Hushek is an avid fisherman—his aviation resume was briefly punctuated with a stint in 2015-2016 as captain/ owner/operator of St. Croix Inshore Fishing Charters. And living in Naples has been a dream for him. “I’m an outdoors person,” Hushek said. “I love being on the water. I love fishing. I’m a boat captain. The water’s beautiful here. The restaurants are fantastic, the people are great, the beaches are gorgeous, the botani- cal gardens here are just stunning…. I love photography, and I spend every waking minute outside taking photos. I mention it because I think it is part of why everyone works so hard here: nobody wants to leave! I look around and see the pride on everyone’s faces, and how they wear their uniforms with pride. I’m telling you, there’s really something special going on here.” Hushek’s also trying to reinvent some FBO practices for the 21st century, starting with a full-fledged attack on all the paper documents generated in the daily course of business. “We’re really leading the charge on going paperless,” he mentioned. “It was awesome to be a part of looking to our future in helping to redo our strategic plan. We’re looking at software where the line techs have tablets in the trucks and send everything wirelessly, right back to the front desk. NATA quality control, Safety 1st records, all of that is going to be digital. We’re working with other FBOs; we’re working with NATA; we’re doing everything we can do to provide a safe, modern, and efficient airport and FBO. A major part of this objective is to be an innovator in preserving the environment and natural resources.” Another initiative close to Hushek’s heart is men- toring his staff and making sure they have access to opportunities to progress in their careers, whether it’s at Naples Aviation or otherwise. “One of my biggest pushes is I want to see my staff succeed and grow,” he said. “Sometimes that is going to mean promoting from within, and sometimes it’s going to mean writing glowing letters of recommenda- tions because we’ve helped prepare them for bigger roles somewhere else. I love writing those positive letters of recommendation almost as much as anything else, because I think back on all the people along the way who helped get me to the perfect place in my own career.” Aviation Business Journal | Summer 2019 Ultimately, he’s most interested in helping the Naples Aviation community to reach ever greater heights. “When we broke our first record, I got a big banner to share it with the staff: ‘Congratulations on a record- breaking day!’ And I have a feeling we’re going to need a lot of banners around here,” he said. “What we’re most proud of is not just that we broke these records, but that we did it while being safe: no accidents, no incidents of any kind. It’s like an orchestra out here with everything moving perfectly, planes coming and going, fuel trucks coming and going. It’s really a beautiful thing to behold all those moving parts on an FBO as busy as this one. When you’re breaking records and have a flawless safety record at the same time…at the end of the day, it just can’t get any better than that.” Airport Executive Award: Flora Margheritis Flora Margheritis—Airport Manager for Van Nuys Airport (VNY) since 2016, under the authority of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)—is the recipient of the Airport Executive Award. She previously served as Chief of Airport Operations at VNY for eight years and has held various positions with LAWA since 1993. She works to foster strong partner- ships among VNY stakeholders, including tenants, airport users and operators, and community members. Home to more than 100 businesses, VNY houses four FBOs: Signature Flight Support, Clay Lacy Aviation, Castle & Cooke Aviation, and Jet Aviation. “I had no idea I was being considered for the award, so it was a very pleasant surprise,” Margheritis said. “I appreciate the Van Nuys Airport tenants for their role in nominating me, and it’s an honor knowing this Continued on page 24 23
