The NBAA Convention is a chance for individuals and groups in the aviation industry to come together to learn from each other. With this in mind, the NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee is hosting two events that focus on networking and sharing best practices. The committee’s networking event will be held on October 10 from 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Innovation Zone, while the Best Practices Forum will be held on October 11 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in room N232/234.
The NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee formed as a way to establish communication among aviation groups throughout the U.S. Steve Hadley, NBAA regional program director and southwest regional representative and staff liaison to the committee, told AIN that six regional representatives travel the country, connecting groups that share similar issues. Over the years, the organization has tried to establish contact between these groups with events such as networking and best practices sessions at the NBAA Convention and the annual Local and Regional Group Leadership Roundtable.
“All of our local and regional groups tend to face the same problems and obstacles,” Brittany Davies, president of Wind Shift Consulting and vice chair of the committee, told AIN. “By uniting to share our best practices and have quality conversations on hot topics, the strength of our business aviation grassroots organizations grows exponentially. Sometimes it’s hard to start or sustain an all-volunteer organization, and we try our best to make it easier by providing resources and letting others know they are part of a wider network that can help.”
The committee’s networking and best practices events at NBAA were previously hosted together, but they are separated this year to give attendees more time at each event. Some of the topics discussed at the Best Practices Forum are how to develop group memberships, tax issues, how to engage with state legislatures, how to set up scholarships, how to be an active advocate in the industry and how to market your group. According to Hadley, the committee is expecting 40 to 50 people for the networking event and 100 people for the best practices event.
“The importance of holding events like these is keeping people on track and energized,” Hadley told AIN. “It’s best when they know there are other people doing the same thing that they are and they get the chance to learn from them. Many times a group can get stale because [its members] don’t see that there are other people in the same boat. To be able to interact with these other groups and see the challenges they had and the techniques they used to deal with them, the group will be stronger.”
After NBAA, the Local and Regional Group Committee will hold an event at the Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference from February 6 to 9 next year. After that, the Local and Regional Group Leadership Roundtable will be held in May in San Diego.
