Gaylen Young column: Air service, BBQ take off
| Saturday, Aug 29 2009 01:19 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Aug 29 2009 01:19 PM
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Jenn Ireland / The Californian Jeff Sedenko stands in his company's new hangar, which is currently under construction, Thursday afternoon at Bakersfield Meadows Field Airport. Sedenko is CEO of Golden State Air Charter, a company that provides air charter and air ambulance services.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Jeff Sedenko sits in the pilot's seat on one of his company's airplanes Thursday afternoon at Bakersfield Meadows Field Airport. Sedenko is CEO of Golden State Air Charter, a company that provides air charter and air ambulance services.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Bill "Burgie" Burgemaster stands next to his portable BBQ Station out front of his home in northwest Bakersfield. Burgemaster runs the BBQ catering business out of his home.
Gaylen Young
A few months ago, my diabetic son had a high blood sugar-acidosis incident, landing him in an emergency room. And because at the time our local hospitals weren’t equipped to deal with pediatric intensive care, he had to be airlifted to one of the children’s hospitals in the region that could help. Fresno and Los Angeles were full. That only left the hospital at Loma Linda University near San Bernardino.
He was taken to Hall Air Ambulance outside Mercy Southwest’s emergency room for a flight over the mountains, leaving me to follow with a three-hour car ride. I am thankful to everyone who coordinated his care, which saved his life.
I know many others have been saved over the years because of air ambulances.
Most of us know of life-flight helicopters, but did you know Bakersfield is also home to air-ambulance jet service?
Jeff Sedenko formed Golden State Air Charter shortly after his sister’s death in a car accident.
He had been a military pilot and then worked with the airlines. While his sister was airlifted by helicopter, she didn’t make it. That had a big impact on him. He wanted to use his pilot skills to help others in trouble.
“My goal was not to get rich, but truly was to be in honor of her,” Sedenko said. “Many people said this was not the best place to try an air ambulance service. But that didn’t matter to me. This is where I live.”
His company uses fixed-wing pressurized planes or jets outfitted like a hospital emergency room. “We can lift off and be at another city which may offer more specialized medical treatment and do it faster than a helicopter overall, plus we have all the intensive care equipment that a hospital would have,” Sedenko said.
Sedenko said Golden State Air Charter is not doing helicopters right now because there are plenty of local air ambulances for that. Golden State has several jets and a couple of turbo-prop planes, too, used for air cargo and private charters.
“We can book pretty much any type of aircraft anywhere in the world,” he said.
Golden State provides this service 24-7-365. Sedenko told me Kern County is centrally located so it’s an ideal spot for air cargo. His company connects with long flights around the world and provides short charters for business trips or medical rescues.
“And the things we fly are not just cargo and freight. Some of our most frequent customers are banks ...” he said. “We have a flight that leaves here every day with some sort of freight from banking or agriculture or the oil industry.”
Even with the slow economy, Sedenko said he sees steady growth each year with his air cargo business.
Another business that has seen steady growth is barbecue.
I’ve previously showcased a restaurants and others who know good barbecue, but a month or so ago, I had the great fortune of attending a cookout in the park when Bill “Burgie” Burgemaster brought his barbecue train and made lunch for 100.
It was sensational!
I asked Burgie how he got started. He began barbecuing about 24 years ago, mostly as a favor for those in the gasoline tanker business. That led to private parties and events.
“I never have advertised. It’s all been by word of mouth. I’ve done parties in Los Angeles and in other states as far north as Oregon. I’ve cooked for Parnelli Jones and for the Bob Hope Golf Classic,” Burgemaster said, adding he’s done everything from weddings to serving lunch for 1,200 at a time at a Laughlin, Nev., casino.
The cook said this is work he’s enjoyed in his “semi-retirement years.”
And yes, people ask him about opening a restaurant, which he’s come close to doing. “But I’m not sure I’d enjoy doing it seven days a week or not, but it’s been fun,” he said.
Burgemaster has a picture showcase of some of those events on his Web site, www.bbq-station.com. While his wife Norma Gean gets credit for the barbecue station, he does most of the cooking. “A lot of people can cater events and just drop off the food. But I don’t work like that,” Burgemaster said. “I like to follow through with the event to make sure all the food is there and works for everyone.”
Burgie said he’s semi-retired now, which gives him more opportunities for events than he had when he was consulting and working full time.
