Budding with Broncos – FreeFlight Systems Flourishes with WMU Aviation and Business Grads
FreeFlight Systems' headquarters near Dallas is not -- not -- the home of the WMU Alumni Club of Texas. It just seems that way.
The innovative aviation enterprise, which is still not a quarter of a century old, signs the paychecks of at least three brown-and-gold-wearing Broncos: Scott Warner, Hunter Hayes and Kasmin Katz.
Warner, FreeFlight's director of business development, earned in 2011 his first degree from the WMU College of Aviation and, four years later, tacked a master's in business administration from Western's Haworth College of Business on his wall.
Hayes, who interned at FreeFlight thanks to Warner, is now a sales-operation associate for the company that has major Texas-based operations in Irving, Waco and Robinson, while also employed by Envoy Air. A December 2021 graduate, he was a dual mjor in aviation flight science and aviation management and operations.
Katz, a marketing major with a double minor, graduated from Western's business college in 2010. Since 2022, she's been with FreeFlight as an "inside sales administrator."
Formed the year after the new millennium arrived, FreeFlight serves the airline industry, business and corporation aviation, the U.S. military, airports and what is now referred to as rotorcraft -- as opposed to "choppers." Operating in more than 100 countries and servicing 3,500 types of aircraft, FreeFlight services and products are designed for safety, flight efficiency, affordability, and cutting-edge avionics.
Warner hails from St. Clair Shores, a Macomb County community 14 miles northeast of Detroit. The 2007 alumnus of South Lake High School says he always enjoyed anything "transportation - be it planes, trains or automobiles." Blend that with a yen for travel, maps and differing cultures and he was pointed toward some kind of a career in aviation. With its national reputation for competency and quality instruction in his home state, the WMU College of Aviation beckoned.
During his first stint on campus, Warner joined the ranks of the college's aviation ambassadors and came under the tutelage of Tom Thinnes, director of marketing, recruitment and outreach. "His mentorship," Warner says, "eased my transition from academics to industry. He taught me to learn more, try more and expect more. Tom not only educated me in departmental leadership, he also involved me in decision-making, process improvements and goal-setting, all of which smoothed my way into the world of for-profit business." When Warner returned to campus for his master's, he served as a part-time instructor for the aviation program, duties that he's tried to maintain over the past four years.
Katz didn't have to travel very far for her experience in higher education. She received her diploma from Gobles High School in 1994, a rural Van Buren County community about 25 miles due west of Kalamazoo. Western's reputation, its proximity and a scholarship convinced her to stay close to home in pursuit of a career in business that gravitated toward an interest in aviation. "Having friends in the industry," she says, "gave me the opportunity to explore another field that I found to be enjoyable."
Hayes grew up in Olivet, an Eaton County college town northeast of Battle Creek. An introduction-to-aviation course at Olivet High School and a discovery flight at Western pushed his career button. He brought his 2017 diploma with him to the College of Aviation, which he chose because it was close to home, had modern aircraft, a reputable flight program and was part of a comprehensive university. He eventually became part of that program as a student dispatcher and certified flight instructor.
Warner's resume includes an internship at Northern Jet Management's offices in Grand Rapids, which qualified him for his first "job" with the aviation-consulting firm of Chrysalis Global. Next came a linkage with L3Harris Technologies, a defense-industry contractor based in Melbourne, Fla., with 50,000 employees at 10 international locations. One of its domestic operations is in Grandville near Grand Rapids. At L3 Harris, Warner was involved in "inside sales, repair sales, and manager of aftermarket sales."
Along the way, he has been part of managing air-terminal projects at Wichita Dwight Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas and Monet International Airport in Ward County, N.D. Warner also worked on advanced avionics for military applications. And now he's on the FreeFlight team.
Katz also logged time at L3Harris from 2019 to 2022 as an administrator in the company's repair department. "This was my first time working in aviation," she says, "so I had a lot to learn. Becoming familiar with the L3 product line was very informative. I learned a lot of aviation lingo and how to manage customer accounts," all valued skills she applies at FreeFlight these days.
Hayes, a first-generation aviator, jumped from Western to Envoy Air, American Airlines' largest regional operation with a fleet of 160 aircraft booking 800 daily flights to 160 destinations. He served as a cadet trainer, a pilot recruiter and first officer for Envoy before adding FreeFlight Systems as an additional employer.
Transitioning from what he does at Envoy to his FreeFlight duties requires Hayes to "expand my comfort zone and begin learning some of the business aspects that back the operational side of an airline. It allowed me to improve my soft skills."
"At Envoy," Hayes says, "I enjoyed the travel aspects as well as making a positive impact on passengers and crews. At FreeFlight, I like implementing changes that allow for growth within the business and that create a standardized workplace for the sales team. I am learning aspects of the aviation industry that I was not exposed to in college or during my career as an airline pilot."
Warner appreciates "the talent that surrounds me and the products that impact the safety of flight. It's a great feeling knowing that your job and overall team are improving society, and the industry."
The Bronco trio agree that their Western experiences schooled them well to advance to the next career level. For Katz, it was Karen Lancendorfer, a professor of marketing in the Haworth College of Business. "She was always positive, straightforward, and supportive," she says. "When I graduated, she was on the stage. She knew how hard I had worked to get to that point. It was nice to see her smiling with encouragement at the end of my journey." She also personally gained "by being part of a collective group of driven individuals working together toward their goals. I found my classmates inspiring and motivating."
While Warner believes all of his aviation instructors were excellent and were genuinely interested in the success of their students -- in addition to Thinnes as his student-ambassador overseer -- he holds a special appreciation for Professor Lori Brown for her networking guidance and industry-readiness coaching. "She prepared me for the corporate world," he says, "through her introduction to industry associates and conference attendance. She helped me bridge the gap from academics to industry."
At the top of Hayes' list is lead flight instructor Dominic Nicolai for how he engaged with his students during class lectures. His favorite class was Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) that featured simulated challenges and complexities that a pilot might confront in his duties at the controls. Hayes said LOFT allowed him to apply "CRM (crew resource management) and all the other tools learned" during his time at Western.
Also up there is Annie Quardokus, who was the manager of scheduling and dispatch for the college and is now an associate flight specialist for BISSELL Homecare Inc. in Grand Rapids. "She always had my back," Hayes says. "She provided me with the resources to be a successful instructor at Western. She is one of the most impactful mentors I've ever had." Hayes, who still harbors a longtime goal to be a pilot/captain for American Airlines, taught flying and MEI (multi-engine instructions) for the college.
Extracurriculars added particular skills to their personas. For Hayes, it was the WMU chapter of the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) where he was introduced to leadership and marketing skills, was able to observe how effective organizations work, and was offered social opportunities "that all gave me significant connections that I still use in the aviation industry." He still serves as a mentor for the NGPA.
Warner polished his resume serving on the Aviation Student Council, including a term as its president. "It gave me my first experience at leading an organization's strategy," he says, "instead of just being an individual contributor." He had to learn to deal with different personalities and face contrary opinions about how things should be. On the positive side were the networking opportunities and chances to engage with leaders of the university and the aviation college.
Warner's been involved in the profit side of aviation long enough to know that the industry can be both challenging and cyclical. He's sampled the downturn caused by Covid 19 and a global financial crisis. Yet, on the other hand, are those hurdles only unique to aviation? All high-skilled professions can be affected by such events. The answer is -- be able to adapt and survive until the pendulum comes back the other way. His Western experience has helped make those adjustments.
That's the kind of perspective that Warner brings back to campus when he and his company take part in the college's Aviation Outlook Day. Coming with them are internship opportunities and job offers, along with insights for faculty and students about the newest trends, skills and experiences the modern aviation workspace requires. It's win-win-win -- FreeFlight gets a close look at top-rated prospects, WMU's aviation brand grows in value and depth of knowledge, and the next generation of aviation professionals advances to their career dreams.
Hayes is a prime example of this dynamic. "I joined FreeFlight Systems as an intern in the spring of 2022 after my graduation," he says. "This was the result of an invitation from Scott Warner, my instructor for AVS 4980 in my final semester at Western. He enjoyed my senior project and invited me to be an intern. That later turned into a part-time position."
Which is why he's been in a pay-it-forward mode, even when he is wearing the Envoy uniform. "It's important to give back," Hayes said, "to ensure that everyone has the same resources available to them as I did, that they can have the same opportunity to be successful."
If, while making a recruitment pitch, Warner spots a few sets of glazed eyeballs among his listeners, he can employ a "waker-upper." He could show his passport stamped with such destinations as Singapore, Sao Paulo in Brazil, London, Buenos Aires, Paris, Mexico City, Tokyo, Dubai, Madrid, Shanghai, and just about every one of the 50 states. Only Antarctica is missing from his list of continents visited. And it might be next on the list. Each year, a group of Western alumni that includes Warner (and his tennis racquet) will make the grand tour of places such as South Africa, South America, Europe, Asia and anywhere in between. Those kinds of adventures would jar any half-asleep student into an interested consciousness.
FreeFlight continues looking to hire additional great talent from Western Michigan University, like Hayes, Katz, and Warner. Reflective of this belief in top-tier talent, like this trio, FreeFlight Systems has become a regular participant in WMU’s annual aviation career fair. Who knows? Maybe you could become the next Budding Bronco at FreeFlight stemming from a casual conversation during Aviation Outlook Day.
