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EDUCATION October 2014 airportbusiness 35 The mission of the Aviation Initiative is "To promote develop- ment of aviation-related skills and knowledge through the collabora- tion of local academic institutions, civic leaders, government officials, corporations, communities and aviation advocates." If that sounds like a dream, you should see what this initia- tive has accomplished since it was founded by three men over a table in July 2013. These men are far from being dreamers. They are Tennessee State Rep. Tony Shipley, Bell Helicopter training/support manager Richard Blevins, and aviation/education advocate Henry (Hank) Somers, a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and a pilot. This all started in February 2013 when ASQ members took a tour of Bell Helicopter's facility in Piney Flats, Tenn. This facility sends finished, made-to-customer-order helicopters around the world. Bell—employing approximately 500 people in northeast Tennessee—is a primary industry for the region and our nation while also improving our national balance of trade. On that tour, Somers learned Bell only hires a small fraction of its employees from the local area. That is certainly not because Bell doesn't want to hire locally, but because, as Blevins explains, Bell requires skills that are scarce in the local area. That got Somers interested. Bell was importing employees. If local schools taught the required skills it would help the local economy and help Bell. Somers knew that the aviation industry tends to attract other aviation industry—Wichita, Kan., is a perfect example—and Bell's success in the local hiring market would attract other aviation industry. Schools, by offering skills- based courses, would gain new students. Not all young people want to go to college and not all good jobs require a college degree. New courses could train students for interesting jobs that pay well. Tri-Cities Regional Airport would see an increase in traffic and help attract businesses to the industrial parks on the airport—Aviation Parks I and II—as most aviation firms require airport locations with airport access. BUILDING SUPPORT More tours followed with top community lead- ers including Dr. Janice Gilliam, president of Northeast State Community College; Patrick Wilson, executive director of Tri-Cities Regional Airport; Shipley and other regional leaders. Blevins' Bell tours continued to stir up interest. Less than a year after the Aviation Initiative was founded, Northeast State Community G ood things are happening in the Tri- Cities area (Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol) of northeast Tennessee, thanks to good people working together for a grassroots project they founded themselves: The Northeast Tennessee Aviation Initiative. I've never seen a project gain so much support so fast from such a wide cross-section of people. Aviation Academics The Northeast Tennessee Aviation Initiative aims to attract students to aviation careers while attracting businesses to the airport By Ralph Hood Bell execs flew in on a helicopter to announce the firm's collaboration with Northeast State Community College to develop an aviation curriculum.