Paragon Aviation Group (PAG) has made three awards at its 2018 Network Member ceremony. The first, 2018 Paragon Network FBO Member of The Year, was awarded to Dupage Flight Center in Chicago, Illinois for the second year in a row. According to fellow network FBOs who vote for the award, Dupage has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the network through continuous dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism, ensuring that each customer's visit is flawless, actively sharing best practices and has serving as a role model and mentor to other Paragon members.

The second award, FBO Manager of the Year, is chosen by PAG corporate. This year's recipient was National Jets general manager Reggie Nichols. PAG president Megan Barnes says: “Reggie was voted on unanimously by our corporate team. His dedication to National Jets and his fellow Paragon Network members is impressive. He works tirelessly to ensure the service level at National Jets exceeds each customer's expectation. We are proud to have Reggie as a part of our network.”

The winner of the 2018 Award of Excellence, also voted annually by the members, went to Kristine Klotz, concierge at Dupage Flight Center in West Chicago, Illinois. “Kristine has always been an invaluable asset to the network,” says PAG director of sales Scott Jefvert. “She not only utilises the network to benefit her own location, but also takes the initiative to assist her fellow member FBOs. Kristine has added many flight departments and pilots into Paragon Preferred over the years. She was also chosen as the MVP [most valuable player] at our annual success meeting based on her participation and ability to provide helpful suggestions and ideas to attendees. We are very lucky to have her in our network.”

The success meeting is a workshop on customer care excellence, sales and service for network employees. The Paragon Network is a membership of FBOs and international handling agents; it performs a comprehensive audit of the facilities and services offered to ensure the quality of the member base before any FBO joins its network. Each member FBO must comply with a set of strategically developed core standards to remain in the group.