The National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) Washington Legislative Conference was held over a three day period last week in Washington D.C., in collaboration with AASHTO’s Washington Briefing. U.S. Representative Todd Rokita (R-Ind) was one of the many speakers who addressed state aviation and other transportation officials. “Congressman Rokita is a great supporter of general aviation,” said Kim Stevens, Interim President and CEO of NASAO. “He is a member of the GA Caucus, a pilot and introduced the General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2013.” (Representative Rokita, right and Chris Willenborg, NASAO Chairman, from Massachusetts. NASAO Photo by Kim Stevens)
Other speakers included, Rich Swayze, Senior Professional Staff Member for the Aviation Operations, Safety and Security Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, FAA’s Ben De Leon, Acting Associate Administrator for Airports, Joel Bacon, Executive Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for AAAE, and Amanda Joyner, Director of Government Affairs, GAMA.
“We were pleased with the support of AASHTO’s Shayne Gill and West Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation, Paul A. Mattox, Jr., Chair of the AASHTO/NASAO Standing Committee on Aviation, allowing us to create a successful session focused on aviation for our members,” said Stevens. Selena Shilad, Executive Director of the Alliance for Aviation Across America joined Secretary Mattox and Gill in introducing a draft report entitled ‘Impact of General Aviation on State and Local Economies.’
