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Egbe Hospital before the revitalization

number one Fixed Base Operator in the U.S. by Professional maintaining the community’s very basic facilities. “It’s where I
Pilot magazine—an honor voted on by about 16,000 pilots learned a lot of my practical skills,” he says.
judging 3,800 facilities.
SIM had several small airplanes that used a grass runway
Beginnings cleared by the missionaries, and when Don was ready for first
grade, one of those planes carried him skyward and then on
It’s all a long way from Don’s early years. to boarding school, awakening a lifelong interest in the power
of aviation. “It was a 2 ½-day drive, but only a two-hour
He grew up in the Nigerian bush, where his father, a flight,” he says. “Airplanes are a fantastic tool.”
physician, and his mother, a nurse-midwife, worked
as missionaries with SIM (Serving in Mission), a non- Don attended Seneca College in Ontario, where his studies
denominational Protestant organization. Medical facilities included aeronautics and flight training. During breaks, he
were all but nonexistent: his father performed some of his escaped the Canadian cold by driving to Florida. “I loved the
first surgical procedures in the living room of the home the weather. I also realized there were probably more airplanes in
couple built themselves. The aviation complex is named after South Florida than in all of Canada. I thought if I could move
a majestic tree that grew outside that house; a Banyan tree to Florida and be in aviation, I’d have the best of everything.”
symbolizes growth and strength. After graduation, he made the move and landed a job as a

To meet the drastic need for a medical facility, Don’s parents charter pilot. But he soon discovered another opportunity: “I
founded Egbe Hospital, and over the years, it grew into a 75- saw a real need for maintenance for small charter companies.”
bed medical complex. Meanwhile, the missionaries had to be He rented a hangar with space for four planes, opened a
self-sufficient, and while Don was growing up, he helped with maintenance facility in one bay and sublet the others. Before

1979 - Banyan Air Service is formed Banyan celebrates Aircraft Maintenance Day

20 CORAL RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

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