The Air Care Alliance (ACA) recently held its 31st annual AIR CARE Conference at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) in Frederick, Maryland. This annual conference brings together those who fly to help others, an activity commonly known as public benefit flying.
The conference kicked off on Friday, April 21st with a Welcome Reception sponsored by the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians.
“The motto of Rotary International is ‘service above self’,” says Alan Dias of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians (IFFR), “ACA organizations, their volunteer pilots, and the IFFR pilots that fly for them embody this sentiment and shine a light on the positive impact aviation can have on communities all across the country. IFFR is proud to support the Air Care Alliance and enable these incredible organizations to work collaboratively together for the greater good.”
On April 22, leaders, staff, and volunteers from over 20 volunteer pilot organizations nationwide gathered for a day packed full of informative sessions and collaboration.
This year’s conference topics included a session on Emergency Response Planning presented by Stephen Burgess of Fireside Partners; a presentation on Communicating in Times of Crisis led by Eric Blinderman, Senior Director of Communications at AOPA; and a brainstorming session moderated by Certified EOS Implementer®, Bill Hueter, which aimed to address the sector’s biggest challenges. Attendees also learned about technology opportunities and ACA’s advocacy efforts toward broader fuel reimbursement for volunteer pilots.
“ACA’s annual conference provides a great opportunity for those involved in public benefit flying to meet and share ideas, improving our missions of service,” says Kristinia Luke, executive director for the Air Care Alliance, “By working together and learning from each other we all become better equipped to lead our organizations and to collaborate more effectively in helping our communities through aviation.”