Acclaimed COPA Directors

The following candidates who were nominated for the 2008 Board of Directors election won by acclamation.

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR – Ray Hawco acclaimed
 

Ray Hawco has been involved in aviation for many years in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ray is currently flying a Cessna 172 on floats. He is founder and currently President of the Avalon Float plane Association and was instrumental in establishing the first COPA Flights in this province. He is currently a member of COPA Flight 97. Besides being on the COPA board he is also Chair of its Floatplane and Policy Committees.
   

NORTHERN ONTARIO - Marc Charron uncontested
 

Marc has lived in the north all his life. He has been to almost every town in Northern Ontario that is accessible by road and has flown in to most of its airports. He’s also traveled the area by snowmobile.

Marc joined the North Bay and District Chamber in 2000 and became a director in 2001. He remained as a director until resigning in the fall of 2005. He chaired the local snowmobile advisory committee for three years and chaired the regional hotel association for several years.
Marc first flew in 1975, acquired PPL and float endorsement in 1976. Bought a Lazair (ultralight) kit in 1982 and built it in two weeks. It first flew on New Year’s Day 1983. He flew it 200 hours over two years. In 1984 he bought a Commander 112, obtained an instrument rating and night endorsement in 1985. He got involved with CASARA in 2004, trained and flew missions until 2007. He always participates in Young Eagles flights and is a strong supporter of the program. He currently has 2,300 hours logged.


SASKATCHEWAN - Earl Kickley acclaimed



Earl has been on the COPA Board for the past four years and has found it a great learning experience. He worked 37 years for SaskPower and was district operator in Lampman until he retired in 1993. He was on the town council for more than 25 years – 17 of them as mayor. He was also a volunteer fireman for 10 years and was the recreation board chair for 10 years.

Both he and his wife Eleanor are private pilots. They own a 1960 Mooney M20A in Owner Maintenance Category and a Glasair 1 that they built.
Earl has logged 2,000 hours. He is a member of COPA Flight 4, Regina and a member of EAA Chapter 154 and is on the EAA Canadian Council.

For Earl the most important reason for being on the COPA Board is to promote Personal Aviation and the freedom to fly.

ALBERTA/NORTHWEST TERRITORIES – Bill Beaton uncontested

Since obtaining PPL in 2003, he has been an active flier accumulating nearly 700 hours, mostly in a C-182 and more recently in a Harmon Rocket II. This experience has exposed him to the challenges and benefits of owning both certified and amateur-built aircraft.

He is also a volunteer pilot for Hope Air and helped to found the Calgary base of some 15 qualified pilots.
 
For the past three years Bill has served as a Director of the Calgary Flying Club. He has also acted as the Club Treasurer and was a member of the Management Committee. He is currently the president of the club and will conclude this commitment in December of 2008. In 2007, Bill helped to organize a group of Calgary area COPA Flights to successfully pursue the 2009 COPA National Convention for Springbank.

He is a member of COPA Flights 14 and 114. He has done management consulting in the Northwest Territories and has visited many NWT communities by small plane. In summary, Bill understands the personal aviation landscape of Alberta/NWT to be effective in representing area interests and mobilizing local resources, when required.

 ALBERTA/NORTHWEST TERRITORIES - Bob Kirkby acclaimed

Bob first took to the skies in 1982. Since then personal flying as become his passion.

During the past 25 years he has owned two ultralights, a homebuilt Starduster Too and currently owns a Piper Cherokee 235 and a Piper PA-12.

He has logged 1,300 hours on these aircraft flying them all over Canada and the US. His passion for flying grew into a broader passion for personal aviation and now owns a small grass roots aerodrome outside of Calgary which is currently home to 20 aircraft (www.skywalker.ca).
Bob has been a COPA member since 1985 and in 2001 was elected COPA Director for Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He now has seven years experience on the COPA Board with the last three years on the Executive Committee and the last two years as Chair of the Board.

His involvement in other aviation organizations includes founding member, past president and past newsletter editor for the Calgary Ultralight Flying Club (COPA Flight 114), EAA member, AOPA member, as well as writing many articles for COPA Flight and other aviation publications.

"I believe the threats to our freedom to fly in Canada are continually growing while support from Transport Canada, our national authority responsible for aviation, continues to decline. Canadians who choose to use private aircraft for transportation and recreation are relatively small in number and must be represented by a strong national organization.

"COPA needs to grow in numbers and financial strength. I am committed to using my experience on the COPA Board, my business experience, my flying experience, and my fund raising experience for several local charities, to help COPA grow into the strong and solid organization we need to keep us flying."