Up Front

They certainly broke the mold with Stevie Van Zandt, who has performed with Bruce Springsteen since the two were penniless teens, starred in HBO’s The Sopranos, and worked tirelessly on human-rights campaigns. BJT editor Jeff Burger, whose books include thewidely acclaimed Springsteen on Springsteen, recently spent a rainswept afternoon chatting with Van Zandt; and as their conversation makes clear, the guitarist hasn’t let his massive artistic successes go to his head. He remains grounded—as well as fiercely committed to both his music and social justice. You can see video excerpts and outtakes from the interview at BJTonline.com/VZ.

Thank you to everyone who took time to share their opinions in our annual Readers’ Choice Survey, which attracted 50 percent more respondents than it did last year. By participating, you have helped your fellow travelers and the entire business aviation community. Considering that 32 percent of you expect to purchase a business jet and 34 percent plan on buying a fractional share in the months ahead, you can bet that bizav manufacturers and service providers are taking note. As promised, we’ve made a contribution for every completed survey to Corporate Angel Network, which arranges flights to treatment centers for cancer patients and their families.

James Wynbrandt accepts the NBAA Gold Wing award Photo: David McIntosh

At its 2019 conference in Las Vegas, the National Business Aviation Association gave its annual Gold Wing Award to BJT columnist James Wynbrandt for his well-reported 2018 feature, “Bizav’s Climate Change Response Gets Back on Track.” This is the fifth time since 2009 that this award has gone to a journalist for work in our publication.

Meanwhile, in the prestigious annual Folio: competition, BJT columnist Joe Sharkey won the award for Best Column in a Consumer Travel Magazine, for On the Road. I was honored to accept that award on Joe’s behalf on October 30 in New York.

Jennifer English with the Folio: award for Joe Sharkey’s column

Honorable mentions in the Folio: contest for BJT work went to Margie Goldsmith (Best Article in a Consumer Travel Magazine), Jeff Wieand (Best Column in a Consumer Travel Magazine), and designer Greg Rzekos (Best Cover on a Consumer Magazine with Circulation under 250,000).

BJT and its contributors have now won a total of 86 major editorial awards. That’s gratifying, but what pleases us most is that readers regularly tell us that our magazine is meeting their needs. We look forward to continuing to serve you in 2020.