Chester Rotary's First Thursday: Air Traffic Controller: A Demanding Profession

The Rotary Club of Chester, VT is pleased to announce that Chester Rotary's First Thursday speaker on February 1, 2018 at the Fullerton Inn will be Rob Mikkelsen, retired FAA Air Traffic Controller and Manager. Rob will explain the basics of air traffic control from a controller's perspective and how the system operates.

He will discuss changes in the system during his career and new technology that is currently being deployed that will make the system even safer. Rob will also discuss his career arc with the FAA that took some unexpected turns and talk about how he almost single-handedly automated the traffic counting of terminal traffic for the entire country.

Rob was raised in Chester and graduated from GMUHS in 1976. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Air Force where he was trained as an air traffic controller. After separating from The Air Force in 1982, he was hired by the FAA where he worked at Orlando Executive Airport and Orlando International Airport as a controller before transferring to Tampa as a manager. Like many New Englanders, Rob moved back to New England where he worked in Nashua and remotely at positions both in Washington, DC and Atlantic City, NJ, before retiring from the FAA last month.

Socializing begins at 5:15 and the program goes from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. This event is free and open to everyone. For planning purposes and for notification in case of inclement weather, please RSVP to [email protected].