AOPA is taking the message of the GA Serves America campaign across the nation, from Appalachia to the Pacific Northwest.
AOPA Vice President of Airports and State Advocacy Greg Pecoraro told pilots and aviation professionals at conferences in Kentucky and Oregon last week about AOPA’s efforts to educate decision-makers and the general public about the value of GA and how they can participate.
“AOPA is traveling from coast to coast to help pilots protect aviation in their home states,” Pecoraro said. “The general aviation community can best communicate the value of GA to the country by working together at the national, state, and local levels.”
Pecoraro spoke about the GA Serves America initiative at the 2009 Kentucky Aviation Conference in Bowling Green, Ky., on Aug. 27. The event is cosponsored by the Kentucky Aviation Association and the Kentucky Department of Aviation.
He then traveled to Albany, Ore., for the Oregon Pilots Association annual convention, where he spoke about the initiative again on Aug. 29. He explained how pilots can protect GA in their state through political action in the legislature and by participating in the AOPA Airport Support Network and its local sister program, Airport Information Reporting for Oregon (AIRO). AIRO is a cooperative effort of the Oregon Department of Aviation, AOPA, and the Oregon Pilots Association to get an ASN/AIRO volunteer at every public-use airport in the state.
