Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Patterson, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Ken Perry participated in the previous study and had talked then about the history of his business, the Perry Flying Center, and his involvement in the offshore oil and gas industry. When I called to ask if he would be willing to record an interview for the archives, he was very happy to participate. When I arrived at the Center, Ken was out fueling a helicopter. He came in shortly and we went into the office of his administrative assistant, Miss Val. He pulled the intercom speaker off the wall and shut the door so we would not be disturbed. We talked for a couple of hours and then Ken showed me a couple of the float and amphibious planes in the hangar. He told me that he had photos of the early days and would bring them in. Miss Val told me she is a friend of Debi Baiamonte's and agreed to talk about her involvement in the industry on my next visit; she has been with Ken almost since the beginning of the Center.

Ken began working on planes during high school when he would hang around the airport in Houma. His father was an educator and went into business selling textbooks, but he retained a love of airplanes that he had had since his days in the military. Ken began working toward his pilot's license before leaving school, and he got his first job as a salesman for a company selling chemicals in the oilfield. He worked as a flying salesman for several companies and then was hired as a company pilot, flying executives all around the country. He went through a couple of layoffs during the downturn of the 1980s. He and his father purchased land and a facility and developed Perry Flying Center in 1983. They adapted their services and diversified throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. Ken bought the company from his father in 1998.