Smith, chosen by his peers, was honored for his years of service at the Council Bluffs airport, as well as efforts to save the Iowa Western Community College airplane mechanics program. The school had considered closing the program in early 1999 when Smith led the charge to stop its closure. He brought in numerous airplane industry officials to urge the school to keep its program going. At Smith’s suggestion, the program was moved to the airport.

Officially known as the Aviation Maintenance Technology Powerplant Certificate Program, it’s designed to place graduates into the workforce after just one year. It’s Federal Aviation Administration certified and unique to the region, focusing solely on the power-plant aspect of aviation. Half of students’ class time is spent in a state-of-the-art lab working on aircraft in the hangar of Iowa Western’s Aviation building at the Council Bluffs airport.