Waves of Appreciation

Left to right, Airport Authority volunteers Naty, Kim, Susie, and Ryan.

On November 11, 2012, Airport Authority employees donated their time and effort toward a volunteer event sponsored by “Waves of Appreciation,” an organization created by Pepperdine University alumni. The paramount goal is to give back and show gratitude to  service men and women as they travel home for the holidays to see their loved-ones.

Approximately 15 Authority employees joined a larger group of volunteers for an afternoon of stuffing 3,500 goody bags of nonperishable food items to be distributed at San Diego International Airport.

Waves of Appreciation partnered with the United Services Organization (USO) at SDIA for the bag distribution, which took place prior to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The bags helped sustain many of the young service members who might have otherwise traveled hungry during the holidays.

And the USO located at SDIA has bragging rights! Ours is the only USO in the United States that distributes these bags of delectable delights ever year. So kudos to the USO and Airport Authority volunteers — way to exhibit that Community Strategy!*

* The Airport Authority’s Community Strategy is “to be a trusted and highly responsive regional agency.”

 

More than just SDIA!

 

Brown Field Municipal Airport in southern San Diego County, near the border with Mexico, is one of ten General Aviation airports in the county.

Have you ever wondered why we’re called a county regional airport authority, instead of, say, the San Diego International Airport Authority?  A lot of people mistakenly believe that we’re an arm of San Diego’s county government because of our name, but that’s not the case. So what’s the reason for our name? It’s been a while since the Ambassablog delved into this, so it seems time for a refresher—and an expanded lesson.

While the Airport Authority operates just one airport, SDIA, we were created by the state with two other mandated functions:  to serve as the regional aviation planning coordinator for the county and to serve as the county airport land use commission.

The latter responsibility is what makes up my job – doing land use compatibility planning for other airports in the county through their adopted Airport Land Use Compatibility Plans( ALUCPs).  I also contributed to the Regional Aviation Strategic Plan (RASP) adopted by the Airport Authority last year.  It evaluated several of these airports for ways to optimize the regional aviation system.

Have you ever seen Fallbrook Community Airpark? Here it is.

So what are those other airports?  There is only one other commercial service airport in the county, McClellan-Palomar in Carlsbad.  Both it and SDIA each also has a general aviation component.  The 10 other public-use airports in the county are strictly for GA:

• Brown Field Municipal Airport and Montgomery Field in San Diego
• Gillespie Field in El Cajon
• Oceanside Municipal Airport
• Fallbrook Community Airpark and Ramona Airport in those respective communities
• Agua Caliente Airstrip, Borrego Valley Airport, Jacumba Airstrip, and Ocotillo Airstrip in the desert

But the question is often asked, “What exactly is general aviation?”

Ever wonder how your GPS gets its mapping data?  Or how our largely rural international border is monitored?  Or even more basic: how do they maintain many of the massive farm fields that produce our food and nursery plants?

All of these functions and more are largely handled through GA airports! Here are just some of the vital roles handled through these facilities:

• Emergency preparedness and response, medical transport, and search & rescue missions
• Aerial firefighting
• Law enforcement, customs, and homeland/border security
• Emergency flight diversion
• Remote community and wilderness access (e.g., islands and reservations)
• Charter passenger services (e.g., tours, sports and music events)
• Mail/package delivery and air cargo
• Corporate transportation
• Flight instruction
• Agricultural crop-dusting support
• Aerial surveying
• Oil and mineral exploration
• Utility/pipeline monitoring and inspection
• Aviation manufacturing, distribution, and maintenance industries
• Aerospace engineering and research
• Low-orbit space launch and landing
• Special public events (e.g., air shows, skydiving)

Ramona Airport.

Whew!  That’s quite a list.  Most people rarely think about GA airports, but they really contribute to our wellbeing.  Life without them would be a lot harder for sure.

So the next time you think about flying, consider that it’s more than just commercial airlines ferrying passengers.  GA airports enhance our daily lives in many ways, so we’re proud to be a County Regional Airport Authority, planning to protect these vital assets in the San Diego region.

San Diego County’s 10 GA airports are part of a network of nearly 3,000 general aviation airports across the country, making their numbers far greater than the commercial service airports with which the flying public is better acquainted.

SDIA has done a good job spreading the word about the economic benefits of our airport, summed up in the slogan “Airports Fuel Regional Economies.”   But GA airports are also critically important to the economic vitality of the regions they serve—far beyond just the recreational pilots and passengers who use them.

 

Spring has sprung — get out the hoe!

Kelly 'killing' the lawn.

Organic edibles.

The Airport Authority has its share of home gardeners, from sunflowers to heirloom tomatoes to jalapeño peppers.  But one of our own does it in a big way—and it’s hit the local press.

Rainwater collection system.

One of our technology gurus not only has all of his gears turning but actually has two green thumbs.  Kelly in the Airport Authority’s Information Technology Department and his wife, Janet, decided to convert their yard into an edible garden two years ago, and they haven’t looked back. Together they spent the better part of 2009 organically “killing” their lawn by depriving it of water, spraying it with vinegar, and cutting it super short.  They then covered it with cardboard, water and 14 cubic yards of mulch, letting it compost for the organic edibles to follow.

Janet admits that “it looked like the dark side of the moon for nine months or so.”    Kelly says that Janet brings the passion for saving the planet but that he seems to have a natural affinity for plants.

Nature's bounty.

Now, arugula, carrots, chives, green rhubarb, lima beans, radishes, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy, celery, asparagus, squash and tomatoes all tumble out of raised beds or climb stakes and trellises.  Passion fruit drops off vines that run along the garden’s edge (vines that are 20 feet long and 5 feet high).  Blueberries and lemons flourish on bushes and trees.

Compost is amended with worm castings and rain gutters have been added to collect water from those rare San Diego rain showers.   The latest addition is a fortified trellis engineered by Kelly (it’s that geek thing coming through again…) that can support all of the weight of the tomatoes.

A yard transformed.

Kelly and Janet share ideas with other local enthusiasts through such organizations as San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project and Victory Gardens San Diego.  If you are interested in learning more about Kelly’s gardening  feats,  check out the cover story in the Sep 2011 issue of the San Diego Reader.

Meanwhile, bring on those tomatoes, Kelly!

Talk about teamwork …

Nyle, the Airport Authority's Manager of Concession Development.

There are great team players everywhere.  Here is the story of one of our own….

Nyle, the Airport Authority’s Manager of Concession Development, was recently tasked with heading the selection process for San Diego International Airport’s new Concessions Development Program (CDP). Nyle was charged with engaging all stakeholders, acting as staff liaison to the CDP evaluation panel, and working with the Airport Authority’s Procurement Department to ensure an impartial and transparent selection process.

In preparation for the airport’s old master concessionaire arrangement coming to an end at the end of 2012 due to lease expiration, 16 Request for Proposal (RFP) packages for new food and retail concessions were already on the street, and responses were coming in. Interest from both local and national concessionaires was intense, and the timeline was tight.

Click the image above to see larger images of where all the great new shops and restaurants are going to be located at San Diego International Airport, starting in December 2012.

With a keen understanding of the Airport Authority’s collaborative culture, Nyle starting knocking on doors. He believes, as does the Airport Authority, in an “inclusive” approach to teamwork.

As he identified and engaged stakeholders, Nyle took the time to talk with each of them on the importance of their role in the effort. Where he felt he needed extraordinary support, he worked hard to obtain it. Through an ongoing, two-way dialogue, he was able to establish a trust level among stakeholders that extended all the way to the President/CEO’s office.As a result, everyone knew their role and what they could expect from Nyle.

As the effort gained momentum, Nyle made multiple presentations to the Airport Authority Board (which he identified as one of his key stakeholders).  These presentations were crafted to provide a clear and consistent message across all 16 concession packages.

Nyle kept on point as he disseminated information about the program, both within the Airport Authority and externally to concessionaires and the San Diego community.

Stakeholders came away proud to be part of a very successful effort and with a great appreciation for the collaborative skills of Nyle.The selection process concluded on time and won Board approval of staff’s recommendation for all 16 concession packages. As a result, SDIA will offer more than 80 great new food and retail concessions beginning in December, 2012.

Give us five, Nyle!

We got the Wright stuff!

You may have noticed that Ohio state license plates proclaim the Buckeye State to be “the Birthplace of Aviation,” while North Carolina plates say the Tarheel State is “First in Flight.” Their respective state commemorative quarters make the same, seemingly competing claims. So which is right?

They’re both right, because of the Wrights … two brothers named Orville and Wilbur. They are credited with having the first successful flights in a heavier than air, mechanically propelled airplane. They were from Dayton, Ohio, and developed all their concepts for flight in their home state. But when it came to a place to actually demonstrate their airplane in action, they chose what meteorological data told them was the windiest point in the United States: Kitty Hawk, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

From the sandy beaches along the Atlantic, the Wright brothers lifted themselves, literally and figuratively, into human flight and one of the greatest achievements of humanity. Aviation as we know it ultimately owes its origins to Orville and Wilbur Wright, and proper tribute is paid to these pioneers at the Wright Brothers Memorial in North Carolina.

I visited the memorial this year, carrying with me from one ocean coast to the other a sense of awe and appreciation for what they achieved.  I certainly got to that location a lot faster by my own air travel! Every year, the date of December 17 is set aside for all Americans to celebrate the Wright brothers’ lift-off from the bonds of earth and gravity on that day in 1903.

San Diego is famous for a lot of aviation achievements in its own right, but we’ve never forgotten where it all began.

Charles Lindbergh may be prominent at airport, which now bears his name, but the legacy of the Wright brothers lives on in a pair of conference rooms at Airport Authority headquarters named for each of them, which can be and often are joined to host large meetings — especially those that welcome the public.

This pair of rooms on the second floor of the Commuter Terminal ensures that we have the Wright stuff, too, adding our own touchstone of respect to a pair of pioneers who did what was once considered impossible. In its own way, San Diego joins Ohio and North Carolina — and we can all be Wright!