The Hi-Lite Academy’s Purpose
To train and develop experts in the Airfield Pavement Marking field to meet Airport Specifications to ensure the safety of air travel.
The Hi-Lite Academy’s Mission
To enrich each student’s life through focused skills training of Airfield Pavement Markings.
Meet Hi-Lite's Training Staff
Hi-Lite’s trainers have a collective 40 years of experience in the application and specifications of airfield safety markings. Our training is based on actual experience that sets the standard for performance quality, engagement, and respect in the airport industry.
Tanya Rarick
VP of Safety and Training
Tanya has more than 16 years in the Airfield Pavement Markings industry experience and collectively, more than 31 years in Continuous Improvement initiatives. Her extensive experience is in Supply Chain management, JIT, Lean, Kaizens, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and is in training for a black belt in Six-Sigma as well as high level of leadership training.
Seamus Van Tassel
Training Supervisor
Seamus has more than 6 years of Airfield Markings experience. He has a thorough understanding of Airport Specifications and best practices. Additionally, Seamus has extensive knowledge on equipment maintenance, repairs, and innovation to adapt equipment to airfield applications. Seamus is in training for a black belt in Six-Sigma
Dave Jones
Waterblaster Trainer
Dave has more than 20 years of experience in Waterblasting. His knowledge extends to the Highway and Airfield Pavement Markings Field. Dave has intimate knowledge of operating and maintaining these high-pressure Waterblasters.
Matthias Butts
Trainer
Matt has 10 years working on airfields executing crack sealing and sealcoating projecting. His experience in the industry is vast and includes being the lead supervisor on 3 years of tenessee statewide crack seal, sealcoat, and line striping projects. The projects alone encompassed over 35 airports. Matt has 6 years of experience as a licensed private pilot and over 350 hours logged as Pilot In Command of a high-performance single engine aircraft
Kim Patton
Safety Manager
Kim has 13 years of Airfield Safety experience and has been OSHA Training Instructor for 8 years. Prior to Aviation safety, Kim served as a Sheriff’s Sargeant & Training Officer for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. After retiring, she worked for Raytheon Integrated Air & Missile Defense as the Airside Systems Safety Engineer then Senior Safety Engineer. To diversify, she entered the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industry as a Safety Director before returning to her true passion - airside safety by joining Hi-Lite Airfield Services in 2021.