Take a Bow 'Fine Nine' Honored at 2018 NAAA Awards Ceremony

摘要

The agricultural aviation community gathered to honor the recipients of the 2018 NAAA Awards at the Excellence in Ag Aviation Banquet, the final act of the 2018 Ag Aviation Expo. Longtime emcees Rod Thomas and Eric Klindt pulled out all the stops for an awards ceremony filled with lively music, sidesplitting humor and heartfelt appreciation for each person being honored. Since the earliest days of the association, NAAA has recognized the outstanding achievements of members through the NAAA Annual Awards. Nine 2018 recipients were honored for their commitment to their communities, safety and the betterment of the agricultural aviation industry. In addition, Etienne Dormoy, who died in 1959, was posthumously inducted into the National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame. Dormoy participated in the first aerial application to catalpa trees near Dayton, Ohio, in 1921. As an engineer, he not only designed a hopper to hold and distribute the chemical over the target area, he also flew in the rear seat operating the hopper on the first aerial application flight. The awards ceremony concluded with a special tribute to Ken Degg, who retired as NAAA's longtime director of education and safety at the end of 2018. Unbeknownst to Ken, NAAA had flown in his daughter, Trisha, who surprised him as he headed toward the stage to accept a plaque from NAAA's Andrew Moore. The normally unfazed Degg later confessed he had been "floored" by his daughter's surprise appearance. As a final tip of the hat, Agricultural Aviation asked associates of the 2018 award recipients to share their insights about these noteworthy individuals. In the articles that follow, you'll discover the attributes that inspired NAAA to honor them in the first place and may gain a whole new appreciation for these distinguished honorees. Congratulations to all the 2018 NAAA Award recipients.