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Meridian Exhibits at 2018 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference

The Meridian Team at S&D in Long Beach, CA. (Left to Right): MaKayla Gorski, Kirk Stephen, Chris Battaglia, Mike Moore, Bob Platten, Amber Salvatore, and Phil Boyer.
The Meridian Team at S&D in Long Beach, CA. (Left to Right): MaKayla Gorski, Kirk Stephen, Chris Battaglia, Mike Moore, Bob Platten, Amber Salvatore, and Phil Boyer.

This past week, Meridian proudly participated as an exhibitor at the 2018 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2018). This year’s conference was held in Long Beach, CA, from Tuesday, February 6 through Friday, February 9. The event demonstrated once again its continuing value as the premier educational and networking event for professionals involved in business aviation logistics.
The special 4-day show featured more than 550 exhibitors on a sold-out floor and more than 2,900 attendees (150 first-timers). Both numbers set new records for SDC. In addition, the program included dozens of innovative education sessions, various networking events and ample opportunities to give back to the local community.
“This is the place for a scheduler or dispatcher to go for professional development and education,” said NBAA Vice President of Operational Excellence and Professional Development Mike Nichols, “Especially for someone brand new to the industry, it’s one-stop shopping for what they need to know, not only with great education sessions, but also with peer-to-peer learning that happens outside of the education sessions on the trade show floor.”
SDC2018 included many new features, most notably an increased focus on educational opportunities. With more than 30 education sessions offered, SDC2018 had something for everyone. Tyler Austin, Manager of Professional Development at NBAA, made it clear that they were, “strategic in thinking through what we should offer in our 33-session program, and we listened closely to what attendees said they wanted- from the basics of scheduling to operating internationally, to starting their own business.”
Furthermore, SDC2018 also put emphasis on its charitable contributions. This year alone, three charities received support through the Pay It Forward Campaign, including Dress for Success, Pacific Gateway, and Clothes the Deal, all of which help less fortunate men and women in the Long Beach Community. In addition, dozens of monetary training scholarships were awarded at this year’s show.
In order to create brand awareness and draw traffic to our booth, the Meridian team held a raffle with a grand prize giveaway of an Apple iPhone X! Other prizes included Amazon gift cards. The raffle was a huge success as it drew a very large crowd of business aviation professionals to our location. The entire raffle was captured on Facebook Live.
The lucky winners were:

  • Dean Lynch of CTP Aviation (Grand Prize)
  • Shane Yuknis of Lyon Aviation
  • Rob Swan of Harrods Aviation

Congratulations to the Meridian raffle winners at S&D last week! The Grand Prize winner was Dean Lynch of CTP Aviation (3rd from left), with other prizes going to Shane Yuknis (left), and Rob Swan (2nd from right).
Congratulations to the Meridian raffle winners at S&D last week! The Grand Prize winner was Dean Lynch of CTP Aviation (3rd from left), with other prizes going to Shane Yuknis (left), and Rob Swan (2nd from right).

Overall, the event was a tremendous success. It provided an invaluable opportunity for us to learn and connect, as well as network with industry peers. We were pleased with the event’s exciting environment as well as the overwhelming amount of positive energy that surrounded it. Special thanks to everyone who took the time to stop by our booth and to those who made this event possible.
The next Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, which will mark the event’s 30th anniversary, is set for January 29 – February 1, 2019 in San Antonio, TX. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Aircraft Management Executive Terminal (FBO) General Private Air Charter

Meridian Exhibits at NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference

Team Meridian (Left to Right: Betsy Wines, Andrew Ladouceur, Maria Bochman, Mike Moore, Edvina Floed, Anthony Banome, Estrella Reynoso, Kirk Stephen)

Teterboro, NJ – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) held its 24th Annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2013) in San Antonio, TX from January 22-25, 2013. The annual event provides NBAA members an opportunity to meet the individuals who are directly responsible for the scheduling and dispatching of aircraft at flight departments of all sizes throughout the world. Meridian was one of 425 exhibitors that participated in the conference, and it was well-represented by eight associates from both its Charter and FBO businesses.

Betsy Wines, Meridian VP of Customer Service & Human Resources, was both a first-time attendee and a guest speaker for one of the panel sessions held on Friday, January 25. The session, entitled “Great Expectations…and the FBO”, was designed to be an interactive forum to answer questions about customer expectations of an FBO, including things like fuel pricing, customer service, and FBO amenities. Ms. Wines shared the panel with Michael Heilpern of Monterrey Jet Center and Curt Epstein of Aviation International News. She had this to say about the show, “As a first-time attendee, I found Schedulers and Dispatchers to be a far more intimate venue than NBAA (Annual Convention & Meeting), which gave me an opportunity to meet new people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I also really liked the educational component.”

The conference, which was held in the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, drew more than 2,400 attendees and included over 30 education sessions that were developed to educate and inspire attendees. The Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference is designed to benefit all members of flight departments who share the responsibilities of scheduling and/or dispatching business aircraft, including dedicated schedulers and dispatchers and other influencers and decision makers – including chief pilots, directors and department managers. Exhibitors must be members of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in good standing, and exhibits are limited to products and services directly involved with scheduling and dispatching business aircraft.