Happy Birthday to (absent) Jordan Kaufman. Per President Justin, he spoke with Jordan who said we have all been forgiven for our upcoming property tax assessment.
Congrats to Jason Cater for his 6 year Rotary anniversary! We appreciate everything you do for the Club!
A huge congratulations for
Jim Damian, Stria, who was named in Global Business Leaders Magazine as one of 20 promising companies which everyone should know in 2021. In addition to discussing Jim’s exceptional leadership and foresight, the write up clearly highlighted his role in Rotary and his pending presidency. Great job on all fronts!
President Justin wasn’t quite as pleased with Nik Boone’s appearance in the Bakersfield, Californian where he discussed the local housing market. Nik claims everything that was written was fake news, and they failed to cover his unending commitment to the Rotary, admiration for President Justin and his Paul Harris Fellow award being the highlight of his life. Nik was fined $25. Ekkks!
In sad news, last week was Jack Gotcher’s last meeting in Downtown Rotary. He has officially moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Jack was a great Rotarian and an asset to the club. He will be missed! Please drop him a line sending him your best wishes.
Good News Announcements
Mike Chertock shared that the BSO will be holding a concert this Saturday to honor the principal trumpeter, Mike Raney, as it will be his last concert. Doors open at 5, concert starts at 6.
Stan Eschner asked if he could get a plaque for one year of perfect non-attendance! Welcome back Stan! President Justin indicated that any non-attendance awards would obviously go to our very own Morgan Clayton.
Just a reminder that Bell Ringing is December 3!
Steve Sanders was excited to announce that the drive through Christmas lights at CALM will return this year for the 19th season. A huge thanks to Stan Eschner who was the founder of this incredible local tradition.
Program
Mark Witsoe, reigning "Airport Executive of the Year", provided an update of Meadows Field and the Kern County Airports. Mark is responsible for all seven county airports including Meadows Field, Buttonwillow, Lost Hills, Kern Valley, Poso, Taft and Wasco. Mark assumed this position in October 2018 and has a staff of 25 professionals. Mark has extensive experience in the aviation industry, including commercial and public services. He has a Bachelors from Arizona State (go Sun Devils!) and a MBA from University of Reno.
He briefly overviewed the smaller, regional airports. Kern Valley Airport has an active cafe, maintenance service, and they are working to bring back fuel. Interestingly, you can fly into the airport and camp right there! Taft Airport is a general aviation and recreational airport. It's best known for its sky diving program if your heart is telling you to jump out of a perfect safe airplane.
Just north of town is the Wasco Airport which is also a general aviation field. It mostly services crop dusters and has some recreational flying. Of note is that both sides of the runway have crops of grapes that are harvested by a local farmer. Poso Airport is located at the NHRA Famoso raceway. East of the dragstip there is a small runway, which is mostly used for pilot training. Elk hills-- Buttonwillow Airport is used for student pilots generally. There is also a group that flys radio controlled aircraft. The airport is also used for acoustic testing because its relatively quiet. Most recently, a company named American Aerospace Technology has been demoing their mapping technology with an 18ft wingspan drone to do surveillance of pipelines, infrastructure, etc. They have just announced that they will be returning next year to build a facility, making Elk Hills-Buttonwillow their home base.
The largest airport is Meadows Field, who has recently invested over $60 million in improvements including a new runway and taxiway. The airport now is able to accommodate very large passenger and cargo planes. Currently, passenger activity is exceeding 2019 levels -- supported heavily by the energy industry recovery resulting in local business travel. Other projects are continuing, including a large, new Fedex building for expanded operations, which will be completed in 2022 . Mark discussed the announcement of a new carrier, Aha! (a partnership with ExpressJet), which will have nonstop service to Reno, 3 times weekly. Mark said he has pitched to Alaska Airlines for a Seattle route, restoring the Houston flight with United, and Delta is considering a route to Salt Lake City. He candidly indicated they are all hard sells because the companies want high profitability with relatively low risk.
In terms of future outlook, more than 90% of all who travel fly out of other airports. We are only capturing 10% of the market. If we use the flights, it better positions us to get additional destinations as well. The next time you are flying out, consider using Meadows field as your departure point!
Guest spoke editor's quote of the day
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