John "Corky" Gill served several years in military and aviation field. Today, he was honored with the FAA's Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award. Highly regarded as their most prestigious award, the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award awarded by the FAA recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior aviation mechanics and is given to mechanics who have exhibited exemplary aviation expertise, distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment for at least 50 years of aviation maintenance experience.

People flooded the Harris Hill Youth Camp reception hall to help honor Corky and celebrate him and his achievements. Many of those people were members of the Harris Hill Soaring community where Corky has spent a lot of his time. He mentioned he recorded having over 8,300 flights in the glider.

An attendee at the event even referred to Corky as "the grandfather of Harris Hill."

In addition to honoring Corky with the award, a surprise was organized on his behalf.

"I was very happy to see that and, not just one Thunderbird, but a few, several of them there," said Corky, the award recipient. "That made me real happy because the Thunderbirds was a big three and a half years of my career in the Air Force and I'll never forget that."

The Federal Aviation Administration presented Dickey Robertson with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award at the Pine Bluff Regional Airport/Grider Field on June 21, 2024.

FAA official Jamie Black presented the award to Robertson for 50 years of 'impeccable installing and troubleshooting aircraft avionics.'

The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award awarded by the FAA recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior aviation mechanics and is given to mechanics who have exhibited exemplary aviation expertise, distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment for at least 50 years of aviation maintenance experience.

On June 4, Clifford G. Johnson was presented with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of ‘Dedicated Technical Aircraft Maintenance Service and Safety’ by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the American Airlines Tech Ops Department at LaGuardia Airport.

At the presentation of his Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award and the celebration of Clifford’s exceptional 50 years in the aviation industry, more than 100 guests of family, friends, co-workers, and distinguished leaders at American Airlines were present.
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“Married to my high school sweetheart, Jean,..blessed with three daughters and a son.. the grandfather of eight and two great-grands; 50 years married and 50 years in the aviation industry has awarded me a good life! I will be retiring from American Airlines at LaGuardia on September 30, 2024,” said Clifford Johnson.

In May 2024, Anthony Imparato received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior aviation mechanics and is given to mechanics who have exhibited exemplary aviation expertise, distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment for at least 50 years of aviation maintenance experience. 

Upon receiving the Charles Taylor Award, Imparato said, “It’s a great honor to receive such a prestigious award and be part of the only 30,000 recipients in the world to wind this award since its beginning. As I look back at my career, I am blessed to have met many talented people who played a huge role in my development. Also, the support from my family was always with me. I’m thankful to all of them.”