There
are some people in air cargo who are certain to be where you expect
them, despite the years and changing winds and circumstances.
We were thinking about that when we heard
long time JFK International Airport cargo man Gerald “Gerry”
Molinelli has decided to pack it in. Molinelli will depart his current
post as Senior Cargo Executive at Emirates Sky Cargo on December 31,
after 42 years of continued service.
Somehow, JFK Cargo will never be the same.
Kudos to boss Ed Chism for bringing Gerry
into Emirates, where he has shined for the past years by simply being
Gerry.
But we’d like to take a moment to
drift back to the mid 1970s, when every time we were at the airport
it was certain Gerry was at work—he sat on one side, a secretary
sat on the other, and inside the bigger office was Eugene T. “Buz”
Whalen, (right) in a building at JFK called Japan Airlines (JAL) Cargo.
If memory serves, down at the other end
of this first generation automated cargo facility was Rudy Auslander,
serving as operations chief for JAL Cargo USA.
Rudy later went on to help design, and
then for years operate, the mammoth JAL Cargo Building 151 at Hangar
14 JFK.
Gerry created and maintained the post
of an airport cargo sales guy; he was a steady, dependable, and certain
force for first class, hands-on connection, serving the forwarders and
many others for more than four decades at JFK—first at JAL and
then at EK.
You just don’t see that kind of
longevity anymore.
Gerry filled a vital function in air cargo
and he did it well, and now he retires with our fullest appreciation
and respect for a job well done.
Here, his old boss Buz Whalen V.P Cargo
(JAL Ret.) remembers:
“I was a little surprised to hear
about Gerry retiring, then it dawned on me that I've been retired from
JAL for twenty of those years.
“Time does fly, as the saying goes.
“Gerry had something going for him
that I'm sure helped him with his successful years in ‘The Business,’
air cargo.
“He spent several years on the ramp
crew at JAL/JFK, which helped him understand the actual ins and outs
of processing and handling consignments.
“The five and a half years that
I spent on midnights with American Airlines Airfreight in Detroit was
a big help for me in later years in sales & marketing with JAL and
Seaboard World.
“Gerry was dependable and could
be trusted with projects that required good communication skills with
his peers and clients.
“EK was the beneficiary of his experience
with JAL, I'm sure.
“Best wishes to Gerry and family
in the future,” Buz Whalen said.
Gerry’s friend and co-worker, long
time air cargo pro and Cargo Business Development Manager-USA, Emirates
SkyCargo Brendan Furlong said of Gerry:
“I have known Gerry for 30 years.
He is a consummate professional, outgoing and friendly. Always there
when you need assistance. We are losing a valuable resource."
They tell us Gerry and Linda are off to
spend their years ahead in Arizona.
Many happy landings, thanks for the memories,
and to quote an endearment in the western U.S.A., ‘happy trails
always,’ Gerry Mollinelli!
gerald.molinelli@yahoo.com
Geoffrey
