President/CEO Message
Message from the President Edward R. Boyer
The heart of America beats in the breast of our veterans – whether they return today from Iraq/Afghanistan or in yesteryear from Vietnam. I remember the cheers as the plane broke ground from Saigon Airport. The same must happen today as they take off from Baghdad or Kuwait. The question is how do we thank them and how do we care for the wounded and the broken families caused by war. This is the reason for Air Compassion for Veterans – to serve those who fought on our behalf when the government can’t meet the medical or rehabilitation transportation need. It is an honor to serve those who wore the cloth of our country.
Biographical Profile of Edward R. Boyer
Edward R. Boyer has been rightly called the “Father” of organized charitable medical air transportation. This is because he has devoted over 38 years of his life to developing a comprehensive charitable air transportation system in America in both the medical and disaster arenas. For his achievements, he was recognized by AARP The Magazine as one of 10 winners of its 2008 Inspire awards. He has won many other honors as well, including the Virginia Department of Aviation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Aeronautic Association’s Elder Statesman Award, and Corporation for National and Community Service’s Spirit of Service Award.
As a founder of Mercy Medical Airlift, headquartered in Virginia Beach, as well as its CEO and president, Mr. Boyer has created a nationwide net of care through a variety of programs and partner charities, including Angel Flight mid-Atlantic, the National Patient Travel Center, Mercy Medical Airlift, the Homeland Security Emergency Air Transportation System (HSEATS), Air Compassion America, and Air Compassion for Veterans. These partner charities help thousands of patients every year to access life-saving or life-improving specialized medical care that would otherwise not be available to them due to barriers of distance, time and finances.
He helped create Air Charity Network, comprised of some 7,500 volunteer pilots nationwide. Through a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, he developed a homeland security component, HSEATS, that mobilized volunteer pilots and utilized corporate planes during Hurricane Katrina to aid in disaster relief by performing over 2,600 missions.
A lifelong pilot and retired senior federal officer with the Department of Health and Human Services, Ed’s visionary insight has led him to foster partnerships with dozens of organizations in the fields of health care, government services, commercial and corporate aviation, disaster relief, and charitable lodging. These include such agencies as the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Victory Junction Gang Special Needs Camp, the Salvation Army, the Corporation for National and Community Service, National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses, the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and many others.
His commitment to help in the healing of military veterans and active duty service members and families led to creation of Air Compassion for Veterans, a program that has provided over 10,000 free flights for wounded warriors and their adversely affected families resulting from deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Mr. Boyer was born on March 21, 1937, in Plainfield, N.J., the son of James and Mary Boyer. His father was a life-long executive with the Boy Scouts of America. Later, the family moved to South Shore Long Island where Ed attended Baldwin High School, graduating as valedictorian and Eagle Scout with Honors.
He was the Distinguished Military Graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1959 with a Mechanical Engineering degree (BME) and is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in technology management.
Ed served 3 ½ years as an active duty Army officer responsible for the flight test program of the Advanced Nike Hercules Air Defense System. He spent three years as an Air Force civilian employee in Vietnam during that conflict managing the design and construction of U.S. air bases. He was the Director of Facilities Engineering and Emergency Preparedness in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and before that, in other administrative capacities, with his career in government spanning a total of 29 years. He has been a pilot for 51 years with commercial, instrument, single, multi-engine and glider ratings, and served on two Federal Aviation Administration advisory committees.
Ed lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, the former Carol Simpkin, a retired educator. They have three sons and two daughters.
