News

Flight For Life Mechanic Wins Transport Mechanic’s Award of Excellence

November 04, 2008

On Monday night, October 20th in Minneapolis, Les Love, FLIGHT FOR LIFE-McHenry Base mechanic, was presented with the Association of Air Medical Services' (AAMS) Transport Mechanic's Award of Excellence at the Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) awards banquet. This national award is sponsored by AgustaWestland, a helicopter manufacturer, and was presented by their Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Lou Bartolotta. Many of FLIGHT FOR LIFE's personnel, including the System Director and Les's wife, were in attendance at the banquet along with 2,000 of the conference's participants.

The award is given to a medical transport mechanic who has made significant contributions to the safe operation of medical transport vehicles or the improvement of safe maintenance procedures of those vehicles. Applicants are judged on a variety of criteria: longevity within the profession, the variety of ways they contribute to crew education, how they communicate with staff and the community, direct actions that have impacted safety within the program for both the flight team and patients, along with staff testimonials. Les was nominated by the McHenry Base's Safety Committee for his commitment to safety, willingness to educate, and dedication to maintaining the base's aircraft in "mission ready" condition. He was chosen from the many award submissions that came from the 350 AAMS member programs from throughout the U.S. and other countries.

Glenn "Les" Love has been a helicopter mechanic for 34 years and has spent the past 11 years with the FLIGHT FOR LIFE-McHenry Base. In those 11 years he has become an indispensable member of the FLIGHT FOR LIFE team, not only for his skills as a mechanic, but for his attitude and commitment to safety. The fact that FLIGHT FOR LIFE has flown over 26,000 patient flights during nearly twenty-five years of service is, in part, a testament to the work that Les does on a daily basis.

Les and two other staff members were responsible for the development of a helicopter simulator to assist FLIGHT FOR LIFE crews with emergency "situational preparedness" training. The time and effort Les expended to help construct the trainer was done because he believes in safety and wanted the crew to have a realistic simulator for training. This simulator provides a realistic mock-up of the FLIGHT FOR LIFE helicopter which enables the crews to experience real time egress and emergency procedures in a safe and controlled environment. The trainer remains in a state of renovation and upgrade as more ideas are put to the test by Les and the other team members.

In any profession, be it a flight nurse, police officer, or cashier, it is said that you can train skills but you cannot train attitude. Attitude is critical to the success of any individual in their work or personal relationships. When you find an individual who is a master in their skills and has a great attitude, you are truly blessed. Les Love is the embodiment of those characteristics and more for FLIGHT FOR LIFE-McHenry.

To Les, the aircraft and the safety of the crew and patients are his number one priority. Les is an integral part of the success of the FLIGHT FOR LIFE. It is his expertise, attention to detail, work ethic, attitude, commitment, and unwavering dedication to the safety of the aircraft, crew and patients that made him a perfect choice for the Transport Mechanic's Award of Excellence for 2008.