Greg Koontz to Receive 2014 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship

EAST TROY, WISCONSIN -- World Airshow News magazine (www.airshowmag.com) has announced that Greg Koontz is the 2014 recipient of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship. Koontz joins a growing list of honorees that reads like an airshow hall of fame.

Greg Koontz is known throughout North America and parts of Latin America as a foremost authority on American Champion Super Decathlon aircraft. His aerobatic routines in both the Super Decathlon and the new Xtreme Decathlon have been featured at airshows from coast to coast and internationally, and culminate with an inverted ribbon cut in a stock aerobatic training airplane. His comedy act – The Alabama Boys – features Greg as “Clem Cleaver,” an Alabama Good Ol’ Boy who steals a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub. The act concludes with Greg landing the Cub on top of his pickup truck.

Koontz learned to fly in 1969 while he was still in high school and got his start in the airshow business at the age of 20 with Ernie Moser’s Flying Circus based in St. Augustine, Florida. While with Moser’s flying circus, he began perfecting the comedy act, the truck top landing, and began performing low-level aerobatics in the Great Lakes and the Decathlon. Greg stayed with the flying circus until 1981 when he began pursuing a corporate flying career.

Until 2002, Koontz flew jets for a corporation in Alabama while flying airshows part time. Today, he is a full time airshow performer and teaches basic aerobatics at the flight school/bed & breakfast called Sky Country Lodge that he runs with his wife Cora. Greg is a former chairman of the ICAS ACE Committee, holds an unlimited aerobatic waiver, and has been designated a Master Certified Flight Instructor-Aerobatics by the National Association of Flight Instructors.

The Bill Barber Award for Showmanship began in 1986, and is awarded to airshow performers or teams that have demonstrated great skill and showmanship. World Airshow News and the friends and family of the late Bill Barber present the award annually.

Plans are for the award to be presented on Tuesday, July 29 during EAA AirVenture at EAA’s Theater in the Woods.

Past Bill Barber Award winners include:

2013 Skip Stewart
2012 Matt Younkin
2011 Rich and Dee Gibson
2010 Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver
2009 Michael Goulian
2008 Bud Granley
2007 Dacy Family Airshow Team
2006 Danny Clisham
2005 Pietsch Airshows
2004 Bobby Younkin
2003 Jim LeRoy
2002 AeroShell Aerobatic Team
2001 Northern Lights Aerobatic Team
2000 John Mohr
1999 Dan Buchanan
1998 Patty Wagstaff
1997 Gene Soucy & Teresa Stokes
1996 Wayne Handley
1995 Bob Hoover
1994 Bob & Annette Hosking
1993 Red Baron Stearman Squadron
1992 Sean D. Tucker
1991 Julie Clark
1990 Leo Loudenslager
1989 Jimmy Franklin
1988 No Award
1987 The French Connection
1986 Eagles Aerobatic Flight Team

ICAS FAST FACTS July 1, 2010

LEAST EXPENSIVE CONVENTION REGISTRATION RATES AVAILABLE THRU JULY 31

Those ICAS members who already know that they will be attending the organization’s 2010 annual convention in Las Vegas on December 5, 6, 7 and 8 are encouraged to register between now and the end of this month. ICAS offers significant discounts to those who register early and the very lowest prices are available now through July 31.

For more information and an easy-to-use, web-based registration process, click here.

ICAS ACADEMY TO BE HELD IN OREGON IN AUGUST

Year in and year out, there’s one comment that we hear from ICAS members that hasn’t changed much during the last decade. “If I had known how good the ICAS Academy program was, I would have registered for it a long time ago.” Many people feel that it’s the single most productive and relevant educational program that ICAS offers each year.

Because we limit this intensive training session to only 25 air show professionals, we never have to publicize the program very heavily. But, still, we’re struck every year by this seemingly well-kept secret that we have no desire in keeping secret.

This year, we’re offering the program in conjunction with the Oregon International Air Show in Hillsboro, Oregon on August 19, 20 and 21. The Hillsboro management group is one of the best in the business. We expect another sold-out program and another group of satisfied members.

But we’re on a campaign this year to make sure the entire ICAS membership knows about this powerful, popular, productive program. Click here to view our brochure, which will give you details and registration information.

And, of course, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or write ICAS headquarters.

OLIVERS TO RECEIVE 2010 BARBER AWARD

Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver were recently named as the 2010 recipients of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship. The Award presentation will take place on Monday, July 26 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin during EAA’s AirVenture.

The Olivers were singled out for their air show showmanship and their longstanding commitment to the air show industry.

Steve and Suzanne become the 24^th recipients of this prestigious award presented each year by World Air Show News Magazine and the friends and family of air show legend Bill Barber. Other past recipients include Bob Hoover, Jimmy Franklin, Leo Loudenslager, Michael Goulian, Julie Clark, Sean Tucker, Patty Wagstaff, John Mohr, the French Connection, Jim LeRoy, Dan Buchanan, and the Red Baron Stearman Squadron.

NOMINATION COMMITTEE LOOKING FOR CANDIDATES

In accordance with Section 9, Paragraph B of the ICAS Bylaws, ICAS Nominating Committee Chairman Judy Willey requests that any member wishing to submit his or her name for consideration as a possible candidate for the ICAS Board of Directors, forward a resume and short note stating why they wish to be a member of the ICAS Board of Directors, to her by e-mail to willeyjl@comcast.net or by mail to ICAS Nominating Committee, c/o ICAS headquarters, 750 Miller Drive, Suite F-3, Leesburg, Virginia 20175.

ICAS FOUNDATION EXTENDS HALL OF FAME NOMINATION DEADLINE

The ICAS Foundation has extended the deadline for nominating possible new inductees into the Air Show Hall of Fame. The new deadline is Saturday, July 31. To make your nomination, click here and follow the detailed instructions on the ICAS Foundation website. New inductees will be recognized during the Chairman’s Banquet on Wednesday, December 8 during the ICAS Convention in Las Vegas.

Current members of the ICAS Foundation Air Show Hall of Fame include Bob Hoover, Duane Cole, Art Scholl, Bevo Howard, Bill Barber, Leo Loudenslager, The French Connection, Betty Skelton, Lincoln Beachey, Curtis Pitts, Bill Sweet, Marion Cole, Jimmy Franklin, Bobby Bishop, Sean Tucker, Patty Wagstaff, Charlie Hillard, Paul Poberezny, Bob Herendeen, and Harold Krier.

BATTLES SETS WINGWALKING RECORD

ICAS member and wingwalker Ashley Battles set a world record for longest wingwalking flight on Saturday, June 19 in the skies above San Francisco, California. For four full hours, Battles was blasted by wind atop a Super 450 Stearman flown by pilot Robert Ragozzinoof. Her flight beat the previous record of three hours and 23 minutes established by a Frenchman in 1990.

CUDAHY JOINS NATIONAL AVIATION HALL OF FAME BOARD OF NOMINATIONS

The Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame recently selected ICAS President John Cudahy to serve as a lifetime member of the NAHF Board of Nominations. Established to publicly salute our nation’s aviation pioneers, the National Aviation Hall of Fame is located in Dayton, Ohio. NAHF inductees from within the air show community include Paul Poberezny, Patty Wagstaff, Bob Hoover and Sean Tucker.

PLAN ON SPENDING SOME TIME WITH YOUR THIRD QUARTER MAGAZINE

The third quarter issue of Air Shows Magazine, the ICAS-published professional journal of the air show industry, will be brimming with content, including articles on performer fees, air show uses of social media, what makes a great air show, information tools for small shows, and practical advice for air shows seeking to maximize sponsorship revenue.

The third quarter issue will mail at the end of July and should be in your mailbox in very early August.

ICAS BOARD SCHEDULES SUMMER MEETING FOR AUGUST 10 IN VIRGINIA

The Board of Directors of the International Council of Air Shows will hold its summer meeting in Reston, Virginia on Tuesday, August 10.

ICAS THANKS 2010 CONVENTION SPONSORS

Over the years, our convention sponsors have helped make our annual convention a bigger, better, more enjoyable, and more productive event.  Please join us in acknowledging the contributions of Air Boss & Consulting International; ASB.tv; Mike Goulian Airshows; American Aerobatics, Inc. - Julie Clark's Chevron Mentor T-34; John Klatt Airshows; Team Chaos Extreme Airshows; FedEx Express; AirSupport, LLC; Jim Peitz Aerosports; Insurance Technologies and Programs; Mach 1 Productions; Commemorative Air Force/Tora, Tora, Tora; Air Boss, Inc. – George Cline; Shannon & Luchs Insurance Agency; Jacquie 'B' Airshows; Team Rocket; Nalls Aviation; Mohr Barnstorming; and the Geico Skytypers. ICAS still has many attractive sponsorship options available to members interested in increasing their visibility at our industry’s most important business meeting. For more information on a convention sponsorship option that might fit your specific needs, contact ICAS headquarters at 703-779-8510.

© International Council of Air Shows, Inc.

750 Miller Drive, Suite F-3

Leesburg, Virginia 20175

Phone: 703-779-8510

Website: www.airshows.aero

E-mail: icas@airshows.aero

Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver to Receive 2010 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship

World Airshow News has announced that Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver are the 2010 recipients of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship. The award will be presented during EAA AirVenture 2010 at EAA’s Theater in the Woods on Monday, July 26. Steve and Suzanne join a list of honorees that reads like an airshow hall of fame over the past 25 years.

Steve Oliver began flying with his father in a Piper Vagabond at the age of 12. By the time he was 17, Steve had enrolled in aeromechanics school in Kansas City and was taking flying lessons. In just 11 months, Steve earned commercial and instructor ratings and performed his first airshow. He currently holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating, is a single and multi-engine flight instructor, an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE), and holds a ground level aerobatic waiver.

Steve has flown transport category fire bombers, helicopters, and seaplanes. He has flown mail and has been both a corporate and a charter pilot. He has flown many hours crop dusting and towing banners at various events across the country. It was while towing banners that Steve met Suzanne Asbury.

Suzanne Asbury-Oliver began flying gliders at age 14 while attending junior high school near Portland, Oregon. At 15 she soloed, and by 18 she was certified as a flight instructor. She also holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating and has logged more than 6,000 flying hours, many of them in her original 1929 open cockpit Travel Air Pepsi SkyWriter biplane. After some 70 active years on the job, the biplane was retired in 2000 and now hangs from the ceiling at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport.

Today, Suzanne is the nation’s only female professional skywriter. Millions have met Suzanne by national media attention through the Today Show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, US Magazine, People Magazine, and front page coverage in the Wall Street Journal.

With Suzanne as the primary skywriter, Steve performs the aerobatic day and night shows in the Oregon Aero® SkyDancer, a 1956 de Havilland Super Chipmunk which has been specially modified for airshow performances both in the daytime and at night. The Olivers also offer barnstorming rides in a New Standard D-25.

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, which began in 1986. The award goes to airshow performers or teams that have demonstrated great skill and showmanship and is presented annually by World Airshow News  magazine www.airshowmag.com and the friends and family of the late Bill Barber. 

Past Bill Barber Award winners include:

2009 Michael Goulian

2008 Bud Granley

2007 Dacy Family Airshow Team

2006 Danny Clisham

2005 Pietsch Airshows

2004 Bobby Younkin

2003 Jim LeRoy

2002 AeroShell Aerobatic Team

2001 Northern Lights Aerobatic Team

2000 John Mohr

1999 Dan Buchanan

1998 Patty Wagstaff

1997 Gene Soucy & Teresa Stokes

1996 Wayne Handley

1995 Bob Hoover

1994 Bob & Annette Hosking

1993 Red Baron Stearman Squadron

1992 Sean D. Tucker

1991 Julie Clark

1990 Leo Loudenslager

1989 Jimmy Franklin

1988 No Award

1987 The French Connection

1986 Eagles Aerobatic Flight Team

2008 Bill Barber Award Winner: Bud Granley

World Airshow News is very pleased to announce that Bud Granley has been selected as the 2008 recipient of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship.

Bud has been involved in one way or another with airplanes since he was only nine years old. He was outside playing with his brothers one day when they noticed a Tiger Moth biplane landing on their uncle’s farm. They were soon surprised to find out it was their father who was flying that plane. He had secretly earned his pilots license and would go on to make a career of flying. All three boys would also become flyers.

Bud joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1956 after earning his wings with a Royal Canadian Air Cadet scholarship. He flew the F-86 Sabre and later was a T-6 Harvard instructor in Red Deer, Alberta. There he began his airshow career as the solo demonstration pilot in the Harvard.

Today, Bud lives in Bellevue, Washington after retiring in 1997 from a successful career as a Captain for United Airlines. He has six children and three of them served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Two flew with the Snowbird aerobatic team, and are now airline pilots – Ross with United, and Chris with Air Canada. Deb flies the 737 for Alaska Airlines. Bob chose the Navy, and is now a Captain with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He also flies the planes to airshows when not sailing.

Bud is best known for flying the Harvard, Fouga Magister, and Yak-55 in airshows, but he also flies warbirds like the P-51, Skyraider, or Wildcat. He flies a formation act with his son Ross, with Bud in the Yak-55 and Ross in his Yak-18T. Bud is also a regular at the Reno Air Races, flying a T-6 named Lickety Split.

Bud was awarded the ICAS Art Scholl Showmanship Award in 2005.

The Bill Barber Award for Showmanship was founded by World Airshow News in 1986 to recognize those who do more than their share to promote the airshow industry. An election committee made up of past award recipients reviews nominations made by committee members and the industry at large. Nominees are not advised that they were nominated, nor is anyone told who nominated whom.

The award, named in honor of legendary performer Bill Barber, will be presented to Bud at a location and time to be announced.