North American MRO and completions company Flying Colours Corp has recently celebrated employee service anniversaries with a luncheon at its Peterborough, Ontario, headquarters. Senior vice president finance and administration Debbie Amman was acknowledged for working with president John Gillespie for more than 40 years, as was senior vice president technical services Tony Barrett, who has worked with Gillespie for 37 years. Both were present to witness the company evolve into a full MRO, interiors and modification business in 1989.

Achieving his AME (aircraft maintenance engineer) licence in 1985, Barrett became director of maintenance in 1988. He has mirrored the company's development from single hangar and a small team as he progressed from AME, then director of maintenance to VP maintenance. As the size of the aircraft increased from Pipers and Beech 99s through Bombardier Challenger types up to Bombardier CRJ size, so Barrett's career progressed to where, as senior vice president, he is supporting the company's ambition to be a team of 500 by the end of the year. “It has been a tremendous journey for me personally and professionally over the decades at Flying Colours,” says Barrett. “The opportunity to develop a career path through to senior VP at the same business is a rare one. It is an honour to have worked here for so long. I'm still excited to see what the future brings for Flying Colours as it continues its exponential growth.”

At the celebration, the company provided a catered lunch for employees and honoured five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-year employees. In all, 111 employees from operations, production, engineering paintwork, maintenance, administration and management groups celebrated a milestone anniversary and received a customised plaque. The ceremony was preceded by a town hall-type discussion where employees were encouraged to ask questions of senior leadership, a hallmark of Flying Colours' commitment to transparent management.

“We're proud that we've created a culture where employees are valued and where they choose to stay,” says executive VP Sean Gillespie. “We're fortunate to be in a growth mode right now and we're looking for additional people to join our work family, especially skilled craftspeople and aircraft technicians. We're confident that once they join our team, we will one day be celebrating their service anniversaries too.”