A true Coast
Guard family, the Kenins served at 12 duty stations until Rick retired and the family settled in the Boston, Massachusetts, area.
our advantage, working cooperatively instead of competing,” he says. During Rick’s tenure, Boston MedFlight has
more than doubled in size, increasing from 80 employees and three bases in 2014 to 205 staff members and five bases today. The organization operates seven Airbus H145 helicopters, a Citation CJ4 jet, and a fleet of ground ambulances. While it once served just Massachusetts and then the New England region, Boston MedFlight now flies across the United States, Canada, and to Bermuda, airlift- ing patients to medical care. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the organization transports some 6,000 patients annually by ground and air. “When I started in 2014, we had three differ-
ent types of helicopters and a spare helicopter of a fourth type. It’s very difficult to maintain that many types of aircraft, but it’s also difficult for the pilots to maintain proficiency in multiple aircraft. When bad things happen, they have to think, ‘What aircraft am I in and what emergency procedures do I use?’ It’s just not a good way to operate. Now, all of our pilots receive the same training, and all of our mechanics go to the Airbus H145 factory school. We know that airframe really well,” Rick says.
“To further enhance our proficiency, we’re
purchasing our own virtual reality simulator for pilot training. We’ll be the first operator of an H145 VR simulator in the United States,” he says. “It’s another example of how we’re investing in safety.”
An Evolving VAI In 2015, Rick attended his first HAI HELI-EXPO®, the annual conference and trade show now known as VERTICON. “I was like a kid in a candy store at my first show,” says Rick. That experience kicked off a decade of his
growing involvement with the association, includ- ing serving as chair of VAI’s Safety Committee, now known as the Safety Industry Advisory Council, and since 2020 on the VAI Board of Directors. “In those early years, I was really focused on
the classes. As I moved up in the company and in the association, it became much more of a business-to-business event,” says Rick. “When we started buying new helicopters and equipment, it was an opportunity to meet with vendors and talk about the latest technology. I still love going to VERTICON now because I get to see friends
JUN 2025 POWER UP 33
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