Greg Vail And Gary Harpster Take Leadership Roles
Members of the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) elected
new representatives to its board of directors this month during the
AEA International Convention in Orlando. In addition, the AEA board
of directors elected a new chairman and new vice chairman.
Three incumbents seeking re-election and one new board member
were elected to represent the United States on the AEA board. For
the first time under new bylaws, three board members also were
elected to represent the association's three international regions:
Canada, Europe and the South Pacific. All members of the AEA board
are limited to three, three-year terms.
The new AEA chairman of the board is Greg Vail (right), a
long-time member and former vice chairman. Vail is the general
manager of Bloomington Avionics, Bloomington, Ill. He has more than
29 years experience in the aviation business, and he is a licensed
single-engine pilot with instrument endorsement.
Vail was a member of the AEA's Strategic Planning Committee
before being elected to the board of directors in 2005. He chaired
the AEA's Government & Industry Affairs Committee, and he also
spearheads the AEA Ambassador Program to promote better
communication between AEA member companies and FAA Flight Standards
District Offices.
He and his wife, Sandra, have two grown children.Vail is a
native and life-long resident of Illinois.
"(The AEA has) enjoyed explosive growth during the past 15
years, and we continually represent avionics repair stations around
the world," Vail said. "We've grown rapidly throughout the world,
and today have members in nearly 40 countries.
"As an industry and as an association, we have a number of
challenges in front of us. Safety management systems, TSA mandates,
OSHA mandates - there are just a number of upcoming issues the
association will be there to assist members with."
Vail is the first person to become AEA chairman under the new
governance structure of the bylaws: serving first on a committee,
then as a director on the board, then as vice chairman of the
board, and now, chairman.
"Before that, many, many people put many, many years of effort
into this organization. When the time came for change, the change
was peaceful and went forward without any problems. I think the new
structure is working well.
"I'm happy I was part of the board's original strategic planning
committee and was able to see this transition all the way through
from its inception to the present. I simply hope I'll do as well in
this position as all the predecessors I've had the opportunity to
know and learn from. I hope I can meet their expectations."
Gary Harpster (right) of Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, NE, was
elected as the new AEA vice chairman of the board. Harpster was
first elected to the AEA board of directors in 2005.
After leaving the Navy in 1976, Harpster acquired both his
private and commercial pilot's licenses. He then went back to
school at the University of Omaha and later transferred to Iowa
Western, where he received a degree in electronics technology.
Harpster flew for Omaha Air Supply for two years before landing
a job at Sky Harbor in Omaha as manager of the avionics shop. In
1985, he joined Duncan Aviation and helped set up its first
satellite shop in Houston, Texas. After Houston, he helped with a
second shop in Cleveland, Ohio. During his early career, Harpster
wrote repair station manuals and bought test equipment to get the
shops running. He then became an avionics technical representative,
troubleshooting aircraft systems. During the CVR era, he moved into
his current position in avionics sales.
He and his wife, Susan, have three children and one
grandchild.
The four open board of director seats for U.S. representation
were filled during the 2010 AEA election, in which all AEA member
companies vote, by incumbents Greg Vail; Chuck Freeland of Sandel
Avionics, Vista, CA; and Rick Peavley of Vero Beach Avionics, Vero
Beach, FL; and first-time board member Mike LaConto of Epps
Aviation, Atlanta, GA, who has served as a member of the AEA's
Government & Industry Affairs Committee since 2007. The
AEA board of directors re-elected Freeland to once again serve as
secretary of the board.
Those who were elected to the new international seats on the AEA
board of directors are Garry Joyce of IAE Ltd., Cranfield, England,
representing the European region, and Michael Kus of Avionics 2000,
Melbourne, Australia, representing the South Pacific region. Vince
Scott of Midland Instruments Ltd., Ontario, Canada, who was not up
for re-election, represents the Canada region.