Glenn Gonzales, co-founder and CEO of US private jet fractional ownership company Jet It and co-founder and president of sister company JetClub, has been recognised for his industry-changing efforts with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Brigadier General Charles E McGee Aviation Inspiration Award.

AOPA hosted the sixth annual Hoover Awards Gala at the Ronald Reagan Washington National airport in Washington, DC where president Mark Baker presented Gonzales with the coveted award. It honours the life and legacy of General Charles McGee, best known for his role with the Tuskegee Airmen, the Army Air Corps' first African American fighter squadron. The honour is bestowed on the aviator who best lives up to the ideals of McGee through encouraging and inspiring generations to come.

"To receive an award named after a man of General Magee's accomplishments is humbling," says Gonzales. "The number of positive contributions he made to our society regarding race relations, excellence and mentorship are the reason that Jet It can exist. As a personal friend and mentor, I am eternally grateful to his legacy."

Gonzales, a decorated US Air Force veteran, lieutenant colonel in the USAF Reserves and long-time aviation industry expert, has become a major disruptor in private air travel today. He not only embraced McGee's ethos, but he also had a personal relationship with the celebrated pilot. In 2018, Gonzales took McGee on a Jet It plane to celebrate his 99th birthday, and it was the first time the fighter pilot took the controls of an aircraft in 37 years.