2024 Aviation Conference of Alabama showcased amazing diversity of aviation industry

In September, Ali attended The Aviation Council of Alabama 2024 Conference, which brought aviation experts from across the industry together for learning and networking.

At Alder, it’s important that we attend these conferences because they’re great for promoting our safety services at vendor booths and during presentations. They’re also important because they continue our company’s vision to continue learning and discovering so that we’re delivering safety with a healthy mindset.

At ACA, Ali chose not to exhibit so she could focus on sharpening her understanding of the diverse disciplines that make up the industry.

“I really wanted this event to really be about reaching out, making those people connections, and also about understanding the various complexities and layers of aviation,” Ali said.

Ali shares her insights from the conference with the rest of us here, our good friends in aviation, so we stay connected to each other as we navigate a fascinating industry.

Hanging out with like-minded people

Ali said one of the highlights for her was being around industry folks interested in what she had to say about creating safer airport runway construction sites.

“Talking about this stuff with my friends and family isn’t exactly thrilling for them,” Ali joked. “But at ACA, everyone wanted to hear about what we’re doing differently to have such a stellar safety record. That’s why it’s so exciting for me to attend these things. The learning and the shop talk.”

Ali added that connecting with just one person can open doors to a whole world of possibilities. Montgomery Airport Maintenance Manager Hilton White, for example, introduced her to the regional manager with the FAA, which in turn led to an introduction to a large engineering firm.

“Never underestimate the power of networking!” she added. “There are so many niches in aviation, but we’re all connected. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of that, but at Alder we really want to instill awareness that construction safety is a critical element to keeping those connections strong and aware of one another.”

Meeting University of Auburn aviation students 

ACA hosted the event at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center, so Ali got to experience a little bit of college life while she was there. She said she got to hang out at Jordan Hare Stadium and met the college’s aviation students. Both of these encounters reminded us at Alder just how many career paths there are in our industry. Being a pilot might be considered the most prestigious of them all, but meeting more boots-on-the-ground workers shows that every job is important in the larger picture.

“I have big dreams with third-party safety risk mitigation on the AOA. Being around students immersed in learning their new discipline simply inspired me the entire time to soak in as much as I could,” Ali said. “Explore! See! Do! There are so many niches in the world and aviation is filled with them! Make these skies safer! 💛”