President’s Award Winner Jason Smith

Piedmont Maintenance and Engineering

Nomination #1: Jason Smith exemplifies the core values of Caring, Compliance, Communication, and Community through his leadership and dedication at the his Maintenance Base. His role is critical to supporting more than 80 ERJ-145 departures daily, and his efforts have delivered measurable improvements in operational reliability and team collaboration. Jason consistently goes above and beyond to assist flight crews and teammates. He proactively resolves maintenance issues, provides technicians with reference materials, and ensures parts are ordered promptly. His commitment to helping others succeed fosters a positive and supportive work environment. He safeguards compliance by ensuring all maintenance actions meet regulatory and company standards. His attention to detail and adherence to procedures maintain safety and reliability while minimizing operational disruptions. Jason’s ability to communicate effectively is central to his success. He maintains constant contact with Maintenance Control, Operations, and Dispatch, delivering real-time aircraft status updates, coding delays accurately, and coordinating aircraft swaps. His efforts have reduced maintenance-related delay minutes by 38% and boosted D0 performance across the hub. Jason’s impact extends beyond his professional role. As a Veteran & Military ERG Board member, he actively participates in events supporting service members and helped earn ERG of the Year for the Veteran & Military ERG. Since 2019, Jason has volunteered aboard the USS New Jersey, preserving the historic ship, organizing volunteer efforts, and providing educational tours to make military history engaging for visitors.

Jason Smith is more than a coordinator—he is a catalyst for excellence. His leadership has transformed operational performance, strengthened team culture, and extended our values into the community. Jason’s unwavering dedication, innovative problem-solving, and passion for service make him an outstanding candidate for the President’s Award. He doesn’t just meet expectations—he redefines them.

Nomination #2: I am nominating Jason Smith for the President’s award because he successfully directs a hub maintenance team and supports more than 80 ERJ-145 departures each day. He performs his main responsibility, assisting flight crews to resolve maintenance, and if unsuccessful, escalate those issues to Maintenance Control and dispatch technicians, with professionalism.  He provides the technicians with reference materials and ordering parts. Simultaneously he monitors departure times with the goal to minimize or eliminate any delay in the flight.  He remains in constant contact with Maintenance Control, Operations, and Dispatch, relaying real-time aircraft-status updates, ensuring maintenance delays are coded correctly and coordinating aircraft swaps and delays as necessary. His work as the hub tower coordinator has resulted in cuts of maintenance-related delay minutes by roughly 38 percent and delivered a measurable boost in D:0.  He always goes above and beyond when helping teammates with issues and seeks opportunities to improve operations. He is also the LEC working to properly handle HAZMAT at our hangar.  He has provided me with detailed step by step guides to perform numerous tasks in Merlin and is always there with an answer when you need it.

He is a Veteran & Military ERG Board member participating in various events and has recently won ERG of the Year award with the Veteran & Military ERG members.  In his spare time, he volunteers aboard the USS New Jersey in Camden (since 2019) where he helps preserve the condition of the ship, arranges volunteer efforts and provides tours to make military history fun and informational.   He also hosts the Do Crew on the USS New Jersey and has volunteered for the Left-Right-Left MDT 5K run along with many other volunteer activities like Toys for Tots, and Candy for the Troops, clearly exemplifying our values of caring, compliance, communication and community.