The Master Instructor Continuing Education Programä (Master Instructor program for short) was originally conceived by Colorado CFIs Sandy & JoAnn Hill in 1995.  After two years of research, development, and vetting, the program was formally announced by then-FAA Administrator Barry Valentine at a news conference in 1997.  Administrator Valentine offered the following endorsement:
"The FAA is pleased to see that industry is taking its own steps to raise the quality and professionalism within the flight instructor community.  The Hills  are to be commended for putting together a detailed program in the form of the Master Instructor designation that will truly enhance the abilities of dedicated  instructors everywhere."

The Master designation has grown from very humble beginnings to a nationally recognized - and highly coveted - credential.  As a measure of the accreditation's national significance, former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey observed in 2007:
"The Master Instructor accreditation singles out the best that the right seat has to offer."  

In 2008, acting FAA Administrator Robert A "Bobby" Sturgell stated:
"...kudos to Sandy and JoAnn Hill for their dedication to the Master Instructor program and the Masters themselves."

To date (30Jan09), the Hills have reviewed 1301 Master Instructor portfolios.  These portfolios were submitted by individual aviation educators seeking accreditation through the "Master Instructor Continuing Education Program  ."  1259 Master Instructor accreditations have been granted to 615 individual aviation educators worldwide.

Twenty-five (25) people have earned more than one of the four Master Instructor accreditations.  One (1) individual has earned three different designations (MCFI, MCFI-A & MGI).  The first CFI renewal was issued on 1 June 2002.  Since then, 369 Masters have been issued Master Instructor Graduation Certificates with which they may renew their flight instructor certificates, earn a gold seal certificate and / or update their Part 141 chief/assistant chief CFI status.  Ninety-seven (97) have also been issued temporary airman certificates (FAA Form 8060-4) by our Airman Certification Representative (ACR) or our FAA POI in the Milwaukee FSDO.  Additionally, there have been 13 deaths and 42 denials (6.8%).
Master Instructors teach in high schools, colleges, universities, flight schools, and as independents.  They instruct in single engine and multiengine aircraft, seaplanes, helicopters, gyroplanes, ultralights, gliders, aerobatic aircraft, home-builts, light sport aircraft, warbirds, simulators, and classrooms.  The following statistical analysis provides a sense of the quality and diversity of these aviation educators, these "Teachers of Flight," who have earned the title "Master."

• 72% participate in the FAA Safety / Wings program
• 61% are FAA Aviation Safety Counselors / FAASTeam Reps
• 39% hold a Gold Seal flight instructor certificate 
• 39% hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate
• 13% are FAA or industry pilot examiners
• 74% hold one or more ground instructor ratings
• 52% hold advanced and instrument ground instructor ratings
• 15% are women  (compared to 6% of all pilots and 6.7% of all CFIs)
• 49 different states and 7 foreign countries represented
• 5 hold all 7 flight instructor ratings
• 2 hold all 5 ATPs
• 2 National Seaplane Pilots of the Year
• 1 National Flight Instructor Hall of Fame inductee
• 16 National Flight Instructors of the Year
• 6 National ASCs / FAASTeam Reps of the Year
• 1 National AMT of the Year
• Dozens of local and regional CFIs of the Year
• Dozens of local and regional ASCs / FAASTeam Reps of the Year

The Hills got their start as national-level aviation educators while working as staff instructors for AOPA's Air Safety Foundation beginning in the late 1970s.  Serving as NAFI directors for more than a quarter century, they were also NAFI vice presidents and directors of education for more than a decade.  Currently, they administer the "Master Instructor Continuing Education Programä " (Master Instructor program for short) as well as the General Aviation Awards program out of their office in Longmont, Colorado.  JoAnn is the GA Awards national chairperson; Sandy is the program's communications director.  Both Master CFIs, the Hills are also national FAASTeam representatives for the FAA's Denver FSDO.  See www.MasterInstructors.org  

For more than 30 years, the Hills lived in Alamosa, a small town in south-central Colorado's San Luis Valley, and are the parents of two children.  Son Matthew, United States Marine staff sergeant and artilleryman, recently returned from his 3rd combat tour in Iraq.  Daughter Jennifer spent the last six years as an Arabic linguist in the United States Navy and is currently attending medical school in Denver.