Avionics News December 2013 - 41

What do you
attribute West Star's
success while other
companies struggle?
We have terrific relationships
with customers. Our senior leadership team consists of Sam Haycraft,
Jim Swehla and Mike Durst, who
basically started everything and
instilled a sense that the relationship with our customers is of
upmost importance. We make sure
the customers' needs and desires
are met. Our primary goal is we're
here for the customer. That separates us from others. During those
slow years, that's what kept people
employed.
What differentiates West Star is
how we are preparing for the future
through training. It's so important to
us. The last few years have brought
changes in how avionics people
troubleshoot and install products.
The systems being installed are
more like a complex computer network rather than a bunch of boxes.
That's why we've just now put in
place a training program where our
employees are going to get certified
in IT networking classes - Network
Plus and CCENT (Cisco Certified
Entry Networking Technician) certification. For the most part, the aircraft and its associated subsystems
are very similar to an IT network at
a corporate business. Because of
this, our goal is to have each team
member who volunteered for training to be certified with a minimum

of a Network Plus certification, and
select employees were chosen for
CCENT certification.

What do you do when
you're not working?
The two things that are most
important to me are my family and
my church. When I'm not at work,
I'm with my wife, Darra. She works
part time as a nurse, and we have
four children. Noah is 10 and into
video games. Jonah is 7 and also
into video games. Both boys enjoy
their time outdoors getting messy,
too. Anaiah Evi is my 3-year old. My
wife and I prayed for a daughter,
and so her name means "God has
answered my desire" in Hebrew.
She loves reading, singing, dancing
and being a ball of joy. Our second
daughter, Moriah, is 18 months old.
She's into a little bit of everything.
She's a climber and a ball of fire.

What activities do you
enjoy as a family?
We enjoy vacations at the beach.
One place that we like to go is to
Tybee Island in Savannah. I was
stationed in Savannah and know
the area well. It's far away, but it is
worth it. We go to parks around our
neighborhood, ride bikes, basically
stay outside and play.

Do you have any
hobbies on your own?
I set that stuff by the wayside as
my family grew. But I enjoy doing

woodworking, and my brother-inlaw has a shop; I keep my hand in
there. I try to stay active with our
church and am currently helping in
the construction of a pavilion for
outside get-togethers.

How did you
meet your wife?
We met online with a dating
site, and we talked for about two
months before we met in person.
I had just moved to St Louis at
Jet Corp., and we hit it off and
had a lot in common. At first, I
wouldn't give her my phone number because I wasn't ready for a
commitment. Our first date was
at a Longhorn Steakhouse, and we
talked until they kicked us out.

What do you see
for yourself in the
immediate future?
Our family is looking to move
closer to work, to shorten the
commute. I take the kids to school,
and we want to be closer. On
the business side, we're growing
tremendously, adding another
hangar, breaking ground and
pouring concrete. We're gearing
up to handle more work and
expanding our clientele to reach
more aircraft types. q

To learn more about
West Star Aviation, visit
www.weststaraviation.com.
avionics news

december

2013

http://www.weststaraviation.com

Avionics News December 2013

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