Corporate Responsibility
A culture of giving back since our inception
Tom Evans is often lauded for his visionary foresight which guided him in founding Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. in 1959, making it the first company dedicated to supporting business and private flight operations. While Tom's passion for aviation has been well documented, what was less publicized was his commitment to giving back to the community. That passion for giving back has been carried on by Tom's wife and our Vice Chairman Marjorie Evans, who leads Universal's Employee and Community Relations department. As we've grown from a small Houston-based company with a mere handful of employees to our status today as the global leader in flight support services, with more than 1,200 employees in more than 20 nations, our commitment has grown too.
Our community is global. Our community support is too.
Today, we support many important causes, such as food relief and medical aid around the world. Whether lending our aircraft and support by transporting evacuees and delivering critical supplies in the wake of disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis, or providing flight support services for charitable organizations, our goal is to give back to our community. And while Universal prides itself on our charitable contributions, what makes our community support initiatives stand out is the dedication of our employees. Inspired by a company culture that has always valued community responsibility, our employees – whether holding a food drive in Houston, helping the homeless in Honolulu, or providing aid to flood victims in Mexico – volunteer thousands of hours in their communities annually. It just so happens that our community is the entire world.
One of the many nonprofits Universal supports is Impact Player Partners (IPP), which is dedicated to providing financial and emotional support to wounded troops. Universal annually uses its corporate jet to transport some of the troops and their families to Sugar Land, Texas from across the country to Impact a Hero Weekend, a weekend of festivities honoring wounded troops sacrifices through a public forum of emotional support.
We give back to the industry that gives to us
It has been truly remarkable to witness the growth of domestic and international business aviation since Universal was founded in 1959. A recent study revealed that in the United States alone, more than one million people are employed directly or indirectly in general aviation, with their earnings exceeding more than $50 billion. In coming years, business aviation will have an even greater impact in creating needed jobs and enhancing economies, particularly in the developing world.
As a responsible corporate partner, we believe it's vital to give back, to help business aviation continue to make strides and grow, and to ensure the future of an industry which supports so many livelihoods.
That's why our employees are active members on a plethora of industry committees and spend countless hours educating others in the field. From sharing their expertise on scheduling and dispatching to serving as advocates for legislation that benefits aviation, our employees believe the best way to ensure that business aviation continues to prosper and thrive is to be active within industry associations. It's also why we donate services and sponsor private aviators who set records or honor aviation's historic past. Support of these aviators and programs often encourages new research and further advances our industry overall, in addition to inspiring and educating the next generation of professionals.
We are dedicated to helping business aviation flourish. We believe that to stay strong and vital, and to do good for others, we must also actively contribute to ensuring the future of our industry.
Educating the public about the benefits of business aviation is essential to the industry's future success. That's why Universal proudly supports the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's General Aviation Serves America and the National Business Aviation Association's No Plane No Gain campaigns.
Supporting the people who support our clients.
Universal has been ranked one of Houston's top ten Best Places to Work by the Houston Business Journal's annual survey for five straight years.
Providing an engaging, rewarding work environment is critical to our success and forms the foundation from which we operate. We recruit intelligent, motivated people, and we understand that they need the tools and support to put their talents to use. That means providing ongoing training opportunities. It means compensating employees fairly and providing room for advancement. And it means engaging them in the goals and Vision of our company. As an organization, we feel supporting our people is vital, because ultimately it will be those people who support us.
Just a quick glimpse of how we're doing when it comes to supporting our top employees:
- We annually retain more than 95 percent of our top employees;
- We conduct research annually to help balance work-life better, and to determine how well we communicate with our employees as well as to gather their input on how to better the business;
