Minnesota Airports Conference April 18–20, 2018 Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Duluth, Minnesota R S Y E A 1 MARK YOUR CALENDAR! 2019 Minnesota Airports Conference April 24–26, 2019 Willmar Conference Center Willmar, MN 2020 Minnesota Airports Conference April 29–May 1, 2020 Mayo Civic Center Rochester, MN Thank you to our Platinum sponsors! TABLE OF CONTENTS General Conference Information ...................................................... 1 Conference At-a-Glance ................................................................... 2 MCOA Welcome ............................................................................. 3 MCOA Board of Directors ............................................................... 4 MnDOT Aeronautics Overview ....................................................... 5 MnDOT Aeronautics Staff ............................................................... 6 Schedule: Wednesday, April 18 ......................................................... 7 Schedule: Thursday, April 19 ............................................................ 8 Schedule: Friday, April 20 .............................................................. 10 Exhibitors ....................................................................................... 11 Exhibit Hall Map ........................................................................... 12 Exhibitor Contact Information ...................................................... 13 Speaker Bios ................................................................................... 15 In Memoriam ................................................................................. 25 In 1943, the Minnesota Aeronautics Commission became the Minnesota Department of Aeronautics. In the same year, a constitutional amendment was proposed (and ultimately passed in 1944) that would allow the R S state to collect taxes and build airports. Please Y E A join us in celebrating the 75th anniversary of this historic change at this year’s conference! GENERAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION This year, we’ve adjusted our program to give conference attendees a chance to enjoy Duluth and to help facilitate additional networking outside of the conference venue. The most significant change is that the MCOA annual member’s meeting is moved from Wednesday afternoon to breakfast on Thursday morning. Subsequently, the MCOA board meeting is moved to Friday morning. In addition, we will end our general sessions by early afternoon on Wednesday and move right into our Wednesday social. See below for more details. Please note: All of Friday’s sessions will be held at the Holiday Inn. No need to walk back over to the DECC. You can head right to the hotel’s Great Lakes Ballroom for break- fast and the morning sessions and leave directly from the hotel. Wednesday Night Social Wednesday, April 18, 3:45–6:15 p.m., Harbor Side Ballroom exhibit area After we wrap up the first day’s sessions, meet up with your colleagues and visit our con- ference sponsors at the social mixer in the exhibit area. Light appetizers will be served and a cash bar will be available. Be sure to stick around for some special drawings. The ses- sion will end early in the evening so that you can enjoy some of Duluth’s fine restaurants and the Canal Park area. Visit Duluth, the city’s convention and visitor’s bureau, will be available Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon near the conference registration area. Thursday Night Entertainment Thursday, April 19, 6:00–8:00 p.m., Lake Superior Railroad Museum Join your colleagues inside the museum, located only a few blocks from the Holiday Inn, where you can enjoy the exhibits and some excellent food with drink sampling from local establishments. Meet with an FAA Program Manager FAA program managers are available for individual meetings on Thursday, April 19. Scholarships MCOA is committed to improving outreach to future aviation leaders. To that end, the MCOA board offers conference scholarships in addition to an academic scholarship to avi- ation-focused college students. Students from the University of North Dakota and Minne- sota State University–Mankato attended last year’s conference. Some of the proceeds from conference sponsorships support the conference scholarship fund. Wi-Fi Free Wi-Fi service is available in the Harbor Side area: Select network MNAIR2018. Wi-Fi will not be accessible from other parts of the facility, so no password is needed. 1 CONFERENCE AT-A-GLANCE Wednesday, April 18 Time Activity Location 8:00 a.m. Registration Harbor Side foyer 9:00–11:00 a.m. Cirrus tour Cirrus Aircraft facilities, Duluth Noon–1:30 p.m. Luncheon DECC Harbor Side Ballroom (upper level) 1:45–3:45 p.m. General sessions DECC Harbor Side Ballroom (upper level) 3:45–6:15 p.m. Reception & social DECC Harbor Side Ballroom exhibit hall (upper level) Thursday, April 19 Time Activity Location 7:30–8:30 a.m. Breakfast DECC Harbor Side Ballroom (upper level) 8:30–10:00 a.m. General session DECC Harbor Side Ballroom (upper level) 10:15–11:15 a.m. Concurrent sessions DECC Harbor Side breakout rooms (lower level) 11:45 a.m.–1:45 p.m. Awards lunch DECC Harbor Side Ballroom (upper level) 2:00–4:30 p.m. Concurrent sessions DECC Harbor Side breakout rooms (lower level) 4:30–5:30 p.m. LASAC meeting DECC Harbor Side breakout rooms (lower level) 6:00–8:00 p.m. Social Lake Superior Railroad Museum, Historic Union Depot Friday, April 20 Time Activity Location 7:00–8:00 a.m. MCOA breakfast Holiday Inn–Great Lakes Ballroom board meeting 8:00 a.m.–noon General sessions Holiday Inn–Great Lakes Ballroom 2 WELCOME FROM THE MINNESOTA COUNciL OF AIRPORTS On behalf of the board of directors and our members, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 34th Annual Minnesota Airports Conference. I’m excited to share my hometown of Duluth with all of you. While you’re here, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to experience some of Duluth’s vibrant nightlife, take a brewery tour, or try a tasting at Vikre Distillery, located at the foot of Duluth’s iconic Aerial Lift Bridge. The Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) provides a great environ- ment for learning and networking during the conference, and we have a tremendous line-up of keynote speakers and compelling sessions that strike a balance between technical and administrative topics. Among the featured speakers is Dale Klapmeier, co-founder and CEO of Cirrus Aircraft. We’ll hear firsthand about Cirrus’s journey to becoming an industry leader in aircraft manufacturing and innovative design. This year you’ll also note a special emphasis on women in aviation. Our other featured speaker, astronaut Rhea Seddon, was one of the first six women to enter the astronaut program. She’ll be joined by other women who have blazed trails in a variety of aviation- related career fields. As a special treat, our Thursday evening social will be held at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in the Historic Union Depot. There will be food and a beer tasting featuring many of the region’s craft brews. Enjoy networking while you view the many historic trains that played a part in building Minnesota. You’ll also have opportunities to visit the many vendors here. Our vendor community is always at the cutting edge of the latest products and services that allow us to take our airports to new heights. I want to thank each of them for their continued support of this conference. Finally, this conference would not be possible without the support of our agency partners: MnDOT’s Office of Aeronautics, FAA’s Great Lakes Region Dakota-Minnesota Airports District Office, and AirTAP. Seek their representatives out during the conference concern- ing any issue or project you may have at your airport. MCOA continues its role as the preeminent leader in airport advocacy and professional development within Minnesota. I’m humbled to have been given the opportunity to lead this organization over the last two years. Our conference planning committee, under the leadership of Bill Towle, has assembled an incredible program for you, and I cannot thank them enough! Let any one of the MCOA board members know if there are areas where we can better assist you. If you see me during the conference, come up and say “hello.” I would enjoy making the connection. Let’s have a great conference! Sincerely, Tom Werner, C.M. Chairman, MCOA Board of Directors 3 Dave Beaver—Region #7 MCOA OFFICERS Owatonna Regional Airport 507-444-2448 Chairman [email protected] Tom Werner Duluth International Airport Kevin Baker—Region #8 218-727-2968 Mankato Regional Airport [email protected] 507-345-3171 [email protected] Vice-Chairman William Towle Joe Hedrick—Region #9 St. Cloud Regional Airport Thief River Falls Airport 320-255-7292 218-681-7680 [email protected] [email protected] Secretary/Treasurer Phil Tiedeman—Region #10 Mark Hagen South St. Paul Municipal Airport Detroit Lakes 651-554-3350 218-849-2294 [email protected] [email protected] Pam Schroeder Directors Fillmore County Airport, Preston 507-765-3854 Shaun Germolus—Region #1 [email protected] Range Regional Airport 218-262-3452 [email protected] Directors Emeritus Steve Leqve Karen Weller—Region #2 [email protected] Bemidji Regional Airport 218-444-2438 Duane “Doc” Wething [email protected] [email protected] Steven Wright—Region #3 Brainerd Regional Airport MCOA Advisory Staff 218-825-2166 MnDOT Advisor [email protected] Cassandra Isackson 800-657-3922 Ryan Mathisrud—Region #4 [email protected]