Jay White, former president and current general counsel of the California Pilots Association (CPA) was named the winner of AOPA’s Joseph R. Crotti award Oct. 12. White was lauded for his efforts in the past 30 years to protect California’s general aviation airports and fight for pilots’ flight privileges.
In 1974, White, a commercial airline pilot, singlehandedly saved the organization, then known as the California Aviation Council, when no one came forward to assume leadership.
As the new leader, White worked tirelessly on GA matters within the state, subsequently developing an excellent working relationship with the California Department of Transportation Division of Aeronautics. This valuable relationship is still in place. He also applied his law degree to better understand state aviation regulations, and deal with some of the state’s airport sponsors who rejected the aeronautic division’s handbook on appropriate land usage around their airports.
The Crotti Award for GA advocacy in California is named in honor of the late Joe Crotti, longtime AOPA regional representative and former chief of the state’s Division of Aeronautics. The award was presented during AOPA Aviation Summit in Palm Springs, Calif.
