ABCI Congratulates 2020 Aviation Sales and Marketing Lab Scholarship Recipients

Aviation Business Consultants International (ABCI) is pleased to award two unique scholarships to sales and marketing professionals in the Aviation Industry.

John Hightower and Ashley Granada are the winners of this year’s scholarship, valued at $1215 each.

Scholarship recipients were chosen based on two essays – the first about how they will use the resources provided by the scholarship, the second about how they will use the skills and experience they bring to benefit the group.

The Aviation Sales and Marketing Lab is a group of ABCI clients and industry thought leaders who share strategies, tactics and results. The Lab also includes an Aviation Sales Basics Certification Course, a Book Club, marketing and SEO tools and software. The two primary winners will also receive quarterly one-on-one consulting.

“I’m really impressed with the quality of applications,” said Paula Williams, President of ABCI. “And I really want to thank our Scholarship Committee who did a lot of hard work in getting the word out and helping us find the best possible candidates. Joni Lampert Schultz, John Chvatal, and Kathryn Creedy, as well as John Williams, read a lot of applications, and made a lot of hard decisions to select these two.”

How Recipients Will Benefit from the Scholarship

Highlights from the applications include statements about how recipients plan to benefit from the scholarship.

“I intend to use the information and classes provided to further my understanding of all things aviation; aircraft, avionics, marketing, and sales,” said Hightower.

“I am a low time private pilot, 23 years old with a degree in business, emphasis in management. I started selling motorcycles, side by sides, ATV's and jet skis in my teens at a powersports dealership. I have a passion for small/private business as well as a background in sales and marketing. While school is great I need more real life experience and knowledge in the aviation industry. Specifically GA. I am a war bird fanatic, love flying radial engines. Unfortunately, that market is locked up tight by people far more qualified than myself. But I'm determined to get there.

Right now I work in marketing and sales for a small aircraft brokerage firm. I am learning new things everyday but I need more. I am a life-long-learner and enjoy challenging myself to do so.

I solo'd a Stearman at age 16, before getting my drivers license. I earned my PPL in college while working full time at the powersports dealership and taking classes at night. I later transferred to a 4 year university where I earned my BSBA. I plan on returning to school for my MBA.” wrote Hightower.

“As an entirely self-taught, aspiring aviation marketing professional who has an unshakable passion for the aviation industry, I would be so grateful for this scholarship opportunity as it has the ability to provide me with the guidance needed in order to develop the skills necessary towards becoming a successful marketing professional. After realizing the aviation company I work for needed stronger advertising and through my desire to give back, I have taken it upon myself to learn elements of marketing including graphic design, motion graphics, aviation photography, Photoshop, and have even gone as far as redeveloping the website for Reliance Aviation. The benefits of this scholarship go far beyond the use of valuable marketing tools, as the insight and knowledge gained from the guidance of those with firsthand experience in this industry is truly of immeasurable worth. Despite its challenges, I genuinely love what I do and am determined to continue working tirelessly towards achieving my goals in the development and implementation of effective marketing strategies,” wrote Granada.

How Scholarship Recipients Will Help the Group

Scholarship recipients also wrote about their intentions to “give back” to the group.

“My insights from flying a Boeing Stearman give me an incredible understanding of flight characteristics, where to have my feet (on the the pedals not the floor), and how to fly an airplane with limited or no instrumentation.

My insights from my textbook scholastic Business knowledge, combined with my experience of starting and running a profitable small business, and now working for an experience aircraft broker give me a level of understanding that is hard to find among youth my age.

My energy is always positive, as a former lacrosse state champion in high school, I understand team dynamic and the importance of communication. You win as a team you lose as a team. But always as a team,” wrote Hightower.

“Some of the values I intend to bring to this group would be assisting in the process of website development and graphic design. I strongly believe that the creation and use of exceptional visual content plays a vital role in setting these companies apart. I feel that helping businesses receive more customized care for digital design aids in the expression of their authenticity and speaks more personally for their brand. In regard to adding insights and energy to this group I really do believe that I am driven by an unwavering willingness to learn. Each day provides a new opportunity for us to learn from one another, and I would love nothing more than to have the chance to give back and have the opportunity to grow in a field that not only incorporates my enthusiasm for marketing, but includes my passion for the aviation industry as well,” added Granada.

“Ashley and John come from very different backgrounds and have very different skills and expectations from the group,” noted Williams. “The synergy and chemistry of our group is very, very important to us, and we’re very pleased to add these two to the mix. I’m certain they’ll stir up an already magical concoction.”

About ABCI

Aviation Business Consultants International (ABCI) is a marketing company that assists aviation related companies to market more effectively and sell more of their products and services. ABCI brings technologies and “inbound” marketing techniques from the finance and technology fields to the aviation industry, and focuses on measurable, content-rich, “long cycle” marketing of complex or high-value products and services.

More information about ABCI can be found at https://www.ABCI1.com/about.

About the Aviation Sales and Marketing Lab

After informally introducing clients to one another on several occasions, ABCI founders Paula and John Williams noticed that these introductions often led to creative referrals, co-marketing arrangements, and other mutually profitable endeavors.

ABCI created a private social media group, a book club, interactive webinars, in-person events and other resources to foster these relationships among aviation companies. Silver and Gold level members also receive one-on-one sales and marketing consulting services, in the form of “office hours,” at deeply discounted rates.

More information about the Marketing Lab can be found at https://aviationbusinessconsultants.com/insidercircle/.