Aviation View Magazine | Volume 1, Issue 4

66 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” When it comes to visibility in the community and promoting aviation, Arnold Palmer Airport is quite active. They work with the Latrobe High School aerospace engineering program to do tours and set up learning opportunities. Sometimes in partnership with other corporations. The nearby Westmoreland Mechanical Testing Facility does a lot of mechanical testing for Rockwell and Boeing and that will be part of the tour. Since the airport is also at a primary crossroads for the State, with over 50,000 cars a day, they have also put up a large electronic sign that can be rented out to local organizations such as the Rotary and Kiwanis, or the Chamber of Commerce. It is an simple and effective way to help promote local affairs. “And then there are the airshows,” adds Monzo. “They are a huge community event and bring in over a million people. Plus, we do a lot of local fire department training. In the surrounding area, we are served primarily by volunteer firefighters, but we have professional firefighters here at the airport. So we assist in the training for things such as ADD compliance, CPR, and aircraft rescue. It is kind of a moving canvas and we try to make sure we keep everyone pointed in the right direction. The people around us, in terms of community development, are very excited about the airport… they like the airport. People recognize that it is a good job generator and we are good neighbors for the region.” Arnold Palmer Regional is growing and so terminal expansion will be necessary. Not only from a public safety point of view, allowing more room to spread out, but also to allow them to bring in more aircraft, have easier access to TSA, and continue to offer the best quality of service possible. “As far as the big picture,” Monzo concludes, “I think airports, not only transportation-wise but in so many other ways, are going to be important to our recovery from the pandemic. Business travel will come back in some fashion. Cargo is a thing that is taking off and Amazon and those companies are constantly needing to expand to get bigger and faster. And we will continue to be the ones on the leading edge of developing what needs to be in place going forward. Because airports will always be essential. So, it is very beneficial to us that if we are strong and steady, we give them a good place to start from. I am excited to be a part of it.” PREFERRED VENDORS/PARTNERS n KTH Archiects, Inc. ktharch.com n Golden Triangle Construction Company, Inc. www.gtcpgh.com