Howie hails from Niagara Falls, NY though he grew up mostly in Nashville, TN. He made the trek to New Orleans to attend Naval ROTC at Tulane University and earn his commission in the Navy. After graduating in 2006 with a degree in Computer Science, he moved to Pensacola, FL to begin flight training. He earned his wings in 2008 and moved to San Diego, CA to fly the MH-60S. On that tour, he deployed twice to Iraq and Kuwait to fly MEDEVAC during both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. When his time in San Diego was complete, he moved to Lakehurst, NJ to become the Airport Manager of Maxfield Field (KNEL) in charge of all aspects of the airfield to include Line Operations, Air Traffic Control, and Ground Electronics while earning his Aviation Master of Business Administration degree from Embry Riddle. Upon completion of his time in NJ, the Navy transferred him to Okinawa, Japan. Over three years in Okinawa, Howie was responsible for military airspace throughout Asia and Australia. After his rewarding time in Okinawa, Howie decided to give civilian life a try and moved back to New Orleans to become the Airport Manager and Assistant Airport Director here at the Lakefront Airport! After a couple of years at the airport, the call of the cockpit became too strong. Howie earned his CFI and began working for Gulf Coast Aviation in July 2019 and is also the Director of Operations. In his free time, Howie and his wife Jacquelyne enjoy traveling the world. When they aren’t traveling, they can be seen absorbing as much New Orleans culture as possible, to include as many Tulane sporting events as time allows!