HAYDEN — When Idaho Hall of Fame board members searched for a community-centered business to nominate to the elite group, they looked to the sky.

Empire Airlines of Hayden received the prestigious honor during a lunch ceremony at the business on Wednesday.

"Empire Airlines is an excellent example of what one can describe as a ‘good citizen corporation’ that hires and cares for its employees," said Tony Stewart, an Idaho Hall of Fame board member.

"The company, for example, provides a safe and healthy working environment, encourages its employees to be creative thinkers in finding new and innovative business methods and products, promotes a work setting for its employees to be comfortable and void of hostile relationships among the employees."

Fellow board member Freeman Duncan called Empire "an Idaho success story."

"Their employees are constantly raising funds for local charities," Duncan said.

Empire has 345 employees and has a history of flying into new horizons.

The company dates back to 1977 when it was a small, fixed-base charter company in Orofino called Clearwater Flying Service that flew sportsmen and smokejumpers into the backcountry.

The company later bought a Twin Otter aircraft and a bankrupt fixed base operator at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. The company's name changed to Empire Airway, which flew smokejumpers into forest fires from the Coeur d'Alene and Missoula airports.

Empire purchased a nine-passenger plane in 1984 and started a service between Coeur d'Alene and Boise with a stop in Lewiston.

When Southwest Airlines came to Spokane in 1994 and offered seats from Spokane to Boise for $19 each way, that was the end of Empire as a scheduled airline.

But, in 1995, Empire transformed itself into a heavy maintenance aerospace company and moved its operations to the Spokane International Airport to accommodate its major client, FedEx.

With the need for more space in 2003, Idaho won a bidding war over Washington and the company was lured back here. Empire broke ground on its facility on the north end of the Coeur d'Alene Airport in 2003 and moved in during the fall of 2004.

Today, Empire owns and operates 59 airplanes complete with air crews as a feeder carrier for FedEx operating from hubs from Alaska to Louisiana. The company operates Cessna 208, ATR42 and ATR72 aircraft.

It also has three planes in Hawaii under contract with a subsidiary of Hawaiian Airlines known as Ohana Air.

"The company is always looking for a new opportunity," Duncan said.

Among the latest opportunities was drone development with the creation of Empire Unmanned, which is the first certified agricultural drone operator in Idaho. In 2015 it surveyed more than 14,000 acres of land for clients including Simplot, Boise State University and Anheuser-Busch.

In conjunction with North Idaho College, Empire has created curriculum for drone operator certification and aerospace mechanics.

The nonprofit Idaho Hall of Fame, founded in 1985, has about 200 inductees.