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National Business Aviation Association
President and CEO Ed Bolen saluted John A. Pope, a key figure in the development
of NBAA and the business aviation industry, who passed away on January 8th.
“For more than 20 years, John Pope tirelessly
championed the priorities of the business aviation community in his service to
NBAA,” Bolen said. “During his tenure, he was instrumental in the growth of both
NBAA’s membership and annual convention, and his countless contributions to the
association and the industry will long be remembered.”
Pope had a lasting impact on the association
beginning in the 1960s. His broad areas of responsibility included not only
membership recruitment and retention, but also annual meeting and convention
management and ground-breaking operational guidance for members.
During Pope’s tenure at NBAA, the
association’s membership grew from about 500 member companies in 1961 to nearly
3,000 at the time of his retirement in 1984 as vice president of membership
services. He was responsible for developing NBAA’s annual convention into a
sophisticated, revenue-generating exhibition of the latest business aviation
equipment and services.
Further, Pope was the first to publish NBAA’s
Recommended Standards Manual and bimonthly Management Aids, documents that are
predecessors to today’s NBAA Management Guide. He also conducted operations
manual workshops in which he helped flight departments develop standards
procedures and policies, and he served as staff liaison to NBAA’s Corporate
Aviation Management Committee and Association Membership Advisory Council.
For his contributions, Pope was honored in
2001 with the Pillar of the Association Award, which recognizes staff members’
efforts on behalf of NBAA. He was the first recipient of the award.
After his retirement from NBAA, Pope founded
his own company to provide guidance to aviation department managers. He also was
a freelance writer, who authored more than 50 articles on safety. Pope served as
a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, flying transport aircraft during World
War II. He was recalled to active duty three times during 22 years of service
with the Air National Guard.
A native of New York and an English major from
Pace College and American University, Pope worked in sales, public relations and
management before joining NBAA. As part of his Air Force training, he completed
studies at the Air Tactical School, Command & Staff School and the Air War
College.
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