Every year for more than 50 years, the General Aviation Awards program and the FAA have recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to general aviation in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance/avionics, and safety.
The winners are:
- Gary Dale Reeves of Decatur, Texas: 2019 Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year
- Jon David Monti of Gardnerville, Nevada: 2019 Aviation Technician of the Year
- Karen Ann Kalishek of De Pere, Wisconsin: 2019 FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year
The FAA will present individual awards to each national honoree in July during EAA AirVenture 2019 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and their names will be added to the large perpetual plaque located in the lobby of the EAA AirVenture Museum.
Also included in the prize package is an all-expenses-paid trip to Oshkosh to attend the awards presentation and other special GA Awards activities.
2019 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year
Gary Reeves is an ATP and Master CFI with over 7,500 hours (mostly instruction given) in more than 50 types of aircraft from Cessna 172s to Beech 1900s.
He is founder and chief safety officer of PilotSafety.org, an organization he created in 2013 to reduce general aviation accidents by offering free and low-cost training programs. He now specializes in single-pilot IFR using autopilots, GPS and electronic flight bag software.
In 2016, Gary created Master Flight Training to provide three-day Mastering Single-Pilot IFR programs for pilots who fly with Avidyne or Garmin glass cockpits. In the past three years, he has given this training to more than 60 pilots in 24 states involving 26 different aircraft models.
Since 2012, Gary has been a Lead FAASTeam Representative, first with the Long Beach, California, FSDO and now with the North Texas FSDO. In this capacity, he has taught more than 130 free FAA Wings-credit Safety Seminars in 10 states.
Gary is the official national training provider for both Avidyne Avionics and Genesys Aerosystems (S-TEC). He was honored in 2015 by the Long Beach FSDO as both Instructor of the Year and FAASTeam Representative of the Year. In 2016, he was honored as Instructor of the Year by the FAA Western-Pacific Region.
2019 Aviation Technician of the Year
From an early age, Dave Monti showed a propensity for all things mechanical with an interest in disassembling and improving everything he touched. Understandably, he would choose to major in Mechanical Engineering for his collegiate studies.
He was also infatuated with airplanes as a youngster, soloing on his 16th birthday and earning his private pilot certificate on his 17th. He went on to earn his instrument rating, commercial pilot certificate, aircraft and powerplant mechanic certificate, and inspection authorization.
In 1975, he founded Rebuilt Aircraft at the South Lake Tahoe Airport (KTVL) in California, relocating two years later to Minden, Nevada (KMEV). His goal was to provide specialized maintenance and repair services for owners of Beech Bonanzas, Barons, and Travelairs.
In 1984 Rebuilt Aircraft became a Part 145 Repair Station, and Dave has served as Chief Inspector for the Repair Station ever since. He also served as an FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) for more than 25 years preparing numerous aircraft for export to other countries and inspecting foreign aircraft for import to the US.
Dave and his staff at Rebuilt Aircraft perform an average of 40 annual inspections each year, plus numerous major and minor alterations. He holds an STC to upgrade early 185/225 hp Bonanzas and Debonairs to the 260 hp Continental IO-470-N engine.
Dave has been an integral part of the instructional staff for the Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program (BPPP) since 1988, providing recurrent training for owners of Beech Bonanza, Baron, and Travelair airplanes. For many years, he served as the lead maintenance instructor and inspector for BPPP. When ABS restructured BPPP in 2012, Dave helped found Bonanza/Baron Pilot Training (BPT) to continue the kind of one-on-one training provided by the original BPPP syllabus. Dave has participated in more than 250 BPPP and BPT clinics and has touched more than 7,500 Beechcraft pilots, companions, and fellow A&Ps throughout the US.
2019 National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year
Karen Kalishek has served as FAASTeam Lead Representative for the Milwaukee FSDO since 2015, and as a FAASTeam Representative since 2013. She is a Master Flight Instructor and FAA Gold Seal Instructor who holds ATP, CFI, CFII, CFIME, CFI-Glider, AGI and IGI certificates.
As Lead FAASTeam Representative, Karen is responsible for recruiting new FAASTeam Reps, mentoring them, and working with other members of the Northern Wisconsin FAASTeam to organize 15-20 WINGS Safety Seminars a year.
She is an avid supporter of the WINGS program, and has validated approximately 1,000 WINGS credits since joining the FAASTeam. She was recently asked by the Milwaukee FSDO to serve in the new volunteer position of WINGS Pro, responsible for promoting WINGS involvement and activities throughout Wisconsin.
Karen is an independent flight instructor for private, instrument, commercial, flight instructor and glider candidates who averages 700 hours per year of flight instruction given. She has a special fondness for antique and experimental aircraft, and is the proud owner of a Van’s RV-6. She is also a Cirrus Training Center Instructor.
In addition, Karen is a captain in the Civil Air Patrol, serving as a CAP volunteer flight instructor, G1000 instructor, check pilot, safety officer, aerospace education officer, public affairs officer, special flight release officer, mission pilot and cadet orientation pilot.
Karen holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration and a masters in business administration. Before becoming a full-time flight instructor, she was an executive in the banking industry, taught finance courses in graduate school, and for 20 years ran her own firm providing international consulting services in 37 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. She is a certified public accountant, licensed real estate broker, and former certified fraud examiner.
In 2014, Karen spearheaded a project to develop an aviation training program for first responders, working together with a captain in the Green Bay Fire Department who is also a pilot. She has co-presented this scenario-based training program six times (including once at AirVenture), and has shared it with other EAA Chapters.The program has been adopted by the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics.
Karen serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) and is a member of the Wings Industry Advisory Committee (WIAC). In 2014, she founded the Green Bay IMC Club, and serves as its leader and club coordinator. For the past five years, she has served as volunteer CFI Manager at the EAA Pilot Proficiency Center during AirVenture.