When you have serious business ahead of you, it pays to bring out the serious "guns." The GWBAA seems quite serious.

Ed Bolen will be the featured speaker at the first general membership meeting of the Greater Washington Business Aviation Association (GWBAA) on Friday, February 25 at the Signature Flight Support facility at Washington Reagan National Airport. Bolen will provide an update on priority issues for the business aviation industry. In addition, attendees will be briefed on the activities of GWBAA's committees on Membership, Operations, Communications and Events. Participants do not need to be GWBAA members to attend.

The group was established to provide a voice and forum for the local business aviation community in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. GWBAA membership is open to all companies and individuals with an interest in business aviation. Membership is expected to include aircraft operators, FBOs, representatives of corporations, consultants, and other entities.

Bob Blouin of Phaneuf and Associates is the newly elected president of the GWBAA as well as the organization's founder. "Our immediate goal is to provide a forum for local business aviation interests to collectively share concerns, thoughts and ideas. Regional groups have been very successful in other parts of the country."

Other goals of the GWBAA include a focus on:

• Safety, security, access and technological issues;
• Providing educational and other support activities to advance the interests of business aviation;
• Promoting business aviation to the public;
• Fostering understanding and goodwill among the local business community; and
• Accentuating the benefits and significance of business aviation.

GWBAA expects to work closely with the NBAA and other trade groups. In addition to electing Bob Blouin as president, Jol A. Silversmith of Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger as secretary, and Mary Miller of Signature Flight Support as treasurer, the GWBAA has elected Oakley Brooks of Bombardier Aerospace, Robert O. Rockwood of Bristol Associates, Paige Kroner of FlightWorks and Keith "Fred" Anderson of General Dynamics as Directors.

FMI: www.gwbaa.com