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Meridian Honors New Jersey Aviators into Hall of Fame

Meridian shows its support for the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame at the 43rd Annual Induction Dinner.  The ceremony was held on September 27, 2016 at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ.
Meridian shows its support for the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame at the 43rd Annual Induction Dinner. The ceremony was held on September 27, 2016 at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ.

Wood-Ridge, NJ – On Tuesday, September 27, 2016, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey held its 43rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ. This tribute dinner honors local aviation pioneers and financially supports the hall of fame and museum, located on Fred Wehran Drive in Teterboro, NJ. It is one of the museum’s biggest fund raising events of the year.
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. Men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought worldwide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Meridian is a proud supporter of the museum, and representatives of the company enjoy attending the induction dinner every year. Ken Forester, Sr., who founded Meridian with Bob Hewitt back in 1946, was himself inducted into the hall of fame in 2008. His son and Meridian CEO, Ken Forester, Jr., was among those who attended the ceremony for the company.
This event recognized three individuals who are connected to New Jersey and who have each uniquely contributed to the advancement of human flight.
The 2016 NJ Hall of Fame Inductees were:
Robert J. Cenker (1948 –       )
Born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania Mr. Cenker has lived in East Windsor for the last 40 years. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers. He is an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, belongs to the Association of Space Explorers, and is a registered Professional Engineer. He is also a member of the engineering honorary society, Tau Beta Pi, and the aerospace engineering society Sigma Gamma Tau.
After receiving his MS from Penn State in 1973, Cenker was employed at RCA’s Astro Electronics Division in East Windsor. There he worked on the new field of commercial communications satellites, returned to college at Rutgers for his MS in Electrical Engineering, and became a manager in 1980. He held management positions overseeing the design of several satellites, the last being the Satcom Ku program, for which he was the Manager of Systems Engineering.
It was from this position that Cenker was selected by RCA and NASA to fly as an astronaut on the space shuttle Columbia for the launch/deployment of the Satcom Ku1 spacecraft on Space Shuttle Mission 61-C in 1986. During this flight, Mr. Cenker traveled over 2 million miles in 96 orbits and spent 146 hours in space. Cenker left RCA in 1990 and has since been consulting with various firms in the areas of spacecraft design, assembly, flight operations, and micro-gravity research.
Janine K. Iannarelli (1961 –       )
Born in Fair Lawn, Iannarelli graduated from Montclair State University in 1983 earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a major in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. Iannarelli joined Amstat Corporation in 1983 as an Account Executive/Market Researcher operating exclusively in the business aviation industry. In 1984, she joined Aerosmith/Penny, Inc., an international business aircraft dealer specializing corporate jet sales, where she became Vice President of Sales & Marketing. In 1997, Iannarelli founded Par Avion Ltd., an international jet brokerage and consultancy firm based in Houston with an office in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
With over 30 years of experience, Iannarelli is considered a pioneer among women in business aviation. She is a highly-regarded “industry icon” and business aviation advocate. Her extensive experience selling Dassault jets has earned her the nickname “The Falcon Lady.” The Fort Worth Business Press named Iannarelli a “Great Woman of Texas” in 2011. She appeared on the cover of the November/December 2013 issue of Aviation for Women Magazine. Iannarelli was named among four finalists for the 2015 Texas Business Woman of the Year Award by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas and a 2016 Woman on the Move by Texas Executive Women.
In 2014, Iannarelli was appointed to the Governor of Texas’s Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee and named presiding officer in 2016. She is a member of and volunteer with European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and Women in Aviation, International. She supports charities that benefit children and animals. As a sought-after speaker and mentor to youth and women’s organizations, she often shares insights on career development, entrepreneurship, and perseverance.
William McE. Miller, Jr. (1926 –       )
A longtime resident of Princeton, Miller was born in Iran to missionary parents. His abiding passion for aviation began early in childhood. At 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and became a Naval Aviator during the immediate post-war period. Miller flew Grumman F-4U Corsair fighters off the carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge and from the Naval Air Station in Willow Grove, PA.
After earning a Masters at Princeton Theological Seminary he was employed in international Christian missions’ work, as well as projects involving Australian Aboriginal art until 1967 when he was asked to lead a start-up aviation technology company named Aereon. Aereon was well-known in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s for its efforts to develop a commercially viable “Aerobody,” a trail-blazing, cargo-carrying hybrid of the rigid airship and the airplane. In 1973 a book by New Yorker magazine writer John McPhee, “The Deltoid Pumpkinseed,” popularized the company’s efforts to test small-scale models of the aerobody and put it into series production as the “DYNAIRSHIP.”
While under Miller’s multi-decade leadership, Aereon successfully pursued Project Tiger, the construction and flight testing of a piloted prototype aerobody, the Aereon 26. The company also developed the WASP (Wide Aperture Surveillance Platform), and conducted DynASTOL contract research on a military version of the aerobody for the defense department. In the 21st century, several large defense contractors announced aerobody projects of their own thus vindicating Miller’s long time dedication to the concept.
One of his alma maters, McCallie School, gave Miller its 50 years Distinguished Service Award in 1994.

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Aircraft Management Detailing Executive Terminal (FBO) General Maintenance Private Air Charter

Meridian Honors New Jersey Aviators into Hall of Fame

The Meridian table at the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. (Standing left to right): Chris Battaglia, Anthony Banome, Emil Iannone, Kirk Stephen, and Mike Moore. (Seated left to right): John Langschultz, Ken Forester Sr., Ken Forester Jr., Susan Forester, and Dennis O'Connell.
The Meridian table at the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. (Standing left to right): Chris Battaglia, Anthony Banome, Emil Iannone, Kirk Stephen, and Mike Moore. (Seated left to right): John Langschultz, Ken Forester Sr., Ken Forester Jr., Susan Forester, and Dennis O’Connell.

Wood-Ridge, NJ – On Tuesday, September 29, 2015, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey held its 43rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Fiesta Ballroom in Wood-Ridge, NJ. This tribute dinner honors local aviation pioneers and financially supports the hall of fame and museum, located on Fred Wehran Drive in Teterboro, NJ. It is one of the museum’s biggest fund raising events of the year.
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. Men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought worldwide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Meridian is a proud supporter of the museum, and representatives of the company enjoy attending the induction dinner every year. Ken Forester, Sr., who founded Meridian with Bob Hewitt back in 1946, was himself inducted into the hall of fame in 2008. He was among those who attended on Tuesday evening.
This event recognized three individuals who are connected to New Jersey and who have each uniquely contributed to the advancement of human flight.
The 2015 NJ Hall of Fame Inductees were:
Capt. Janis K. Blackburn (Born 1948)
A longtime resident of Belmar, Blackburn began her flying career as a flight instructor and charter pilot. Her true goal was to work for the scheduled carriers. The time was the late 1960s and the major airlines were, by and large, not accepting applications from women for cockpit positions. Blackburn persisted in spite of repeated rejections and was finally hired by Princeton Airlines, a small NJ carrier. This was the beginning of a long and successful career with Summit Airlines, Sun Country, Eastern, Kiwi, and Spirit (from which she retired in 2013.) At virtually every carrier Blackburn was the first female in her position including becoming the first women to crew the A-300 in America and the first female captain at Kiwi. After flying her last trip with Spirit she began working as a consultant with the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, a position she holds today.
Throughout this period Blackburn served the aviation community in a myriad of other ways. Among the organizations that she contributed to, usually in leadership roles were the Ninety-Nines women’s flight organization, the Civil Air Patrol, the New Jersey Aviation Education Council, the Mooney Aircraft Pilots Association, the Air Line Pilots Association and the FAA Safety Counselor Program. She even travelled to Africa to participate in missions work in Kenya. Always interested in youth aviation education, Blackburn recently became an author with the publishing of her first children’s book, Teddy, The Airplane.
Still an active flight instructor with the Monmouth Area Flying Club Blackburn has logged over 22,000 piloting hours during her lifetime.
Henry M. Holden (Born 1939)
Making his home in Randolph, Holden is a prolific aviation historian and author. In 1994, Mr. Holden was honored in the United States Congressional Record for his work in recording the history of American women in aviation. He was the recipient of the Author’s Award from the New Jersey Institute of Technology for his book Her Mentor Was An Albatross – The Autobiography of Pioneer Pilot Harriet Quimby. In 1996 Holden launched the Women in Aviation Resource Center, an online repository of educational, historical, and networking resources for women interested in all aspects of aviation. In 2010 He was given the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of NJ’s Distinguished Service Award.
Holden is the author of over 1,000 magazine and newspaper articles appearing in national publications. Holden has also published 43 books, and is the founder of the DC-3/Dakota Association. His two volume history of the DC-3 is considered to be the definitive work on this legendary aircraft. Holden is a member of Women in Aviation International, AOPA, and EAA. He speaks at aviation events cross the country as a guest lecturer. His work has been the subject of a number of radio and television programs including one on the History Channel. Henry is a former News Editor East for Airport Journals and had been a monthly contributor.
A selection of aviation magazines that he has written for, includes: Private Pilot, Plane & Pilot, Airport Journals, Skylight, World Airnews, InFlight-USA, American Aviation Historical Society Journal, Women in Aviation, Woman Pilot, Airport Press, Aviation History, Vintage Airplane, Warbirds, and Sport Aviation Magazine.
General James E. Young (Born 1920)
Raised in Passaic and Nutley; Young joined the U.S. Army Air Force in January 1942, about a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Upon earning his wings he was initially assigned to flying B-24s and B-25s on 43 anti-submarine patrols off the East Coast. In January 1944 Young was re-assigned to Italy where he flew both B-24s and B-17s on combat missions that included four raids on the Ploesti Oil Fields. In June of that year Young was transferred to England where he went on to complete 34 more missions on B-17s, some of which involved supporting the D-Day invasion. During this time he was awarded both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
Upon release from active service at war’s end Young joined the NJ Air National Guard. He was recalled to active duty during both the Korean War and the Berlin Crisis in 1961-62. After returning to New Jersey he was promoted, in 1967, to Commander of the ANG 170th Military Airlift Group at McGuire AFB. He remained its Commander in 1977 when it became the 170th Air Refueling Group after transitioning from transport aircraft to KC-135 Jet Strato-Tankers. In 1979 Young was promoted to Brigadier General and became Assistant Adjutant General for Air, NJ Department of Defense. He retired from this position in 1980 after 39 years of service and 11,000 flying hours on 15 aircraft types.
During Young’s Air Force and Air National Guard career he was awarded a total of 18 medals and commendations.

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General

Meridian Awards Winners of Fitness Challenge

The second Meridian ‘NO EXCUSES’ Fitness Challenge, which ran from May 20 through August 11, 2013, was recently completed with many prizes awarded to winners in different categories. Meridian employees were challenged to get off their couches and start exercising. Participants were able to choose among the walking, running, or biking challenges. For those who wanted a greater challenge, participants were able to do two (or even all three) programs at the same time. Progress was tracked using MapMyRun.com.

Congratulations to the following employees for their performance in the 2013 Fitness Challenge:

In the Most Miles Category: Prize $500

Walking – Ines Venancio
Running – Cristian Valencia
Biking – Ron Roldan

2nd Place Finishers: Prize $200

Walking – Phil Boyer
Running – Bryan Brecher
Biking – Bryan Brecher

“No Excuses” Grand Prize $500 – This prize is awarded to one participant, drawn at random, who completed all 3 months of the challenge but did not place in the “Most Miles” category.

Winner – Jamie Labocki

“Some Excuses” Prize $250 – This prize is awarded to one participant, drawn at random, who completed at least 2 months of the challenge or more.

Winner – Delia Roldan

Month 3 Prize $100 – Random Drawing

Winner – Phil Boyer

Nice job and thank you to all who participated. We hope that you continue to Walk/Bike/and Ride.

Categories
Aircraft Management Executive Terminal (FBO) General Maintenance Private Air Charter

Meridian Receives Awards at NBAA Regional Forum

Meridian proudly receives the Wyvern Wingman award. (left to right): Dennis O'Connell, Mike Moore, Dan Govatos, Delia Roldan, Kirk Stephen, Anthony Banome, and Bob Platten.
Meridian proudly receives the Wyvern Wingman award. (left to right): Dennis O’Connell, Mike Moore, Dan Govatos, Delia Roldan, Kirk Stephen, Anthony Banome, and Bob Platten.

On Thursday, June 6, Meridian, the private aviation company based at Teterboro Airport (TEB), was one of the many companies exhibiting at the NBAA Regional Forum at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, NY. Meridian sent eleven associates to represent all areas of the company, including its FBO, Air Charter, Aircraft Management, and Aircraft Maintenance businesses. In addition to exhibiting at this important Greater New York event, Meridian proudly accepted two prestigious awards for its outstanding safety record and customer service in the aviation industry.

The first award was presented to Meridian Air Charter in recognition for completion of the WYVERN Standard onsite audit. While Meridian had achieved WYVERN Wingman status in 1998 (as Million Air Teterboro), the company was formally presented a Wingman Operator award and membership kit by WYVERN representatives at the White Plains event. WYVERN Wingman operators voluntarily undergo WYVERN audits to support their Wingman status. Once the audit is complete, Wingman operators provide data to WYVERN’s risk assessment system so that each individual flight can be evaluated. The data provided is checked to ensure that each flight meets all governing regulatory requirements as well as WYVERN’s higher standard for flight times and training intervals. The award was formally presented by Lynn Summers of WYVERN, and given to Mike Moore and Dan Govatos of Meridian, who accepted it on behalf of Meridian Air Charter and the entire company.

The second award was presented to Meridian Teterboro in recognition for it’s #1 ranking among Top 50 US FBOs in the 2013 Pilots’ Choice Awards by FltPlan.com. This was the fourth year in a row that Meridian Teterboro has landed the top spot in this pilot survey. This year, pilots who participated in the survey cast more votes than ever. In fact, there were 37% more ballots cast this year than in 2012. With over 120,000 active pilots on its site, FltPlan.com represents over 65% of all business aviation. The award was formally presented by Sarah Wilson of FltPlan.com, and given to Anthony Banome of Meridian, who accepted it on behalf of the FBO and the entire company.

NBAA Business Aviation Regional Forums are day-long learning and peer networking venues designed to meet the needs of regional business aviation communities, and to provide an introduction to local leaders interested in learning more about the industry. The Regional Forums incorporate exhibits, static displays of aircraft and education sessions into one-day events located across the country to help introduce business aviation to local officials and prospective owners and operators, and to help address the issues of the day in the regions.

The White Plains Forum drew more than 2,000 attendees and featured more than 120 exhibitors and nearly 30 aircraft on Static Display. Business aviation supports $613 million annually in local economic activity, in sectors ranging from business, manufacturing and tourism, as well as provides approximately 6,300 jobs.

The next NBAA Business Aviation Regional Forum is set for July 11, 2013, in Denver, CO. Meridian will be exhibiting at the Denver event, and it is also planning to feature a Falcon 900EX EASy, one of its nineteen charter aircraft, on the static display.

Meridian is honored to receive the Pilots' Choice Award from FltPlan.com for being ranked the #1 US FBO for the fourth year in a row. (left to right): Kirk Stephen, Bob Platten, Ken Forester, Anthony Banome, John Langschultz, Sarah Wilson of FltPlan.com, Dennis O'Connell, Mike Moore, and Delia Roldan.
Meridian is honored to receive the Pilots’ Choice Award from FltPlan.com for being ranked the #1 US FBO for the fourth year in a row. (left to right): Kirk Stephen, Bob Platten, Ken Forester, Anthony Banome, John Langschultz, Sarah Wilson of FltPlan.com, Dennis O’Connell, Mike Moore, and Delia Roldan.