Inaugural Presentation At NBAA's 59th Annual Meeting &
Convention
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced this
week the Cessna Aircraft Company will be presented with the
inaugural NBAA Albert Ueltschi Humanitarian Award, in recognition
of the leadership and spirit of service demonstrated by the Cessna
Citation Special Olympics Airlift.
The airlift -- supported by 235 Cessna Citation aircraft and
hundreds of business aviation volunteers -- provided round-trip transportation for
1,500 Special Olympics athletes and their coaches from
multiple locations around the country to compete in the Special
Olympics in Des Moines, IA, in early July.
"The generosity of the hundreds of Cessna Citation owners and
operators required to accomplish this massive humanitarian effort
epitomizes the sense of community and service that NBAA intends to
recognize with the Ueltschi Humanitarian Award," said NBAA
President and CEO Ed Bolen.
"We created this award to bring recognition to the often unsung
efforts of the business aviation community to pitch in whenever
there is an opportunity," Bolen said.
The award, which will honor a new recipient each year, will be
presented to Cessna Aircraft Company Chairman, President and CEO
Jack Pelton at the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention Awards
Luncheon at the Orange County Convention Center on Tuesday, October
17.
Albert Ueltschi, the award's
namesake (right), has been widely recognized for his lifetime of
dedication to philanthropic causes. He was instrumental in the
development of ORBIS, an international non-profit organization
dedicated to preventing blindness and saving sight worldwide.
Ueltschi, who has served as ORBIS's chairman for more than 20
years, has made a number of significant financial contributions to
the organization and has been instrumental in developing many of
its most important initiatives.
Ueltschi's reputation for service has not been limited to his
work with ORBIS. He is the chairman of FlightSafety International,
which he founded in 1951. More than 75,000 pilots, technicians and
other aviation professionals train at FlightSafety's facilities
each year.
When NBAA announced the creation of the award, Bolen described
the tribute to Ueltschi by saying: "Al is an aviation legend, and a
significant part of his legacy is his commitment to using aviation
to improve the lives of others. We think this award is a fitting
tribute to someone who has truly made a difference."