Ordinary Vets/Extraordinary Workplace

 

Hello everyone,

I am Vicki Patterson, founder and owner of Goldeneye Aerial Solutions (GEAS). I am going to tell you who we are, what we do, and most importantly, why will be different than any other aerospace company (any other company PERIOD) and therefore worthy of your contribution.

GoldenEye Aerial Solutions is a service connected disabled veteran woman owned aerospace company. We will be providing high quality aerial surveillance in support of federal and state agencies and objectives. We will also be providing aerial sensor operator training for law enforcement and other agencies that employ these systems, joint terminal attack controller training, and expert aerial video analysis. We will set the “gold standard” for this industry.

Our company will be composed of the very finest pilots, operators, mechanics, controllers, and other professionals from military and civilian aviation, starting with its founders:

I served for 30 years in the Air Force, both active duty and in a reserve status.  My military experience includes linguistics, recruiting, air transportation, hazardous materials transport, aerial delivery, parachute packing and rigging, training, and two overseas deployments in support of global war on terror.  I have two associate degrees and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from Capella University.  My work for several civilian companies including a government contractor and a computer startup gives me a broad perspective into the task at hand of meshing people and platforms.

Our Chief Operating Officer served for almost 25 years in the Army Reserve and Air Force, with 18 of that being in aviation and 16 in spec ops.  He has an associate degree in Air and Space Operations Technology. He served in three armed conflicts and has over 1,000 combat hours in the AC130 gunship with over 4,400 total hours in military aviation. He served for 11 years as an instructor and 7 years as a flight examiner. After retirement from active duty, he worked for 8 years for two aerospace companies operating aerial sensor systems, accumulating an additional 4,200 hours in support of Department of Defense objectives. He has over 8,000 total hours operating ten different aerial sensor systems on six different types of aircraft all over the world, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the jungles of the Congo, from frigid Korea to sunny Timbuktu (yes, it’s a real place). He has the background to ensure GEAS employs the best platform and system for every mission in any facet of aerial operations anywhere, anytime.

Aerospace companies make money, there is no doubt about that. For example, L3 Technologies Inc declared a profit of almost 2.5 BILLION and a net income of 678 MILLION dollars last year. But what did they do with it? We cannot speak for what they did exactly, but we can say what WE will do with the profits that in other companies would land square in the pockets of the owners or shareholders. That’s not how things will work at GEAS. Much as we WILL set the gold standard for aerial operations, we WILL likewise establish an even higher standard for employee compensation, benefits, working environment, and professional growth.


Why are we going to be different? (and therefore, why should you donate to help us?)

Both founders have worked for major corporations. We have seen some good treatment of employees, and some bad. None of the companies we have observed have shared a significant portion of the rewards they reaped with those who have sown and cultivated the seeds, the employees. We will pay out a substantial portion of the money that would otherwise be considered an owner dividend to those who EARNED it as bonuses. We will provide our employees with proper benefits and contribute towards their retirement funds. We will NEVER reduce the quality of life of our employees just to “earn” added profit, period. I also pledge to donate a considerable portion of my personal owner dividends to the establishment of educational opportunities for our employees and their families, as well as the local community at large. This will be a different sort of company than any that has ever existed, one whose owners don’t want A yacht, A mansion, A private jet, let alone more than one, while leaving their employees behind. People will always mean more than owner profits even if we become a billion-dollar company. We seek to pay our employees a prosperous wage, not just a living one, and provide career opportunities for those whose potential for greatness is all too often overlooked in other traditional aerospace companies due to the “good ole boy” system.

Ideally, we’d like to raise enough that we do not have to take on large equity investors or loans.  If we need to take on investors, we will need to make sure they get their money back before we can pay bonuses to the employees and contribute to the community at large. Those investors would not likely share our vision of putting our employees first, the community second, and the owners last when distributing the profits earned.  Likewise, a bank would have to be repaid first, and that is why we chose this option of funding vs conventional methods.


Where will your donations go?

- Establishment of the corporate infrastructure necessary to bid aerospace contracts.
- Lease and/or purchase of aircraft, sensor systems, and other required equipment
- Salaries for the cadre of employees to demonstrate our capabilities to potential customers.
- Expenses related to flight and ground operations until award of the first contract.

Once we are on solid footing, we will pay it forward, so to say.  Every dollar donated to our crowdfunding campaign will be paid forward to the community. We will provide a full accounting of where that money was spent and donate the full amount to various charitable organizations with an emphasis on education, children, veterans, and animal welfare. Before a single penny is paid in dividends to the owners, this debt of honor to the community will be settled. An example of where we will pay it forward is the Daniel “Chappie” James Flight Academy in Pensacola. General James was the 1st African American to achieve the rank of General (4 star) in the Armed Forces of the United States. The flight academy carries on his legacy by promoting science, technology, engineering and math while building student confidence in the classroom by using aviation as the key learning discipline. It also is designed to provide a future workforce for the aerospace industry and to inspire good citizenship. As part of our continuation of paying it forward, GEAS will seek to establish a scholarship fund in his name for at least one worthy student of the flight academy per year to receive aviation related vocational training from an elite aerospace university such as Emery Riddle. We will help the flight academy expand their operations and summer program to provide more historically underprivileged children an opportunity to experience the thrill of aviation, and will do so on a continuing basis even after repayment of crowdfunding donations has been accomplished.


In Closing

For anyone who has served in the military or if you know someone who served, you know we don’t do it to get rich.  Neither of us are trust fund babies.  We are ordinary people working to establish an extraordinary workplace.  For that we need your help. 


Please keep in mind a donation at any level is greatly appreciated.  Sometimes $5 or $10 is all we can give.  I get that.  I have donated $10 to the ARC after a hurricane.  My $10 combined with all the $10 donations from across the country went to help a lot of people.  If WE the PEOPLE band together, we can make this happen.

Thank you for your time in watching this video, and for your assistance in helping us set the gold standard in aerial operations. Please click the link below and donate at your comfort level.