An association to represent the New Jersey Aviation industry was a long held dream of people like aviation writer Jack Elliott and former assemblyman Jack Penn. And while the dream lingered both men sadly watched the number of New Jersey’s general aviation facilities be swallowed up, one by one by encroaching development that number has decreased to 48 from more than 100 at the end of World War II.
The dream is now a reality. Spurred on by executives from major corporations, airport operators and aviation service companies, the New Jersey Aviation Association was formed in 2000 to represent the $2 billion statewide industry. The association will serve as the “voice of New Jersey Aviation.” It will defend and promote the industry’s interests, serve as its advocate and lobbyist before the legislature; it will appear at hearings at the federal, state and local levels and serve on task forces and commissions. Board members already have been asked to serve on the State’s airport master plan study team and have discussed cooperative strategies with the Department of Transportation.
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Of equal importance, the association will carry out educational, promotional and community relation efforts to educate state leaders and the public about the tremendous economic and social benefits the industry and the state airport system provide on a daily basis. More than 100,000 New Jerseyans work within the industry, which serves as a commercial conduit to the rest of the nation, and in some cases, the entire world.
If this agenda appears broad – it is – but no less than required in these difficult times. Development in New Jersey continues unabated. Already the most densely populated state in the union, we continue to set new density records annually. Airports, which were built in rural areas, are now surrounded by homes and schools. This has created numerous confrontations between homeowners, environmental groups and the aviation community. New Jersey may be the NIMBY capital of America.
The Association mission will be to address the needs of the industry in balance with local concerns. We shall meet with our opponents, whenever and wherever possible to listen, to discuss and to learn. We may not overcome all opposition but we can create the dialogue necessary to tell the aviation story. In most cases, this has never been done.
However, our first challenge is to organize the industry. We must convince every company, every airport operator, corporate flight department and hopefully every pilot that they are part of a great industry. Only as an industry will we have the power and collective voice to make the future of aviation synonymous with the future of New Jersey. We must establish aviation as integral to the state planning process, a major component of the intermodal transportation system and a primary vehicle of our commerce and prosperity.
A tall order but one we can deliver with your help. Join today.
New Jersey Aviation Association
PO Box 7407, West Trenton, NJ 08628
Phone: 856 234-2552 - Fax: 856 234-9155
