AgAir Update founder Bill Lavender has been selected as a 2024 Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee. Congratulations to Bill on this great achievement and thank you to everyone in the industry who voted for Bill!
Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame candidates are nominated based on their “outstanding and lasting contributions to the advancement of aviation or manned space flight.”
Bill began his aviation career in 1973 and has amassed over 14,000 flight hours. In his early career, he progressed from flying banners and skydivers to active agricultural aviation flying as an operator and pilot in central Georgia until the early 2000s when he retired to focus on his publications, including AgAir Update. Bill retired from general aviation flying in 2021. During his four-decade aviation career, he has owned and operated over 15 aircraft, from AgWagons to Turbine Thrush and Barons. Bill taught his son, Graham, to fly at a very early age, continuing the family aviation tradition.
Bill was inducted into the National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame in 2017. The NAAHOF is housed at the Mississippi Ag Museum in Jackson, Miss. Bill has also received the following NAAA awards:
- Richard “Dick” Reade Memorial Award (previously the Related Industry Award) in 1992.
- NAAA Falcon Club Pin in 2002.
Congratulations to one of the biggest champions of the aerial application industry!
