Over the summer, Meridian had four summer interns working in various departments throughout the company. What began as an informal opportunity in 1984 for some of our employees’ children to gain some work experience during the summer, has continued to be a popular program with many of our interns returning year after year. Some have even gone on to work full-time for Meridian. For example, Dennis O’Connell, Meridian Air Charter’s President, was Meridian’s first summer intern, working for line service. He recently celebrated 30 years with Meridian.
This year, the interns worked in the Charter, Human Resources, and Customer Service departments and performed their jobs admirably while learning vital skills in Microsoft Excel, customer relations, and business aviation in general. Aside from gaining valuable office experience, the interns learned about the interviewing and hiring process, as well as what to look for in companies and positions when they begin their job search.
This year, we’ve also expanded the program to our Hayward FBO. Samantha Martinez, who rotated between ramp and customer service roles, is Hayward’s first-ever intern!
Samantha learned important customer-relations skills and had the opportunity to get hands-on experience working on the ramp. By the end of her internship, she was given a unique opportunity into learning what makes an FBO run, and the skills to help it run smoothly.
All-in-all, this year’s summer internship program was a tremendous success! We’d like to thank our interns for their hard work, and a job well done!
Category: Human Resources
On Friday, July 12, Meridian hosted a cookout in appreciation of all of its employees. The barbecue was held in three shifts so that everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the food and festivities.
The barbecue featured all the traditional fare: burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, as well as potato salad, chips and other side dishes. Meridian CEO Ken Forester was present for every shift to ensure that he could personally thank everyone for their hard work. The company went as far as having two cakes so that each shift had the chance to enjoy a slice.
With almost 200 attendees, the day was a tremendous success. “It’s a great opportunity for everyone to take some time to relax and enjoy the day with their coworkers,” said Steve Chandoha, President of Meridian Teterboro. “This event gets better with every year, and we look forward to hosting it again next year.”
On Friday, April 12, Meridian sent four representatives to share their experiences and promote the diverse opportunities within the aviation field.
Line Service Manager Nehemias Camacho spoke of the role of the Line Service Technician, as well as the Customer Service Representative. He painted a picture of the day-to-day of both positions and spoke of the unique skill sets these positions build.
Emil Iannone, Director of Operations, stressed the diversity of career paths within the Dispatch, Customer Assurance and Sales positions. Emil spoke on the many different factors in ensuring that each flight goes according to plan, and how each role contributes to the flight’s success.
Celine Martinez and Matthew Barclay spoke about the aviation-specific aspects of their roles within Human Resources and Marketing, respectively, and how the industry needs business employees as well as aviation-specific ones.
For the past few years, it has been the goal of the business aviation industry to attract youth into the aviation field. Meridian has and will continue to reach out to our local community to welcome the next generation into the industry.
