• Printer Friendly
• Email Page

Speech

FAA Corporate Awards

Ventris [Gibson], thank you, and good morning.

That includes you too out there in Alaska, where it’s about 6 a.m. And to everyone on the West Coast, where it’s 7 in the morning. To you I say — good early morning.

We’re here today to recognize and to congratulate a number of people who have been selected as the best of the best. You know, this is our second year for the Corporate Awards program. We put this effort together in response to feedback provided directly by FAA employees. I tell you, when you ask an FAA employee for an opinion, get ready. A reticence to express what’s on our mind isn’t something we struggle with as an agency. So when we heard through Flight Plan feedback and through the Employee Attitude Survey that a corporate awards program was a good idea — well, here we are.

And that’s a very good thing, because we’re here to celebrate people and achievement. These folks have demonstrated excellence in service to the FAA and to our country.

But just as this is a government of the people, it’s also a government run by the people — the people in this room, who’ve committed your lives and your careers to jobs that are vital to our nation.

People don’t choose public service for prestige, glamour or recognition. They’re not trying to get rich. They’re just trying to make a difference, and that’s a great calling.

In this golden anniversary of the FAA, we should remember that government is only as good as the people who make it work one day at a time.

I’m talking about folks like Bill Jacobs. Bill, where are you? Raise your hand for a second.

Bill works out of San Diego in Terminal Operations, and he’s the winner of the Aviation Save Award. Listen to what he did to earn it.

Bill was working at SoCal TRACON one night when an emergency call came in. A student pilot was flying over Tijuana, lost and disoriented. Panic had set in.

With his experience as a pilot, he calmed the student down and tried to help her land at Gillespie Field in San Diego.

There was one problem — it was dark out, and the pilot couldn’t see the runway lights or read her instruments.

So the tower turned up the lights to maximum power. And with Bill’s calm voice for guidance, she touched down safely. The pilot was so shaken by the whole thing, she couldn’t taxi in, so Bill talked her through it until help arrived.

Nicely done, Bill. Thank you.

Here’s one more. Where’s Kee-kee Rice? Raise your hand, please. Kee-kee’s an airport program specialist in College Park, Georgia. And she’s won the Golden Wings Award for Secretarial/Clerical/Administrative Service.

Kee-kee is the focal point for one of the largest airport grant programs in the nation. She was responsible for monitoring over 80 new grants worth more than $200 million. This is no easy task.

You have to know where every grant is as it navigates through several layers of reviews and approvals. So she created a tracking system to keep managers apprised of where every grant was every step of the way.

As the program progressed, she prepared allocation letters to mayors, city managers and airport officials.

Let me ask you, who wouldn’t be happy to get a letter from Ms. Rice saying, “Oh by the way, we’re sending you $10 million for that new runway?”

But because she went above and beyond, all national and program office goals were met, and then exceeded. That’s public service in a nutshell. Congratulations, Kee-kee. And thank you.

Time won’t permit me to detail the accomplishments of all 89 honorees, but let me just say Bobby and I are proud to have all of you working for the FAA.

Finally, I’d just like to say that you’re what is best about the FAA — the commitment and determination of individual citizens in service to our nation.

Through your efforts, we can make today’s FAA a model for the generation that’ll follow us. I’m counting on you, and so is everyone who flies. Thank you.