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Venice Airport Advocate Earns National Recognition

Nicholas “Nick” Carlucci, a local resident, pilot, and President Emeritus of the Venice Aviation Society Incorporated (VASI) has been selected by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) to receive their highest honor, the Sharples Award. The award ceremony will take place in October during AOPA’s annual Aviation Summit in Palm Springs, California. Founded by Laurence P. Sharples in 1939, AOPA has a membership base of more than 400,000 pilots and aviation enthusiasts in the United States, making it the largest, most influential aviation association in the world.

In a letter to Carlucci, AOPA President and CEO Craig Fuller writes, “The Sharples Award, named for the founding chairman of the Association, is awarded to keep alive the memory of his contributions to aviation and to provide an incentive for others to emulate the unselfish contribution to general aviation that characterized the life of Mr. Sharples.”

Carlucci’s specific contributions are outlined in the two-page announcement. “You are nominated in recognition of your outstanding work as an energetic and innovative airport advocate at Florida’s Venice Municipal Airport (VNC) during the protracted effort to secure the airport’s future. Your leadership and tenacity in advocating for the airport, your tireless efforts at telling VNC’s story to the local and national public, and your strong commitment to providing opportunities to engage young people were critical factors for AOPA’s Board of Trustees in making this award.”

Rarely at a loss for words, Carlucci admits, “I was absolutely speechless,” when he read the letter. Carlucci has been VASI’s president since 2004 and active on a daily basis during some of the airports most challenging years. “Airport controversy was in the paper twice a week,” he recalls. “Venice eventually bumped Santa Monica Municipal as the nation’s most endangered airport.”

Fuller continues on Carlucci’s accomplishments. “As a leader of VASI through the long battle to protect VNC, you and your allies in the airport community effectively kept the pressure on local elected officials through constant interaction, and protecting the integrity of the Airport Master Plan. You welcomed Venice residents onto the airport to help them understand its value, and effectively used the local media and Internet to showcase its contribution. Ultimately, you engaged in local elections to educate the entire community and secured a membership on the City Council that was more sympathetic to the airport.”

While Carlucci refuses to take any credit, substantial progress and improvement in airport affairs is recognizable. “The Airport has implemented several improvement projects that bring the airport into compliance with current FAA airport design standards, hangars are being built, progress is being made on the capital improvement plan, and the City Council continues to be supportive of their airport and see it as an important asset to the community,” the letter concludes. During Carlucci’s VASI tenure, the “B-II / C-II controversy” was resolved and airport layout modifications were proposed that remove 24 homes out of a Runway Protection Zone.

Carlucci remained President until last spring when he stepped down following eight “interesting” years, as he remembers them. He continues as President Emeritus in an advisory role. “I’m accepting this award on behalf of all VASI members,” he said.