INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS
Dan Schwarzbach, executive director and CEO of Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA) presents a proclamation of appreciation from ALEA to Dana Kerrick for 55 years of service to the aviation community during his retirement ceremony on Oct. 2, 2015.
“In my own career I had many
mentors who were ready to share their skills and I would advise someone new in the industry to try to fi nd one of these skilled mentors (they are available) and learn their skills well,” says Kerrick. “I always tried to fi nd the most talented people and learn from them everything they were willing to share. Nothing beats excellent knowledge of a subject in aviation and I have found the ones with the most knowledge progress rapidly and receive the promotions well ahead of others. When supervisors fi nd out you are one of the ‘go to’ people they work with, you are given the most interesting and complex tasks because you are trusted.” Pursuing a career in a fi eld where
you have a passionate interest is also helpful, Kerrick notes. He has been both a fi xed-wing and rotary pilot since 1966 and 1979, respectively, and is a licensed fl ight instructor for both aircraft types. He has been an airplane fl ight instructor since 1970 and a helicopter fl ight instructor since 1981. Kerrick holds commercial pilot certifi cate ASMEL, rotorcraft, and instrument and advanced and instrument ground instructor. He also holds a fl ight instructor certifi cate ASMEL, instrument and Rotorcraft. When asked when he knew he
wanted to fl y, he replied, “My whole life. Or at least since I was three years old. As a small child, I used to beg my dad to take us out to the airport to watch the planes take off and land.” At that time “the airport” was T.F.
Green Airport at Warwick, RI, and the largest planes fl ying in and out were the Lockheed Constellation and the DC-3. “My siblings would whine that they wanted to leave, but I’d just sit there, glassy-eyed, staring at the planes,” Kerrick says. Fast forward to 1958, when Kerrick joined the Air Force at the recruiting offi ce in Providence, RI, then headed
October | November 2015
HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com 19
Dana at his favorite position in the back seat of the Tiger Moth, preparing to land in Stockton, CA. September 1988
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