HAI Members Select New Board Members
Helicopter Association International (HAI) announces that the organization’s members elected two new members to the HAI board of directors on Mon., Mar. 22, 2021. Both new members will serve a three-year term beginning Jul. 1, 2021.
Elected this year were Brian Jorgenson of Timberline Helicopters, Inc., Sandpoint, ID; and Rick Kenin of Boston MedFlight, Bedford, MA. This will be the first time serving on the HAI board for both individuals, and both were elected to fill commercial operator vacancies. Board members are elected by HAI membership representatives from the association’s member helicopter-operating companies.
HAI also announced Monday the lineup of officers for the term Jul. 1, 2021, to Jun. 30, 2022: incoming chair, Randy Rowles, of Helicopter Institute, Inc., Fort Worth, TX; vice-chair, Jeffery Smith, of R.O.P. Aviation, Teterboro, NJ; treasurer, Jack Matiasevich, of Southern California Edison, Chino, CA; and assistant treasurer, B. Adam Hammond, of Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN.
“We’re pleased to add two individuals to our board with such a broad range of experience,” says Stacy Sheard, current board chair. “Their expertise will make the board even stronger and more versatile than it is today.”
Leaving the board this year are Douglas Barclay, of Kachina Aviation, Nampa, ID, and Jan Becker, of Becker Helicopter Services, Marcoola, Queensland, Australia.
“We’re grateful to both Jan and Doug for their dedicated service to our industry,” says James Viola, president and CEO of HAI. “Every helicopter operator benefits from people like Jan and Doug sharing their vast knowledge and experience with us.
“Coming out of a pandemic year, we have a very ambitious slate of projects ahead of us, and it’s good to know that we now have new directors to help guide HAI as we move forward,” adds Viola. “We’re constantly working to improve our safety programs, doing everything we can to reduce accident rates. We also want to focus on extending our outreach to more international members and help our organization and members transition to the advanced air mobility platform. We haven’t rested on our laurels during the pandemic, and we’re not going to rest going forward, either.”
Jorgenson is a helicopter pilot with over 17,000 flight hours and more than 20 years of industry experience. He is currently serving as the chief operating officer at Timberline Helicopters, Inc., which he owns with his wife. They began Timberline in 2004 with a single Kaman K-MAX helicopter and built the company into a utility helicopter company operating a fleet of eight helicopters ranging from an MD 500 to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.
Kenin has flown helicopters for over 20 years, both in the U.S. Coast Guard and in the civilian sector. A longtime member of HAI, he works to give back to the industry, currently serving as the chair of the HAI Safey Working Group, leading its 25 members as they strive to improve safety across the industry. He also works for Boston MedFlight as the chief operating officer, managing the operational aspects of a patient-focused, safety-minded, critical-care medical transportation company.