FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gitte Tessier  Air Serv International  540-428-2323, ext. 114  540-428-2326 (fax) gtessier@airserv.org  www.airserv.org

Warrenton, Virginia, 4 December 2006 - Air Serv International, a Warrenton-based humanitarian aviation organization, has announced the appointment of Michael A. Webb as its new CEO.

"We selected Mike because of his broad background and experience in aviation, his strong humanitarian commitment and proven leadership skills," said Christopher Johnson, chairman of the Air Serv International board of directors.

A highly decorated officer and pilot in the Idaho Air National Guard, Webb currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Police in Boise, Idaho. He has received numerous commendations and citations, including the Police Star and the Air Force Bronze Star. Webb's connection to Air Serv International goes back to when he first learned to fly. It was an Air Serv pilot who gave him his first ride in an airplane. Two years later, Webb was a pilot himself, and the Air Serv pilot became a friend for life. Through the years Webb has flown a wide range of missions, including humanitarian aid missions in Afghanistan.

"The people of Air Serv are some of the most compassionate, giving and dedicated people I've ever met," Webb said. "It is an incredible honor to have their faith placed in me, and I feel privileged to accept their offer for this position. I feel, in a way I could never have predicted, that I've spent my whole life preparing for this opportunity. Working with an organization whose humanitarian outreach is truly global, will be my opportunity to take service to others to a whole new level."

Back home in Boise, Webb supports several organizations such as the Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and Make a Wish Foundation. He has volunteered for the Special Olympics and at many events to support needy children and victims of domestic violence. As a member of the board of the Idaho Friends of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Webb also volunteers at the annual MAF fly-in, a bush pilot training event in the Idaho back country. Webb is a frequent speaker on addiction recovery through the Boise Police Department Speakers Bureau. He is married and has two grown daughters. Webb and his wife JoAnne will relocate to Warrenton, Virginia.

Established in 1984 as a nonprofit corporation, Air Serv International is a trusted provider of cost-effective flight and logistics services to the international humanitarian community. For more than 20 years, Air Serv has safely transported relief and development personnel from many of the world's most prominent humanitarian agencies and organizations into war zones and areas affected by natural disaster under the most difficult of circumstances. Air Serv maintains a fatality free flight safety record.

Air Serv currently operates programs in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, and Uganda. From 2004 to 2006, Air Serv assisted tsunami relief operations in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and earthquake relief operations in Pakistan.

- END -

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit                                                                                  Permalink