Phil Boyer is only the third president in AOPA’s 70-year history. He has served AOPA for 18 years.
It has come time in the flight plan of my life to cross another waypoint. In just a few weeks I’ll be starting a new leg of this journey labeled retirement. This doesn’t come as a sudden amendment to my route. Almost four years ago I informed the AOPA Board of Trustees that I would be leaving at the end of 2007, noting that I would be beyond the normal mid-60 retirement age. With all cylinders running smoothly in my body, I extended that leg to the end of 2008, and now the fix is clearly within view. Since I have worked full time since I was 17 years old, I look forward to the opportunity to be more in control of my daily life.
AOPA has been a life for me—more so than any other job I have held. And, although I worked for ABC Television for 17 years, it was in a variety of positions and locations—none more than five years at a time. So the AOPA leg of this journey has been the longest one—and by far the most rewarding one.
Elsewhere in this magazine you’ll read about the history of accomplishments that your association has achieved during my tenure ( see page 54). But, from my standpoint, no other job I’ve ever held has had the personal satisfaction and direct interface with people whom I view as family. The management and staff at AOPA consistently exude a true member commitment—if you, the members, are happy, we are all happy. And, in contrast to viewers from my 32-year life in broadcasting, AOPA members are passionate and committed to the same ideals and interest.
AOPA was strong and growing when I assumed this position—the association’s success was well under way following its establishment in 1939 and through the change in leadership when I took the left seat in 1991. All I did was keep it on course, sometimes battling pretty heavy headwinds or convective weather, but often just setting a steady course in good weather by trying to see what next level of service our association could provide members.
Throughout this journey, I have tried to think like you. As an almost 25-year member prior to joining the AOPA team, I know what the organization meant to me and my flying. Surely I wanted to maintain the good and improve on whatever technology, such as the Internet and other innovations, offered to provide safer, less expensive, and more enjoyable flying.
We have an internal slogan that truly depicts how we operate: “Team AOPA.” To bare my soul in this, my last “President’s Position,” in the past four years I have tried to move the organization from my micromanagement style to one of collaboration and teamwork. In preparation for finishing this leg of my personal flight I’ve established a senior management team of six executives, four for the association and two in the foundations, who have demonstrated that they get it! In many cases they had been by my side in the earlier years, watching your organization grow in a variety of ways. As I depart the left seat, this handpicked, experienced flight crew will be here to support the new AOPA captain.
The most often-asked question from members and the industry in the past few months has been, “What are you going to do after you leave?” I think, What part of the word retirement don’t you understand? Seriously, I want to spend time doing all the personal things this demanding role has not allowed me to do. In the two years since I have had my biplane, it’s been difficult for me to find quality time to fly, and I surely hope to log more hours and increase my tailwheel confidence without being prohibited by a heavy work schedule. When members come up and apologetically exclaim, “I’m only a private pilot,” I am proud to say, “Well, so am I.” But, on my list of things to do is moving from the left seat to the right seat and, early next year, pursuing a flight instructor certificate. My wife and I are looking forward to continuing to fly—to all of the exciting places to visit and to all of the people to meet. Instead of jumping in the airplane, getting to a scheduled appearance, and then moving on to the next meeting or speech, I’ll be able to return to the single-engine piston days of setting my own pace. I always enjoyed landing at unexpected destinations because of weather, exploring the area, dining at local restaurants, and striking out when the weather changes.
The thrust that drives AOPA forward comes from you, the members. Your unbelievable support of our organization truly is appreciated and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The ability to serve you has been my reward. The smile on faces of new pilots I meet at Pilot Town Meetings, and the yarns from pilots who may have given up flying, all encapsulate the fantastic glue that binds us together in general aviation.
As I move from the left seat of AOPA back to being just a member, I will know better than most how extremely important this organization is to our passion of flight. And, although the next leg I’ll be entering isn’t perfectly defined, my wife and I know that living in our new home at an airpark outside of Cincinnati, Ohio—and our AOPA memberships—will certainly keep us flying.
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