HAI Seats 2021–22 Board of Directors

HAI’s operator members elected two new directors to the association’s board this past spring. Both directors and a new slate of officers took office on Jul. 1, 2021.

Joining the board this year are Brian Jorgenson of Timberline Helicopters, Sandpoint, Idaho, USA; and Rick Kenin of Boston MedFlight, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. Both Jorgenson and Kenin were elected to fill commercial operator seats. Board members elected by the member representatives of HAI’s helicopter operator companies serve three-year terms as directors.

Jorgenson is a helicopter pilot with over 17,000 flight hours and more than 20 years of industry experience. He currently serves as chief operating officer at Timberline Helicopters, a utility helicopter company he owns with his wife, Ammy. Beginning in 2004 with a single helicopter, the two now operate a fleet of eight aircraft, including an MD Helicopters MD 530, a Kaman K-Max, and five Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks.

Kenin has flown helicopters for over 20 years, in both the US Coast Guard and the civilian sector. He is the chief operating officer of Boston MedFlight, managing the operational aspects of a patient-focused, safety-­minded, critical-care medical transport company. A longtime member of HAI, he had served as chair of the HAI Safety Working Group.

“We’re grateful to add two individuals with such a broad range of experience to our board,” says Stacy Sheard, a current director and the 2020–21 chair of the HAI Board of Directors. “Their expertise will make the board even stronger and more versatile than it is today.”

The directors also selected their slate of officers, who will serve a one-year term, ending on Jun. 30, 2022. Heading the 2021–22 officers is Chairman Randy Rowles, of Helicopter Institute, Fort Worth, Texas, USA; you can read more about Rowles and his plans for the coming year in his column on p. 6 and in a profile beginning on p. 24. Other officers include Vice Chairman Jeffery Smith, of R.O.P. Aviation, Teterboro, New Jersey, USA; Treasurer Jack Matiasevich, of Southern California Edison Co., Chino, California, USA; and Assistant Treasurer B. Adam Hammond, of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The entire HAI Board of Directors is listed at the end of this article.

Leaving the board after completing their terms are Douglas Barclay, of Kachina Aviation, Nampa, Idaho, USA; 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 A. Viola, president and CEO of HAI. “Every helicopter operator benefits when people like Jan and Doug share 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 is good to know that we can rely on our directors and officers to help guide HAI as we move forward,” adds Viola.

“HAI is constantly working to improve our safety programs and do everything we can to reduce accident rates in our industry. We also want to extend our outreach to the international vertical lift community and help our industry prepare for the coming expansion of aircraft types, as drones and advanced air mobility platforms are integrated into the airspace.”