West Coast Helicopters picked up another award to add to a growing tally as the Port McNeill outfit was recognized by the BC Aviation Council.
The BCAC announced this year's Silver Wings Award winners, honouring outstanding contributors to the field of aviation in B.C.
The BCAC is a charitable society entering its 75th year. Made up of 160 individual and corporate members, it promotes the shared interests of the aviation in B.C.
Each year, it hosts its annual awards gala where the organization presents its Silver Wings Awards as well as scholarships to students in the fields of flying, engineering and aviation management programs in B.C.
This year the awards gala will be held at the Vancouver International Airport South Terminal on October 25.
West Coast Helicopters will receive the Robert S. Day Award for their long-term commitment to safety, and for developing helicopter tourism on Vancouver Island and B.C.'s coast.
The award will join other awards that the outfit has picked up in recent years. In January of this year they were awarded the forestry/wood products Business Excellence on Vancouver Island Award in Nanaimo from the Business Examiner. This followed the Applied Science Technologists & Technicians of British Columbia's TECHGreen Award in November of 2010. This award, which was in its inaugural year, recognized West Coast Helicopters' commitment to environmental leadership and involvement with sustainable best practices and energy conservation.
Other winners at this year's BCAC Silver Wings Awards have been announced as:
•Entrepreneur of the Year: Conair Aviation who have been innovative leaders in aerial fire control services and products and have developed new markets i the US, Australia and France.
•Back and Bevington Air Safety: Victoria Harbour Master and Air Carrier Operators Team for developing safety procedures and materials key to operation of theVictoria Water Aerodrome.
•BCAC Environmental Award; Vancouver Airport Authority for their first‐in‐Canada ground run‐up enclosure to reduce noise impacts on the surrounding community.
•Lifetime Achievement: Lynne Denison‐Foster for her many years as a leading aviation educator at BCIT and Ron Price for his leadership of the Abbotsford Internationl Airshow.
•William Templeton Award: Canadian Rockies International Airport (Cranbrook) for aviation market development, community outreach and environmental initiatives.
For more information on West Coast Helicopters go to www.westcoasthelicopters.com. For more on the BCAC go to www.bcaviationcouncil.org.