The first inaugural ACTI conference was held in Daytona Beach, Florida on October 7, 2014. The session was full including most member institutions as well as industry members and FAA officials. Among the main topics of the conference were standardization, pending legislation, creating an accreditation body, and legislative grassroots efforts. Possible affiliation with the student group was also discussed.
Several presentations were given. Mary Niemczyk, (new UAA President) spoke on the need for an educated workforce, Carter Cheatum ( Jacksonville)—Using video in teaching non-radar procedures, Scott Miller (Sacramento)—Adding flight dispatch to the CTI degree and Rob Priestly (Kent)—International training options and standards.
Joseph Teixeira and Michael McCormick from the FAA attended. Don Simmons (acting as a FAA contract employee) attended. Mr. Simons has been tasked with reporting to the Administrator regarding possible solutions to the CTI issues.
Additional thanks to the officers and Tony Gagliardo in his new position of ACTI executive director.
Next year’s conference will be held in conjunction with the UAA 2015 conference.
