Celebrating aviators

Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of a transformational financial services company, found his true calling in aviation and aerospace, with a mission to inspire the next generation of aviators. Since soloing in a Cessna 182, he has flown and owned a spectrum of aircraft, from piston singles to military jets. In September 2021, he commanded the SpaceX Inspiration 4 mission to orbit, the first private all-civilian spaceflight. The mission raised $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, to which Isaacman pledged $100 million. In September 2024, Isaacman commanded the Polaris Dawn mission, which used a SpaceX rocket to propel him and his crew to the highest orbit since the Apollo program. During that mission, he and the crew conducted the first-ever private spacewalk and completed experiments that will be useful to NASA as it prepares to return humans to the moon. Among them was testing a Starlink laser-based communications system in space, providing valuable data for future space communications systems necessary for missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

From being told he couldn’t pursue his passion to circumnavigating the globe in a Beechcraft Bonanza, Shinji Maeda’s aviation story is inspiring. The native of Japan suffered an eye injury as a teenager, and doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of survival after the accident which caused him to lose vision in his right eye. Learning that regulations in Japan prevented him from pursuing flight training in his home country, Maeda’s father urged him to emigrate to the United States and pursue an aviation science degree at Embry-Riddle. Enrolling at Embry-Riddle, he earned a private pilot certificate, an instrument rating, and a commercial pilot certificate, and became a certificated flight instructor. In 2015, he founded the nonprofit Aero Zypangu Project, encouraging young people to challenge themselves, overcome obstacles, and seize the skies. On June 11, 2021, Maeda touched down at Washington’s Harvey Field and completed an 18-country, 22,000-nautical-mile earthrounder mission flight.

Mike Lazar will be a 50-year AOPA member in 2025. He began contributing to the AOPA Foundation as a member of the Hat in the Ring Society in the 1990s and served on the AOPA Foundation Board of Visitors/Advisors for more than 20 years, from 1999 to 2020. In this role, he provided guidance to AOPA Foundation leaders, leveraged his connections, and brought countless new supporters to the AOPA Foundation. Now, as a member of AOPA’s New Horizon Society, Lazar has contributed more than $2 million to the AOPA Foundation. He is passionate about aviation safety and has been instrumental in funding many of the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s initiatives. He is also passionate about the AOPA Foundation You Can Fly High School initiative, working closely with his local high school to bring the curriculum into their school. He is an AOPA Foundation Legacy Society member and instrumental in encouraging other AOPA members to join the legacy society.

Dan Schwinn, founder of Avidyne, is honored with the 2025 Richard G. McSpadden General Aviation Safety Award for his profound contributions to aviation safety and modernization. In 1994, Schwinn founded Avidyne with a vision to bring advanced technology into the cockpit, enhancing pilot safety. Avidyne’s groundbreaking certification of primary flight and multifunction displays in the 1990s revolutionized general aviation. In 1999, Schwinn introduced a large-screen color moving map with the Cirrus SR20, giving pilots real-time situational awareness and paving the way for in-cockpit weather, traffic displays, and other critical features.

The Hartranft Award is named after AOPA’s first president, “Doc” Hartranft, and is given to elected or appointed government officials for significant contributions to GA. Ted Budd, a U.S. senator from North Carolina, is an instrument-rated private pilot who enjoys backcountry flying. As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee, Budd introduced the GA Aviation Airport Access Act and the Backcountry Aviation Protection Act. He also helped AOPA fight large chain FBOs that were charging exorbitant fees.

The Sharples Award, named for AOPA’s first chairman of the board, Laurence P. Sharples, is given to individuals who may not directly work in aviation, but nonetheless contribute greatly to it. After a long career in manufacturing, Recreational Aviation Foundation Director Jeff Russell spends his time volunteering for the RAF and flying his Super Cub around the lower 48, Canada, and Alaska on either Bushwheels, floats, or skis. His favorite destinations and ones he helps protect include northern Wisconsin, the Idaho and Montana backcountries, and Alaska.