AMTSociety - Aviation Maintenance Professionals - Sharing Resoures and Benefits

AMTSociety Directors

Tom Hendershot, Executive Director - Tom Hendershot holds A&P Certification with Inspection Authorization and has worked as an aviation professional for 53 years. Tom has held numerous positions in Airworthiness Operations: Vice President of AirMotive Specialties, Inc., Director of Maintenance for four FAR 135 Operations, Chief Inspector and Director of Compliance. In the area of Flight Operations his work has included Captain, Line Pilot, Check Airman, IOE Pilot, Flight and Ground Instructor, and currently is a Master CFI.

Tom served PAMA at the local level as the NOAMA Chapter President for 10 consecutive years, and also founded the RMAMA Chapter which he served for 12 years as President. At the same time he served as the Northwest Mountain Region Director, the Chairman of the Regional Director, and was elected Vice President.

From 1999 thru 2003 Tom received the FAA Denver FSDO and the Northwest Mountain Region AMT of the Year Award, and also in 2003 Tom was the National AMT of the Year. On May 15th, 2005 Tom received the prestigious Charles E. Taylor Master Mechanic Award. On October 22nd, 2005 Tom received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. Tom was first appointed a Safety Counselor by the Cleveland GADO in 1972; he has continued to serve consecutively, moving to the Denver, Colorado area where Tom added Airworthiness to the Operations in 1995, and served concurrently with the Western Pacific Region.

Currently Tom is serving as a Lead Representative for the FAASTeam. On the national level he was one of the original founders and has served as the Chairman of the FAA / Industry AMT Program since the inception in 2001. He is on the Advisory Board for the Aviation Technician Education Council, and the National Center for Aircraft Technician Training. Tom is also a member of the FAA Part 147 ARAC. Locally Tom is serving on the Metropolitan State College Denver Campus Aviation Advisory Committee, the Redstone College Denver Campus Advisory Committee, and serves the Denver Public School System as the Chairman of the Emily Griffith Opportunity School Aviation Division. Tom is a lifelong member of the CAP. Tom was recently unanimously elected to the Northrup Rice Foundation Board. Tom also writes articles for AMT Magazine as well as supplying the AMTSociety content and is teaching FAR 135 and 145 Regulations to AMT's along with maintenance human factors.

Robert Drake, Board Director - Robert Drake is the Director of Education for Redstone College - Los Angeles, an industry-leading school for FAA certified Airframe & Powerplant mechanics. Redstone College is part of the ALTA College system which includes Redstone College-Denver and Westwood College.

Robert joined Redstone College in January 2006 and has been actively involved in the Aviation Technician Education Council and AMTSociety. During the past year, Robert served on the Industry Relations Committee for ATEC and brought a school sponsored team to the AMT Skills Competition in Dallas

Prior to joining Redstone, Robert spent 18 years with Alaska Airlines. Starting as a Base Maintenance Technician, Robert was Full RII Rated for the MD-80, 737-200, 737-400 and 737-NG. As a Lead Aircraft Mechanic, Robert had Run & Taxi Ratings on all aircraft as well as Airworthiness Release privileges. His last 5 years were spent as a Line Maintenance Supervisor at the Los Angeles station.

Before joining Alaska Airlines, Robert spent two years as a Bench Technician for Garrett AiResearch.

Gary Goodpaster, Director - Gary Goodpaster is the Chief of Maintenance for The Kroger Co. and is an adjunct instructor for an A&P school in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned his A&P ratings in 1975, holds an Inspectors Authorization, is a Designated Mechanic Examiner, a FAASTeam member and has an FCC GROL and NCATT AET rating. Gary has received the following awards: 1998 FAA Great Lakes Region AMT of the Year, 1999 Distinguished Alumni Award from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, 2002 Flight Safety Foundation/PAMA Joe Chase Award, and 2004 FAA National AMT of the Year. Gary has also participated in the FAA AMT Award Program since 1998. Gary was the President of the Cincinnati Chapter of PAMA for 10 years and currently serves on the NBAA Maintenance Committee Board and on the FAA / Industry AMT Awards Committee.

Joe Hawkins, Director - Joe Hawkins is a certificated Airframe and Powerplant Technician since 1979 with an Inspection Authorization since 1991. He is an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace Department at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. At MTSU, Joe teaches across the 14 CFR Part 141 Professional Pilot and Part 147 Aviation Maintenance Technician curriculums. Joe earned both his Bachelor of Science in Aviation Maintenance Management and Master of Aerospace Education degrees from MTSU. Joe is an active researcher and has published articles concerning human factors in maintenance operations, advanced systems training for technicians, contemporizing training curriculums and the introduction of Very Light Jets.

Joe is a U.S. Army veteran and served as a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter Flight Engineer with the 101st Airborne Division. Along with an Honorable Discharge, his military awards include Army Air Crewman Wings along with Good Conduct and Commendation Medals. He began his civilian aviation career in 1979 with Stevens Aviation in South Carolina, transferring to Nashville, Tennessee in 1981. In 1991, Joe became the Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician for the State of Tennessee, Department of Transportation. His professional training and aircraft repair experiences include the powerplants, airframes and systems on Sikorsky and Bell helicopters, Beechjet, Citation and Lear business jets, King Air, MU 2 and Twin Commander series turboprops and Beech 1900 series commuter.

For more than 10 years, Joe has been an Aviation Safety Counselor (Airworthiness) for the Federal Aviation Administration's Nashville Flight Standards District Office and is a current FAASTeam Lead Representative in the Tennessee and Kentucky region. Joe is also the Technical Program Director for the Tennessee Mid-South Aviation Maintenance Conference conducted in Nashville. The Tennessee Mid-South Aviation Maintenance Conference in the oldest seminar of its kind in the county, and nearly 1000 aviation professionals attend the Tennessee conference and exhibitor showcase each March

In 2001, he was recognized as the Nashville FSDO Safety Counselor of the Year. He received the National Business Aviation Association's Aviation Maintenance Technician Safety Award for over 25 years of aircraft maintenance operations without an accident or serious injury to aircraft, crewmembers, or passengers in 2003. He was selected as the Tennessee Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year in 2005, and in 2006, Joe was the first Tennessean ever awarded the prestigious Federal Aviation Administration's National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year. In 2008, Joe was enshrined in the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame. At the time of his induction, he became the youngest member of the Hall of Fame and the first non-flight rated technician to be so honored.

In addition to being a Director for the AMTSociety, Joe is a board member of Aviation Technical Education Council and serves on several committees with the University Aviation Association and Aviation Accreditation Board International. He is a faculty and curriculum evaluator for the American Council on Education and a member of several professional aerospace organizations including the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, Civil Air Patrol and the Experimental Aircraft Association.

Ken MacTiernan, Director - Ken MacTiernan is a 22-year AMT Line Mechanic with AA in Dallas, TX. He was a U.S.A.F. B-52 Aircraft Mechanic and earned his A&P license during his four-year tour; being Honorably Discharged as an E-4. Hirined on with AA in 1986 in LGA, Ken was a Lead Mechanic for 2 years. He is the founder of the non-profit Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Association, WWW.AMTAUSA.COM. Ken is married with two daughters. MacTiernan single-handedly raised money for placement of several Charles Taylor Bust donations in key locations throughout the country - the most notable at the Smithsonian Museum. Ken is also the Chairman for AMTSociety Scholarship Awards and Chairman for AMTSociety's Maintenance Skills Competition.

George Miller, Director- George R. Miller, Jr. is a 21-year AMT Line Mechanic with Continental Airlines, Inc. George was hired on September 13, 1987 in IAD and spent 7 years as a Junior Technician and 10 years as a Hanger/Line Technician in Houston, TX and is currently an A&P Line Lead Technician. George is RII Rated on MD-80, and also has Airworthiness Release Privileges on MD-80, All 737, 757-200, 757-300, 767-200, 767-400 and 777-200 and holds an FCC-GROL. George has been an AWAM (www.awam.org) member since 2004, an AMTA (www.amtausa.com) member since 2006, an FAASTeam Representative (www.FAASavety.gov) (SW09) member since 2006 and has participated in the FAA AMT Award program since 1998. George was previously involved with the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) for 10 years and was elected as SW Regional Director from 2002-2006 and was an AMCC member from 1999-2004.

Jim Sparks, Board Member - Jim Sparks is a licensed A&P who has spent most of his 30+ year aviation maintenance career associated with business aircraft. Experience has included routine maintenance on small general aviation aircraft, flight line repair and field service for airframe manufacturers, service center experience which involved starting as a floor technician and evolved to crew chief and eventually a foreman's position. As far as a special talent, Jim frequently comments that "with a last name like Sparks, I didn't get to spend much time in the hydraulic shop". Candidly Jim says; "Troubleshooting seems to be a dying art that I would like to help preserve and in my opinion, revolves around technicians equipped with the proper knowledge to help promote thought".

Jim has devoted many years of his career to educational roles while working for several aviation maintenance training providers and a business jet manufacturer. In this role, Jim accumulated several million frequent flier miles traveling the world having countless opportunities to meet multi-national aircraft technicians and airworthiness authorities plus interact with heads of government and industry. These opportunities have provided him a very unique perspective on business.

Currently, he directs the maintenance for a private corporation on a fleet of aircraft including several types of business jets, turbine helicopters and light single engine aircraft.

Writing the Avionics column for Aircraft Maintenance Technology is one of the ways Jim keeps his passion for educating technicians alive. A current and active member of the FAA Safety Team (FAAST), he speaks at various aviation events including Inspection Authorization Seminars. Other professional activities include participation on the NBAA Maintenance Committee and the Honeywell Operators Board.

One of his NBAA initiatives is to assist in the production of a new industry recognized standard for the ongoing educational criteria applied to technicians working with business aircraft.

Mr. Sparks has a clear vision for the future of aviation maintenance and will continue to promote professionalism and looks forward to the day when the importance of what we do becomes common knowledge.

Peter Zeeb, Board Director - Peter Zeeb holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Aviation Maintenance Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He also holds A&P and IA licenses. With 25 years of experience, his specific training is with Gulfstream, Dassault and Cessna airframes. He currently is in charge of the maintenance for two Gulfstream V's and four 2000EXEasy's. He has been on the Maintenance and Reliability Board with Dassault and the Citation X Technical Committee with Cessna. He was awarded the Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year from the Eastern Region of the FAA in 2001. Previously involved with the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA), Peter established the Wilmington PAMA chapter and was the past President. He served as Western Regional Director for one year.