Tony Jannus Award

Tony Jannus was an early American pilot whose aerial exploits were widely publicized in aviation's pre-World War I period. He flew the first airplane from which a parachute jump was made, in 1912. Jannus was also the first airline pilot, having pioneered the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using heavier-than-air aircraft. Fifty years later, in 1963, James Hamlett and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce created the Tony Jannus Award to recognize the "Man who has done the most to advance the airline industry" and to celebrate the Tampa Bay area's historic role in the development of commercial aviation. The following March 1964, Senator A. S. Mike Monroney was named the first Tony Jannus Award recipient for his work as chairman of the U.S. Senate's Aviation Subcommittee and as chief proponent of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 that created the Federal Aviation Administration. In the 1970s, the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce joined with the Tampa chamber to co-sponsor the award. The joint effort by the two chambers of commerce eventually evolved into the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society, a non-profit organization which now confers the award. ==Recipients of the Tony Jannus Award==

honoring recipients of the Tony Jannus Award Winners of the Tony Jannus Award are enshrined at the St. Petersburg Museum of History's First Airline Pavilion and Tony Jannus-related exhibits. The Museum, located from the site of the inaugural flight's takeoff on January 1, 1914, also has an operational replica of the Benoist XIV airplane flown by Jannus that day. The replica was built by the Florida Aviation Historical Society in 1983 and flown across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg to Tampa on January 1, 1984, in a reenactment of the Jannus inaugural flight 70 years earlier. • 1964: A. S. Mike Monroney — U.S. Senator, Oklahoma • 1965: Juan Trippe — founder, Pan American Airways • 1966: Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. — founder, Douglas Aircraft Company • 1967: Eddie Rickenbacker — chairman, Eastern Air Lines and Medal of Honor recipient and World War I aviator • 2009: James L. Oberstar — U.S. Congressman • 2010: Jaan Albrecht – CEO, Star Alliance since 2001 • 2011: Frederick W. Smith — Founder and CEO, FedEx • 2012: Frederico Curado – CEO, Embraer • 2013: Richard H. Anderson — CEO, Delta Air Lines • 2014: Pedro Heilbron— CEO, Copa Airlines • 2015: Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., CEO, Allegiant Air • 2016: Gary C. Kelly, CEO, Southwest Airlines • 2017: Doug Parker, CEO, American Airlines • 2018: Chesley Sullenberger, airline safety advocate and "Miracle on the Hudson" US Airways pilot • 2019: Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus • 2022: Brad Tilden, CEO, Alaska Airlines • 2023: Joanna Geraghty, CEO, JetBlue • 2024: Peter Ingram, CEO Hawaiian Airlines • 2025: Ed Bastian, CEO, Delta Air Lines ==Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society==

Sir Lenox Hewitt—Qantas(rear:) Larry Kellner—Continental Airlines, Herb Kelleher—Southwest Airlines, Colleen Barrett, and Norman Mineta. Also pictured, award presenter, Lt Gen Rusty Findley II, USAF—Vice Commander, Air Mobility Command The Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Tampa, Florida, and governed by a board of directors composed of distinguished industry leaders and Tampa Bay area officials. Financial support is provided by prominent companies and organizations related to the aviation industry. The stated threefold mission of the Society is to: :* Promote the recognition and understanding that the first scheduled commercial passenger airline operated between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. :* Provide scholarships and financial aid for college level education in the field of commercial aviation or related fields. :* Encourage the interest and participation of high school students in commercial aviation. The Society holds its annual luncheon and dinner banquet in the Tampa Bay area, when the Tony Jannus Award is conferred for that year, in the presence of past recipients. These meetings are also the occasion for recognizing those college students selected to receive the Society's financial assistance, along with high school students excelling in the Essay Contest. ==See also==