Aviation attorney James Cooling, a former NBAA director who still volunteers his time on behalf of NBAA and the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) as well as several other aviation causes, is the recipient of the John H. Winant Award.
Cooling is the managing director of the Cooling & Herbers law firm and served on NBAA’s Tax Committee for nine years. Later, he was elected as a member of the association’s board of directors from 2001 to 2008. After leaving the board, he has continued his work on behalf of NBAA and CAN. He assists with the organization of the annual NBAA/CAN Soirée charity event, which raises funds to support CAN’s life-saving work to transport cancer patients aboard business aircraft with unused seats to clinics for treatment.
Today, Cooling also serves on the organizing committee for the annual Gathering of Eagles dinner on behalf of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagle Program. In 2011, he was elected to the board of trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and tasked with helping raise the organization’s funding and profile.
Tremendous Commitment
“Throughout his extensive career in the aviation community, Jim Cooling has shown a tremendous commitment to many causes and organizations that demonstrate the best and most compassionate aspects of our industry,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “It is in this spirit that NBAA has selected him to receive the 2013 Winant Award.”
One of NBAA’s most prestigious honors, the John H. Winant Award is presented to former members of NBAA’s board of directors who demonstrate a lifelong passion for and service to business aviation, including service to the industry well after the director’s tenure on NBAA’s board concludes. In more than 50 years of service to NBAA, Winant served in all of NBAA’s volunteer-elected officer positions. He was elected to the board of directors in 1957 and remained on the board until his appointment as NBAA president in 1971, a role that he held for 15 years.
“I am extremely pleased and surprised to be selected to receive NBAA’s John Winant Award,” Cooling said. “Like John, the people who have received this honor have been recognized for their dedication to the industry and their tirelessness in advancing its causes. I am humbled to be included in their company.”
Cooling received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Missouri in 1965 and is a 1968 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, the Lawyer Pilots Bar Association, the NTSB Bar Association and holds a commercial pilot certificate and instrument, multi-engine and flight instructor ratings, and is type-rated in the Cessna Citation. –P.L.
