HAI Announces Recipient of the 2006 Excellence in Communications Award

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - HAI is pleased to announce this year’s Excellence in Communications Award recipients, Linda and Mike Reyno. As Publisher and Editor, the Reynos launched Vertical magazine from their home office in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, five years ago. Now Vertical magazine covers almost every sector of the commercial rotorcraft industry; from flying along the East Coast of Canada, to heli-logging in Northern California, to seismic operations in Alberta, to fighting fires in Northern Ontario.

Working as a photojournalist in the Canadian fixed-and rotary-wing markets throughout the 1990s, Mike Reyno recognized the need for a trade magazine dedicated to the commercial North American helicopter industry. Mike left his job as editor of two aviation publications, and his wife, Linda, left her job as a national channel manager in the technical industry. Despite being parents of newly born twin daughters and a two-year-old son, they debuted Vertical magazine in November 2002.

The Reynos hired professional journalists to cover in-depth reporting. They operate with five full-time staff members and ten freelance writers, who are located across the U.S. and Canada. The Reynos credit these individuals for their success.

“From the outset, we’ve taken a different approach to the trade: we invested heavily in putting out a high quality product, sending helicopter professionals all over Canada and the United States to report from the front lines of the industry," Mike said. Linda added: “The HAI Excellence in Communications Award is not just a tribute to the core staff at Vertical, but to everyone who has been associated with the magazine. We couldn’t have done it without the freelance contributors who have given up family time to help meet deadlines, or the advertisers who’ve supported us along the way.”

Vertical magazine continues to bring attention to specific issues affecting North American pilots, maintenance personnel, aircraft owners and operators, manufacturers, and suppliers. Mike’s crisp aviation photography and Linda’s sales and marketing expertise keep their operation running smoothly. Together this duo’s passion continues to set high standards. Their hard work and dedication has earned Vertical magazine wide recognition and respect throughout the aviation industry.

All winners will be recognized at HELI-EXPO 2007’s annual “Salute to Excellence” Awards Celebration on March 2, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. in Orlando, Florida. For more information about the 2007 “Salute to Excellence” Awards Celebration, contact HAI’s Communications Department at 703-683-4646, fax: 703-683-4745, or email: rotor@rotor.com. For more information on HELI-EXPO 2007, visit www.heliexpo.com.

HAI is the professional trade association for the international helicopter industry. HAI’s 1,350-plus-member organizations and 1,150 individual members, in more than 73 nations, safely operate more than 4,500 helicopters approximately 2.3 million hours each year. HAI is dedicated to the promotion of the helicopter as a safe, effective method of commerce and to the advancement of the international helicopter community.