BCGA Attends Aviation Association Leader’s Dinner

As directors of the BC General Aviation Association, Ken Wardstrom and Ryan Van Hare were honored to be invited to a “VIP” dinner hosted by the Washington Pilots Association and AOPA.
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This weekend Bremerton Washington (KPWT) is hosting the AOPA West Fly-in where they expect well over 3000 attendees and more than 500 aircraft to partake. Each year AOPA hosts 4 fly-ins in different cities and this year Bremerton was chosen to host. This was my first time in Bremerton and I was not disappointed. The city or Bremerton and Port Orchard have great amenities, friendly people and a gorgeous waterfront. Most importantly they are home to a fantastic airport.

The VIP dinner was hosted by Jim Posner, President of the Washington Pilots Association. Jim did a first class job organizing this important networking dinner.

General aviation is an important part of our culture and as Mark Baker, President of AOPA said there are 2 types of people. Pilots and Future Pilots. Attending this dinner allowed us to meet some of the other key players in general aviation especially in the North and West regions of the USA. 

Compared to most of these organizations the BCGA is still in its infancy but we are excited by the contacts that we made and look forward to working with other like minded organizations to further general aviation in British Columbia. 

Some of the attendees included:

President – AOPA
Senior Director, Comminications – AOPA
Director of Outreach and Events – AOPA
Northwest Regional Manager – AOPA
Senior Director, Government Affairs – AOPA
Director, BC & Yukon – COPA
CEO – Alaska Airlines
Director – Bremerton National Airport
President – Washington Pilots Association
CEO – Port of Bremerton
Commissioner – Port of Bremerton
Mayor – City of Bremerton
Council Member – City of Bremerton
Director of Aviation – Washington State Department of Transportation
Vice President – Washington Seaplane Pilots Association
President – Chapter 406 EAA 
Government Affairs Director – Washington Pilots Association
President – California Pilots Association
Director – Oregon Pilots Association
President – Idaho Pilots Association
President – Montana Pilots Association
Directors – British Columbia General Aviation Association
Reporter – Kitsap Sun
President – Kenmore Aviation Services
Director – Recreational Aviation Foundation
Founder – FATPNW (Flights Above the Pacific Northwest
Executive Director – Angel Flight West

We look forward to maintaining these contacts and working with these other fine organizations as we move towards improving and promoting general aviation throughout British Columbia!

http://www.kpbj.com/news/hundreds-of-pilots-to-touch-down-in-bremerton-39e57afa-0160-7dce-e053-0100007f7b25-390048601.html
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