Career News
Lou Bartolotta (’97, WW) was honored on March 4, 2015, with the Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) 2015 Bell Helicopter Lifetime Achievement Award. Bartolotta earned his helicopter wings in the U.S. Army in 1970, which was followed by a one-year tour in Vietnam. He then flew commercial helicopters in pre-revolution Iran and later in the North Sea out of Scotland. He enjoyed a 30-year career in senior management positions in the helicopter manufacturing sector. The last 26 years were spent with Agusta Westland (AW) in roles including vice president of sales for North America, vice president of marketing, executive vice president of sales and marketing for North and South America, and senior advisor. Bartolotta retired in 2014 from AW and is now principal of L.P. Bartolotta & Associates LLC, a vertical lift consultancy. Watch the award presentation above.
Family News
Eric McBride (’13, WW) and Danielle McBride welcomed a son, Jacob Allen McBride, on Sept. 18, 2014, in Melbourne, Fla. “Jacob is a healthy and thriving baby boy and we are so very blessed by this miracle!” Eric is a first officer for JetBlue Airways and the family resides in West Melbourne, Fla.
Marriages/Engagements
Thomas “Sid” Mann III (’61, MC, Non-degree) and Sandra Trivino were married on Feb. 13, 2015, on a locomotive at the Florida Railroad Museum maintenance facility in Parrish, Fla., where Mann is a volunteer. They honeymooned in Bogota, Columbia. The couple reside in Sarasota, Fla.
Other News
A trio of Embry-Riddle alumni are members of the Stratospheric Explorer (StratEx) team that made history in October 2014 with a record-breaking, near-space dive from a high-altitude balloon at 135,890 feet. Avid skydiver and Google executive Alan Eustace performed the near-space dive. Ernest Arispe (’10, WW), Jeremy Sotzen (’07, DB) and Robert Redinger (’87, WW) are among those who were nominated for the 2014 National Aeronautic Association’s Robert J. Collier Award for their contributions to the StratEx project. The Collier Award annually recognizes the greatest national achievement in aeronautics or astronautics that improves the performance, efficiency and safety of air or space vehicles.
U.S. Air Force Maj. David Panzera (’92, DB), who was commissioned through Embry-Riddle’s Air Force ROTC Det. 157, visited the geographical South Pole with the Embry-Riddle Alumni banner, showing that Embry-Riddle Eagles are everywhere! Panzera is chief pilot for the Active Guard Reserve at the 139th Airlift Squadron, 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, N.Y. He regularly spends two months a year in Antarctica supporting the efforts of the International Scientific Community through direct support to the National Science Foundation (NSF), Office of Polar Programs. His unit is the single point provider for heavy airlift in the world for the NSF. Watch the video of his visit:
Read more Class Notes.