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From the “ARSA on the Hill” section of the November 2025 Edition…
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (holding plaque) poses after receiving ARSA’s Legislative Leadership Award with (left to right) Daniel Mendelson, Eric A. Mendelson, HEICO Co-Chairman & Co-CEO, Alex de Gunten, HEICO Business Development Officer, and Victor H. Mendelson, HEICO Co-Chairman & Co-CEO.
ARSA Government Affairs Chairman and HEICO Vice President of Industry Engagement Alex de Gunten presented ARSA’s 2025 Legislative Leadership Award to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) at a Miami luncheon on Nov. 25. Also attending were HEICO Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers Eric A. Mendelson and Victor H. Mendelson, as well as Eric’s son Daniel Mendelson.
The award is given annually to a member of Congress who has gone above and beyond in the interests of aviation safety, regulatory efficiency, and maintenance industry workforce development. With more repair stations in Diaz-Balart’s congressional district than any other, it’s no wonder he has established a strong track record of standing up for aviation businesses and jobs on Capitol Hill.
The aviation maintenance industry congratulates Rep. Diaz-Balart as he joins the ranks of past ARSA Legislative Leadership Award recipients, Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) (2021) and Jim Inhofe (2018) and Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash) (2022), Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) (2020), and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) (2019), and Virginia Foxx (2017).
Please plan to attend ARSA’s Legislative Day in March in conjunction with the association’s Annual Conference for the presentation of the 2026 award.
