Outstanding Achievement in Airport Snow and Ice Control

The 24^th Balchen/Post Award ceremony was held at the 34^th Annual International Aviation Snow Symposium in Buffalo, New York on May 3, 2000. The award, which recognizes excellence in the performance of airport snow and ice removal, was presented to the "snow crews" of the airports in the Snow Belt for their dedicated efforts in maintaining their airports in safe and operational status during the 1999 to 2000 winter season. All categories of airports - commercial, general aviation and military - throughout the United States and Canada compete for this award.

The award, formerly called the Balchen Award, was named for the Arctic explorer and aviator col. Bernt Balchen. The award now also honors Wiley Post, who along with Balchen was one of the founders of the International Aviation Snow Symposium. (See NBAA Digest, Vol. 11, No. 3, "Nominations Accepted for '98 Balchen/Post Award.")

Nominations for this award come from users of airports, including airlines, airline pilots, general aviation personnel, business aircraft pilots, regional airlines, the military and even non-airport users such as hotel owners, parking lot and ground transportation operators, chambers of commerce and so forth. These individuals and organizations nominate local airports to recognize their ability to stay operational at all times for business purposes.

Nominated airports are categorized according to their size. The six categories are small general aviation airports, large general aviation airports, small commercial airports, medium commercial airports, large commercial airports and military airports. The Selections Committee for the award consists of 10 members from various organizations, including, NBAA. Airports that received the award are listed below.

Small General Aviation (Less than 50,000 total operations per year)
Winner: Hartness State Airport (Springfield, Vt.)
Mention: Porter County Municipal Airport (Valparaiso, In.)

Large General Aviation (More than 50,000 total operations per year)
Winner: Centennial County Airport (Englewood, Co.)
Mention: Chesterfield County Airport (Richmond, Virginia) and Cuyahoga County Airport (Ohio)

Small Commercial (Less than 10,000 total operations per year)
Winner: Wiley Post/Will Rogers Memorial Airport (Barrow, Alaska)
Mention: Northern Maine Regional Airport (Presque Isle, Maine) and Friedman Memorial Airport (Hailey, Idaho)

Medium Commercial (10,000 to 75,000 total operations per year)
Winner: Syracuse/Hancock International Airport (Syracuse, New York)
Mention: Greater Rochester Int'l Airport (Rochester, New York) and South Bend Regional Airport (South Bend, Ind.)

Large Commercial (More than 75,000 total operations per year)
Winner: Anchorage International Airport (Anchorage, Alaska)
Mention: O'Hare International Airport (Chicago, Illinois) and Washington Dulles Int'l Airport (Washington, D.C.)

Military
Winner: U.S. Air Force Base (Misawa, Japan)

For more information, contact:

Mr. Richard J. Williams, A.A.E.
Northeast Chapter Executive Secretary
P.O. Box 8
West Milford, NJ 07480-0008
FAX: (973) 728-6760
E-mail: ewr103@warwick.net