
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family. Things usually get quite hectic leading up to Thanksgiving and don’t slow down until after New Year’s Eve for me. I am very excited about seeing the social events coming back. There are parties to attend, gifts to buy for local children that are in need, and service projects in place to make sure as many people in our area can enjoy the holidays regardless of their situations. There are many opportunities to help out, reach out to local organizations in your area and see what you can do. If you want an easy one, touch base with the JFK Rotary Club or the LGA Kiwanis Club. They are always doing something for the community, especially around the holidays!
This month’s feature article is all about obtaining the skills needed for in-demand jobs in and around the airports. The JFK Redevelopment is getting going again. There will be good-paying jobs out there for skilled workers. For some Queens residents, they may be lucky enough to get training through Aviation High School or at Vaughn College, and for others, it will be by way of technical school, training classes, and certificate programs. Whether you choose to learn a skilled trade or pursue professional development, there are so many options. I am seeing loads of both live and virtual offerings. If you just put your mind to you and allow yourself the time to grow you may just change your life. Never stop learning.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our readers to our new Editor-In-Chief, Julia Lauria-Blum. We have been working with Julia for many years on her very interesting research and well-written articles focused on local historical aviation topics and women in aviation. Since the passing of our long-time editor, Joe Alba, we knew that we would have to bring someone on to fill his big shoes. Julia already felt like part of the family. We know that you will be delighted with the content that Julia is curating for our readers. Julia can be reached directly at JBlum@metroairportnews.com.

Lastly, our December issue is always a Giving Campaign issue where we donate to a local organization proceeds from our advertisers that participate in the issue. This year we are once again supporting the Aviation High School Education Foundation. Since the inception of the Metropolitan Airport News in 2016, we have been able to donate over $38,000 to local organizations due to the generosity of our advertisers! Thank you in advance to all those who support the Giving Campaigns. It really makes a difference to those who receive the donations.
From the entire team at the Metropolitan Airport News, we wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. We’ll see you in the New Year!