$4.5 million in low-interest loans to advance further development.“So, we’re looking at another big year as far as construction,” he says. Another upcoming project includes a 400 car parking lot, which will handle the capacity of the new terminal. TALENT SHORTAGES AND SUCCESSION CHALLENGES Staffing remains a concern for Jackson Regional Airport, and Smith himself has returned to his role as interim Executive Director, after retiring in January.“I haven’t missed a day of work since the day I retired,” he quips. With a succession plan that didn’t work out, the challenge has been finding someone with the experience and qualifications for the role. “We advertised at AAAE, we advertised at Indeed, and we advertised somewhere else, and we got 15 applications,” he reports.“Of those, two of them were qualified, but our board didn’t feel like either one had the qualifications to take over an airport that was running as fast as this one. So, we have started another search now, looking to find someone that 41 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 02 JACKSON REGIONAL AIRPORT
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