“We are ranked as the number three aviation program in the state with a little over 200 kids enrolled in our program and I have had a couple of kids in my classes that are now enrolled in A and P programs, as well as those out in the workforce working on airplanes, and several previous students who are in professional flight training programs.,” Tindle says with pride. FLYING INTO ECONOMIC GROWTH Tindle is keen to draw attention to the restructuring of airport operations that coincided with him taking the helm and that has led to the airport becoming an important economic driver in the region. “When I interviewed for this job the airport fell under the Public Works Department and with these folks not being around aviation every day the airport was viewed as a liability requiring a whole lot of pavement to maintain or a whole lot of grass to cut,” “I suggested that the city and the community start viewing it more as an asset than a liability when you pair it with economic development. By the time I started the job they had made this change, and on my first day on the job we were under the Economic Development Department,” he elaborates. Working closely with the Director of Economic Development and Tourism, Tindle points to the advantage of coordinating the airport’s economic direction with these key departments. “We work hard with city leadership to show the general public what a huge economic driver and asset an airport, especially one our size, can be to a community our size.” To show the true economic impact McAlester Regional is having on the community and surrounding area, Tindle points to the businesses that have started to fly into the airport with their executives,“and the next thing we know, they are opening a business in town and are then hiring 100 plus people and offering premium salaries.” “We see those things to fruition way before anybody else does,” he adds. 143 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 02 MCALESTER REGIONAL AIRPORT
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx