AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2016 - 34

PILOT BRIEFING

MEET YOUR
REGIONAL MANAGER
Justin Biassou,
Great Lakes Region
ACTION IN THE STATES

This month's focus:
Great Lakes Region
AFTER WORKING with AOPA and the Seaplane Pilots Association (SPA), Ohio
officials announced the state will take steps to open more bodies of water to
seaplanes. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources plans to proceed with
rulemaking to allow seaplane landings in the coming months on Buckeye Lake,
Indian Lake, Long Lake, and Salt Fork Reservoir, and even more in the future.
In 2015, AOPA and SPA held meetings in Columbus with members of the Ohio
legislature as well as officials from Gov. John Kasich's administration to discuss
how to go about making Ohio more friendly to seaplanes.
"AOPA believes protecting the freedom to fly means protecting the freedom
to fly from the water," said AOPA President Mark Baker, who also serves on the
board of the SPA. "Many of my greatest experiences in aviation come from flying seaplanes and we are fortunate to have members and advocates like state
Sen. Bill Coley. We will continue to work with the Seaplane Pilots Association
and other groups to increase access across the country." Coley, who is a pilot and
AOPA member, said the rule change should increase tourism and emphasized
Ohio's aviation history: "As the birthplace of aviation, it is incumbent upon us to
make our state a place that welcomes aviation enthusiasts."
Ohio officials held a press conference this summer to announce the expansion of seaplane access at Grand Lake St. Marys, the only lake in Ohio currently
open to seaplane landings.
Jim Priest, the Ohio field director for SPA and an AOPA member since 1960,
has long advocated for greater seaplane access. Priest said the rule change "puts
Ohio on an equal basis with other states."
ADVOCATING FOR YOUR REGION
Through AOPA staff, a network of seven regional managers, and a corps of 2,500 Airport
Support Network volunteers, AOPA advocates for its members at the state and local levels to:
* Promote, protect, and defend America's community airports.
* Maintain sufficient state and local funding for GA airports and infrastructure.
* Prevent excess state taxation on flying.
* Protect general aviation from unnecessary state and local regulation.
* View proposed releases of airport property that could affect your local airport.
* Please click on your state on the map online (www.aopa.org/Advocacy/Airports-and-StateAdvocacy) to see news, blog posts, and tweets for your region.

34 | AOPA PILOT October 2016
34

As the Great Lakes regional manager,
Justin Biassou is responsible for state
advocacy, policy, and other general
aviation-related issues in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and North and South Dakota.
Biassou joined AOPA in 2013 and
served as manager of donor relations for
the AOPA Foundation. Prior to joining
AOPA, he served on the Stillwater, Oklahoma, regional airport authority for five
years, becoming board chairman in 2012,
and served as director of business and
economic development at the Stillwater
Chamber of Commerce. He is a multiengine, instrument-rated pilot and began
his flight training at 14 years old.

ALASKA REGION
Tom George
Fairbanks, Alaska
tom.george@aopa.org
NORTHWEST MOUNTAIN REGION
Warren Hendrickson
Seattle, Washington
warren.hendrickson@aopa.org
WESTERN PACIFIC REGION
Melissa McCaffrey
Temecula, California
melissa.mccaffrey@aopa.org
CENTRAL SOUTHWEST REGION
Jared Esselman
Frederick, Maryland
jared.esselman@aopa.org
GREAT LAKES REGION
Justin Biassou
Chicago, Illinois
justin.biassou@aopa.org
SOUTHERN REGION
Steve Hedges
Columbus, North Carolina
steve.hedges@aopa.org
EASTERN REGION
Sean Collins
Bangor, Maine
sean.collins@aopa,org

http://www.aopa.org/Advocacy/Airports-and-State-Advocacy http://www.aopa.org/Advocacy/Airports-and-State-Advocacy

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2016