding public service and industry contributions. “I looked up the past winners and found—Peggy Gilligan, Michael Huerta, and Gerald Dillingham—peo- ple I worked with and respect. They share a high level of integrity and a devotion to public service. It’s a tremen- dous honor to receive this award,” Baker said. Baker started and ended her career with the FAA, beginning in the Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office just after completing her degree in Aeronautical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Continued on page 18 17
