Helicopter company CEO has spent a lifetime enjoying the Grand Canyon from top to bottom.
What wasn’t risky for this risk taker was hiring his daughter, Brenda Halvorson, to serve as his assistant in 1986, a position that led to her current position today as CEO of Grand Canyon Airlines and Papillon Helicopters, the largest scenic helicopter tour company in the world.
“Realistically, I started working for my dad when I was a kid,” said Brenda, who lived at the Grand Canyon from fourth to sixth grade. “We moved here so my dad’s construction company could begin the Transcanyon Water Pipeline project, which entailed an immense amount of helicopter flights into the canyon. Soon after the project was completed, he started selling helicopter flights.”
When Brenda was 12 years old, she worked out of a 6’ x 6’ shack on the side of the road in Tusayan on Sundays, selling helicopter tours. “Dad always wanted me to come work alongside him when I got older,” said Halvorson. “When his assistant quit, he asked if I would fill that position.”
At the time, Halvorson, an avid skier and outdoorswoman, was on her journey as co-owner of Scott Sports. In 1991, she became vice president of Grand Canyon Airlines and Papillon Helicopter. “We had expanded our helicopter operations to Hawaii on the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui, so I would go over to Hawaii once a week out of every month and afterward, I would come to the Grand Canyon to work with the CFO on budgets and cost analysis to determine how we could do better.”
Today, The Papillon Group (Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, Grand Canyon Helicopters, Grand Canyon Scenic Airlines and Canyon Flight Trading Company) corporate offices are housed at their Boulder City Aerocenter, an ultramodern $9 million terminal.
Halvorson loves her work, as well as the people she has hired to work alongside her. Some of her employees have been with her for over 30 years. “I had a really good knack at hiring the right people and taking good care of them,” she said. “They are my friends, and we built this together. I certainly didn’t do it on my own. I’ve got the best of the best and a rock-solid group of people who work here.”
Director of Operations and Chief Operating Officer John Becker has been with Papillon Group since 1994. “After retiring from the Army, I came to work here as a line pilot,” said Becker. “The Halvorsons have treated me like family. They are very ethical and fair to all their employees and safety is their absolute No. 1 priority.”
“Brenda is not only my boss, but my good friend, and our kids went to school together,” said Human Resource Director Isla Harvey. “This is a great family-oriented company. I’ve worked in many different positions here and my job has expanded to where I am now.”
“My dad put a lot of trust in me,” said Halvorson. “When I asked him for direction, he wouldn’t give me any. He would just say, ‘You can figure it out for yourself.’ So, I did.”
A year ago last month, her dad died unexpectedly at age 88. “He was my best friend,” she said. “I went to him when I needed to hear his voice, it brought me peace. He was my peace.”
She says the greatest gift her dad gave her was confidence. “He would always tell me to have faith and never give up and when there’s a will there’s a way. That’s what I really admired about him.” In his book, “Detours to Destiny,” the elder Halvorson wrote about never giving up and having the strength to forge forward.
Brenda cherishes her childhood memories of playing at Phantom Ranch during the time Elling was building the pipeline. “I loved it down there. We would take the helicopters down to the canyon from Yaki Point where dad had a heliport and play all day riding our trail bikes. It was so much fun.”
Today, Brenda says her life is full with The Papillon Group and family, which includes her husband, Mark, and eight grandchildren. FBN
By V. Ronnie Tierney, FBN
