NAAA Award Nominations due by August 5

Do you have a rising pilot within your ranks? Do you admire certain NAAA members’ outstanding service to the industry or their community? The NAAA awards nomination deadline is August 5. The aerial application industry is filled with exceptional people who go above and beyond the call of duty, often with little fanfare. Make someone’s day or year by nominating them for a 2024 NAAA Award.

NAAA’s online submission form is easy and quick to use; nominate someone in just a few clicks here.

Who will be among this year’s awardees? There are nine NAAA Award categories and one NAAREF Award. Nominations are due Aug. 5.

NAAA Award Categories
Agrinaut Award: Honors an agricultural aircraft operator, operating organization, or allied member company that has made an outstanding contribution in the field of ag aircraft operations. The achievement cited shall have contributed to the “state-of-the-art” for the benefit of the agricultural aircraft industry as a whole.

Allied Industry Individual Award: Recognizes an NAAA member or staff and/or an allied industry individual who has significantly contributed their efforts for the benefit of the allied industry and the aerial application industry. (Presented by the NAAA Allied Industry Committee.)

Delta Air Lines “Puffer” Award: Recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the design of agricultural aircraft and/or related equipment.

Evans-Christopher Operation S.A.F.E. Award: Recognizes individuals or entities that have made outstanding contributions to the Operation S.A.F.E. program. (Presented by NAAREF.)

John Robert Horne Memorial Award: Honors a pilot with five or fewer years of experience in the agricultural aviation industry who has an exemplary safety record and has contributed to safety in ag aviation. This award no longer has carryover nominations from year to year; a new nomination must be submitted every year.

Larsen-Miller Community Service Award: Recognizes outstanding contributions by a member to his or her community.

Opal and Bill Binnion Memorial Award: Acknowledges those who contribute to NAAA in its efforts to educate the public about aerial application.

Richard “Dick” Reade Memorial Award: Recognizes outstanding contributions by an allied industry member and their company.

William O. Marsh Safety Award: Recognizes significant achievements in safety, safety education or an outstanding operational safety program.

Zoren and Joan O’Brien Memorial Outstanding Service Award: Awards outstanding service to the commercial agricultural aviation industry or to its association.

The 2024 NAAA Award recipients will be honored at the Excellence in Ag Aviation Banquet on Nov. 20 in Fort Worth, Texas.