Jefferson County Airpark

10 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 and powerplant) mechanic for 15 years. “I had several customers,” he reveals, “and I ran a retail maintenance shop at a different airport. Several of my customers were based in Jefferson County, and through conversations with them about different things, it came to my attention that the airport manager position was open. I thought that it would be a nice change of pace but still be in the aviation industry, and I got the job.” It’s a job that Thaxton has been enjoying now for the past five years. “I love the different challenges that come with managing an airport,” he says, “and it’s not much different from working on airplanes in the sense that everything starts safety-oriented, and you make your decisions from there when it comes to airport safety and pilot safety.” Then there are the various other tasks, duties, and responsibilities. Whether it’s repairing different things, maintaining the optimal airport operations, keeping it operational, or staying on top of things with preventative maintenance, Thaxton wears a lot of different hats in his capacity as the airport manager. What are Thaxton’s top priorities for the next year and a half or so? Again, it’s safety that’s in the number-one position. “Basically,” he says, “I’d have to say, just increase safety. You know, it’s always good to increase sales and sell more fuel and fill more hangars, but I feel that the emphasis is shifted more towards a safe, modern, well-working airport. If you achieve that, I feel that all the other issues will fall into place with fuel sales and hangar rent, and growth will follow that, I believe.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Fulfab, Inc. www.fulfab.com