Business View Magazine l January 2023

264 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 our students at a young age because you never know what might spark an interest.” “We did an airport master plan that was approved and published in 2019,” says Walker, “ Within that plan, we anticipated an increase in air traffic. We conservatively looked at 1.8% increase in itinerant aircraft operations (9,315 operations) and a 1.83% increase in local aircraft operations (3,975 operations) within the next 12 years, however in general aviation in a rural area, that amount of growth is significant for our community. To have that level of growth we must be able to provide the airport infrastructure improvements to support those additional flights and aircraft. T-O Engineering has been our consulting engineers and they are excellent partners, “Walker notes. Walker highlights that she interacts with the county constantly as well. As the owner and sponsor of the airport, they approve all the grants, funding, and budgeting. It is the county and city planning departments that need consulted when it comes to land around the airport – and sometimes it is as simple as borrowing a tool from Public Works – however, as part of the City of John Day, the airport does have extra resources to call upon. “When I think about what will become the focus of our activity for the next few years, it is tough to answer,” Walker concludes, “but I think continuing to build positive community partnerships will be important. Without the continued support of our airport from the local groups, we cannot function and support our airport staff and operations, “ Walker summarizes. Reflecting on her answer, Walker concludes, “Another focus will be increasing our safety and increasing our service. We have offered a summer internship to students who have recently graduated in Grant County, and we will continue that as well as our aviation days. We need to have that support from our youth to our oldest aviators and aviation enthusiasts alike to ensure we will survive.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Ochoco Lumber Co. I Malheur Lumber Co. www.ochocolumber.com