AMT_April-May2021 - 48

ARSA INSIGHT

Fueling Alternatives
Aviation demands innovation. Alternative fuels, remote technology and electric aircraft advancements require applying new skills, knowledge and tools
to proven systems.

By Brett Levanto

Brett Levanto is
vice president of
operations of Obadal,
Filler, MacLeod &
Klein, P.L.C. managing
firm and client
communications
in conjunction with
regulatory and
legislative policy
initiatives. He
provides strategic
and logistical support
for the Aeronautical
Repair Station
Association.

APRIL/MAY 2021

The Aeronautical Repair Station Association's
2021 Annual Conference illustrates this dynamic.
Team ARSA turned a four-day in-person March event
into a livestreamed television experience. Its success
reflects the aviation industry's history of stimulating
creativity while staying faithful to foundational concepts. The " foundation " of the conference's success
is the experience that brings speakers, sponsors and
participants back year-over-year no matter how the
content is delivered.
Making the transition from a familiar in-person
event, to a four-day-long live broadcast, was an exercise in focus on the essence of innovative success -
provide the best elements of the event in a new way.

High-Level Engagement
Since 2018, Conference Week has kicked off with a day
of high-level meetings between leading ARSA members and senior U.S. executive branch officials. These
" Executive to Executive Briefings " (or E2E) improve
the government, foster industry engagement and
educate policymakers about maintenance industry
needs. This year's agenda included visits with the U.S.
Departments of State, Labor and Commerce, as well
as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The most hair-raising part of that first day is getting
from one meeting to another. Going to the " home turf "
of each administrative agency is impactful - how
many folks can say they've been to the White House
and four government agencies in one day? On the other
hand, it means hustling down sidewalks, hailing taxis
or rideshare cars, navigating security checkpoints and
filling unfamiliar conference rooms.

This year, getting to the next meeting simply
required logging into a new online session. The result:
participants connecting from Alaska to Costa Rica
were able to have the same meaningful exchange
without fear of losing identification cards, taking off
belts and shoes seven times in a day or missing lunch,
not to mention anything important going on back at
the office.

Hands-On Participation
The annual Legislative Day brings the maintenance
industry's most-invested advocates to the U.S. Capital
City. Armed with ARSA's legislative priorities and their
own knowledge and concerns, these grassroots leaders
wear out shoe leather crisscrossing Capitol Hill for
meetings with members of Congress, staffers and committee personnel. With the release of ARSA's Annual
Fleet & MRO Market Forecast and the presentation
of the association's Legislative Leadership Award, the
day showcases the maintenance industry and creates
a platform for industry leaders to advocate for their
companies and workers.
Traditionally, Legislative Day has been an intense
exercise in scheduling meetings in the busy Capitol Hill
environment. ARSA's most-persistent members pride
themselves in packing four, five, even six individual
meetings into a single day, ping-ponging between short
sessions with House and Senate offices.
In 2021, Legislative Day participants were encouraged to set up online meetings for March 10 but were
reminded that thanks to technology, they could be
flexible and even continue engagement after the
event was over. As ARSA's chief lobbyist Christian

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY

AMT_April-May2021

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