Mr. Cooper was born in High Point. N.C. in 1936. He attended the University of North Carolina from 1954-1957 and graduated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1973 where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management.

He was employed by Eastern Airlines as a pilot in 1962 and was promoted to captain in 1973. Mr. Cooper has an Airline Transport Pilot rating, Flight Engineer License and a Flight Instructor's License. He has accumulated in excess of25,000 flying hours worldwide in various transport-type aircraft.

Since 1968, Mr. Cooper paralleled his career at Eastern Airlines with a significant involvement in the regional airline industry, both as an investor and manager. He has been involved with several successful airline ventures principally throughout Florida and the Bahamas.

In 1976, Mr. Cooper established Air Florida Commuter, a code-sharing partner with Air Florida focusing on providing connecting passengers between its Miami hub and various locations in the Caribbean. The airline was subsequently sold to a group of private investors in 1981.

In 1989, Mr. Cooper founded Gulfstream International Airlines, seeking to provide scheduled passenger service to various Florida and Bahamian markets that were being underserved as a result of the demise of Eastern Airlines. Upon selling Gulfstream in 2006, it was operating a fleet of 32 jet-prop aircraft, with annual revenues in excess of $1 00 million annually.

He has been active for many years in the development of charter air service between the United States and Cuba, holding licenses issued to Gulfstream Air Charter, Inc. from the United States Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), to conduct charter passenger and freight service between Miami and Cuba. Gulfstream Air Charter currently operates daily B-737 flights between Miami and Havana. Cuba.