Epic Flight Academy Awards
Numerous organizations have recognized Epic Flight Academy for its contributions, excellence, and community involvement. Regardless of the honors and awards we receive, Epic strives to serve our students, staff, and community. Therefore, we aspire to meet the highest standards in all we do. Epic Flight Academy has been a member of the Better Business Bureau since 2018 and the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce since 2017.
Awards, Honors, and Recognitions
2024 – Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame Award
2024 – Orlando Sentinel Top Workplace Award
2023 – Orlando Sentinel Top Workplace Award
2022 – Orlando Sentinel Top Workplace Award
2019 – Daytona Beach News-Journal Top Workplace Award
2019 – FAA 100% Pass Rate
2016 – National Guard – Patriotic Employer Award
2007 – Cessna Flight Training Excellence
2006 – AOPA Special Citation
Cessna Safety Standards Award
Employee Achievements
Epic Flight Academy is proud to hire highly skilled staff who have received their own share of accolades. We salute their commitment to excellence and honor their achievements.
Judy Rice
Captain Judy Rice, who taught private pilot ground school at Epic for 6 years, set the world absolute NAA speed record over a recognized course: Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to Reykjavik, Iceland. In 2021, “Captain Judy,” as she was known at Epic, wrote the foreword for 101 Trailblazing Women of Air and Space: Astronauts and Aviators and published her own memoir in 2024 shortly before her death. Although Captain Judy retired in 2023, she continued to share her aviation wisdom in Captain Judy’s Corner. She was the recipient of numerous awards in aviation, and we are proud to have named Epic’s Captain Judy Rice Library in her honor.
Hal Maskiell
CFI Hal Maskiell received the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award in 2017. Hal’s instructor certificate displays the FAA’s coveted gold seal, which is given to flight instructors who meet a higher standard of performance.
Mike Thompson
In 2017, Captain Mike Thompson authored Telling Is Not Teaching: The Flight Instructor’s Handbook.
Dennis Holland and Gary Hoyle
Aircraft mechanic instructors Dennis Holland and Gary Hoyle are both recipients of the FAA Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.
Cindy Lovell
In 2020, Dr. Cindy Lovell, Director of Education, co-authored Linguistics for K-12 Classroom Application. In 2023, she co-authored The Big Book of ESOL Activities: Preparation for Educators, Administrators, and School Counselors, and in 2025 co-edited the 5th edition of Preparing the Way: Teaching English Learners in the P-12 Classroom. The University of South Florida, where she is an adjunct professor, recognized her for “Excellence in Undergraduate Education” in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Also, in 2024, the University of Missouri’s Trulaske College of Business presented her with the John A. Riggs, Jr. Excellence in MBA Teaching Award.
Josh Rawlins
In 2023, Aircraft Maintenance Technology recognized Josh Rawlins, COO and Director of the Aircraft Mechanic Program, as an AMT 40 Under 40 Maintenance Professional. Josh received further national acclaim when the National Business Aviation Association honored him as the 2022 Business Aviation Top 40 Under 40 Recipient in the field of Maintenance. The Daytona Beach News-Journal also recognized Josh in its ’40 Under Forty’ Program in 2021.
