If you were at HAI HELI-EXPO2014 In Anaheim, CA, you might have heard the buzz about our 2013 Helicopter Mechanic of the Year Award presentation. Derek Weeden won the award. During a special presentation at HELI-EXPO, he was presented with a trophy and a check for $8,000. The amount of money Weeden received was thanks to the generous support of our sponsors who recognize the value of helicopter maintenance professionals. We anticipate that the 2014 award will be even larger.

We are now accepting nominations for our 2014 Helicopter Mechanic of the Year Award. Does your company have a deserving helicopter maintenance professional who you would like to nominate?

Here are the eligibility requirements for the award:

•  The nominee must be currently employed in the helicopter industry as a helicopter maintenance professional and have at least three years of experience working on helicopters.

•  The award is NOT for DOMs or employees of Helicopter Maintenance magazine or the Helicopter Maintenance magazine editorial advisory board.

•  The nominee may be an A&P mechanic, avionics technician who may or may not be an A&P mechanic, and any other non-managerial maintenance professional. Supervisors who actually perform maintenance are eligible.

•  The nominee can work for a federal (non-military), state or city helicopter flight organization. This can be a publicly-traded company or private enterprise.

If your nominee does not meet the conditions above, we are sorry, but they do not meet the eligibility requirements for this award. If your nominee does meet the conditions listed above, please continue.

The nominator can be a DOM, supervisor, pilot, another mechanic, medic, or anyone else in the company who thinks this individual should be considered for this award.

Please see the 2014 criteria below.

On a separate paper, either using Microsoft Word or PDF format, the nominator must answer the questions below and e-mail them to the attention of the editor of Helicopter Maintenance magazine at: fpolak@helicoptermaintenancemagazine.com. The deadline to receive nominations is Nov. 15, 2014.

1.  Please state in detail (giving no more than two examples) why this person exhibits a level of professionalism that makes them an outstanding individual.

2.  How do the communication skills of your nominee make them exceptional either in or outside of the workplace? Please give no more than two examples.

3.  We value the importance of passing on or sharing knowledge acquired through experience.  How does the nominee participate in this process with their co-workers?

4.  Being able to see the need for change in workplace protocols, tooling, recordkeeping, etc., is often a valuable capability.  Please offer us examples (no more than three) of how this person has been an innovator, or helped to make changes in the workplace that made progress for the business and/or coworkers.

5.  How has the nominee demonstrated their willingness to learn or broaden their professional horizon?  We know not everyone is offered the same sort of learning opportunities but we are interested in how motivated your nominee is to expand their knowledge base or take on tasks and responsibilities that are new to them. (Give no more than three examples.)

6.  Does the nominee participate in any professional organizations or programs? Also include things such as presentations or specialized training that the nominee has offered to co-workers or other interested parties. (Give no more than three examples.)

We also require the following information on your nominee:

•           – Name
•           – Job title
•           – Name of current employer
•           – Employer/company address
•           – Company telephone number
•           – E-mail address

We would also appreciate the same information on you, the nominator. Please provide your name, job title, company name, etc. This is in the event that we have some additional questions we would like to ask you about your nominee.

In all cases, the information you provide will not be given away or sold to any third parties for any reasons whatsoever.

As a final thought, if your company would like to become a sponsor for the Helicopter Maintenance magazine’s 2014 Helicopter Mechanic of the Year Award, please email fpolak@helicoptermaintenancemagazine.com for more information. Whether or not your company is a sponsor will have no effect on choosing the winner.