Phil Boyer has long been president of the 414,000 member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Boyer plans to retire at the end of 2008. AOPA is a pilot organization working as an an advocate for general aviation. It provides a variety of services for pilots through its Web site and publishes aviation-related magazines.
Public affairs veteran Craig Fuller has been named Boyer’s successor. Fuller is currently executive vice president of global public affairs at APCO Worldwide in Washington. He served as assistant to the president for cabinet affairs during the Reagan years and was chief of staff for vice president George H.W. Bush at his request. He also worked with public affairs organizations in Washington and with Philip Morris Cos. in New York. before becoming president and chief executive of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
One Comment
Phil Boyer has done more for General Aviation than any other person on the face of the earth, short of Clyde Cessna. There are only about 600,000 licensed pilots in the country and Boyer can count 400,000 of them as members. What other organization can count two-thirds of industry participants as members?
General Aviation suffers from the law of numbers; meaning that the number of GA people is too small to be heard. Boyer has done an outstanding job of making a small number have the voice of a huge number. He has made a science of getting the general public to see the value of GA.
On top of that, he is a genuinely nice guy. The entire aviation community will miss him. Craig Fuller has a huge pair of shoes to fill.