Rotary Meeting June 14, 2017

Rotary 14 June 2017

Non-Rotarian of the Year – Heidi Butzine

Heidi Butzine has been chosen by our club to be our 2017 Non-Rotarian of the Year. Heidi is the chief marketing strategist at Localista and the founder of shoplocal.us.

Heidi is focused on helping small businesses succeed in a digital world. Heidi is also well-represented in our community, serving the Chamber of Commerce, South Bay Women’s Business Association and president of the North Redondo Beach Business Association.

Congratulations, Heidi!

Barry Brennon - Flying Lion Inc.

Drone photography has opened a bird’s eye view of the world to professional and hobby photographers alike. In addition to creating some spectacular Instagram posts, drone photography and videography have some very practical applications. Drone photography is used in all kinds of industries, including public safety, entertainment, construction, agriculture, and real estate. Airborne drone logistics may be just over the horizon. Law enforcement is one early adopter to employ this flexible, cheap alternative to helicopters.

Flying Lion, Inc. is a South Bay firm specializing in training peace officers in drone piloting, as well as providing drone photography and videography on-demand. Currently, only about a third of the photography drones in use today are used for commercial purposes. Barry Brennan, President and Founder of Flying Lions, Inc. believes that will change in the near future.

“We predict the need for 650,000 licensed drone pilots by the year 2020,” Barry says.

A license is required for a drone for any kind of commercial activity or, more specifically, when any kind of a transaction occurs. So, technically, the hobbyist my use his drone to photograph for his own purposes, however, if he offers to use his equipment to help out a friend, that could be considered a transaction. Licensing requires a certificate of authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration and familiarity with 600 pages of FAA regulations. In a nutshell, the Remote Pilot Certification regulations cover these basic rules: No flying at night, no flying above 400 feet without special authorization, no flying in inclement weather and obey the three-dimensional airspace rules. In addition, licensed drone pilots need to pass an FAA test, go through a criminal background check and must be in both good physical and mental condition (to compare, in California, it only takes a waiting period of ten days to purchase a handgun).

Thank you, Barry, for telling us about this fascinating new technology and its many uses.