My Goal to Conquer the Seven Summits:Throughout my life and my career, I’ve always maintained that nothing can be achieved without both vision and goal-setting. Without deadlines, progress cannot be properly measured, and without consistent progress, success can never be achieved. Inspired by recent experiences during my expedition to the Himalayas, I’ve set myself a new goal, possibly the most ambitious of my life so far. I want to scale the Seven Summits before I reach the age of 45 and raise my country’s flag on the highest points on earth.
The Seven Summits are the seven highest peaks on each continent of the world:
Anyone who has been following my story will know the physical challenges I suffered in the Himalayas, and the amount of mental endurance and determination it took for me to reach Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,364 meters. It was the most difficult feat I’ve ever attempted and although I was urged to turn back on many occasions, reaching my goal was my only focus.
It was during this mission that I met record-breaking mountaineer and Sherpa guide, Kami Rita. Kami was among only three people in history to have climbed to the summit of Mount Everest 21 times, and in the past few weeks, he has taken the world record for scaling the mountain 22 times. Hearing him speak about his vision and goal with such positivity and passion inspired me greatly at a time when I was being severely challenged.
Today, I’m more convinced that I’ve ever been that we all have the power to achieve anything we set our minds to. But remember, goal-setting must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound to be effective. So, I will conquer the Seven Summits before the age of 45 to proudly raise the Syrian flag and once again fight the mental battles required amid the awesome beauty of the mountains.
The annual International Operators Conference Scholarship will again be awarded at the upcoming 2016 NBAA International Operators Conference in San Diego, California on March 21 – 24, 2016. Each year, a deserving recipient is selected by the IOC Scholarship committee…
Optimism persists despite COVID-19 impact on APAC: I’m always impressed by the people that make up our industry. I think aviation attracts a certain mindset of imagination and optimism – an attitude of ‘anything is possible’, or, in this case ‘anything…
The Power of Positivity: It is at times of the greatest uncertainty that the power of positivity is the most necessary. This is an uncertain time for all of us, and a time when our personal actions will have repercussions…
Omar Hosari | - 03/24/2020
Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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