Brian Jorgenson of Timberline Helicopters in Sandpoint, Idaho and Rick Kenin of Boston MedFlight in Bedford, Massachusetts have been elected to the board of directors at Helicopter Association International (HAI). Both will serve a three-year term beginning on 1 July. This will be the first time serving on the HAI board for the pair, 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.

Jorgenson is a helicopter pilot with over 17,000 flight hours and more than 20 years of industry experience. He is currently serving a the chief operating officer at Timberline Helicopters, 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 US 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 Safety Working Group, leading its 25 members as they strive to improve safety across the industry. He also works for Boston MedFlight as COO, managing the operational aspects of a patient-focused, safety-minded, critical care medical transportation company.

HAI also announced on Monday the lineup of officers for the term 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022: Incoming chair Randy Rowles, of Helicopter Institute, Fort Worth, Texas; vice-chair Jeffery Smith, of ROP Aviation, Teterboro, New Jersey; treasurer Jack Matiasevich, Southern California Edison, Chino, California; and assistant treasurer B. Adam Hammond, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee.

“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, Idaho 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. We're constantly working to improve our safety programmes, doing everything we can to reduce accident rates. We also want to focus on extending our outreach to more international members and help our organisation 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.”