A ballot measure on Santa Monica Municipal Airport and an update on AOPA’s regional fly-ins were among the items discussed by AOPA Western Pacific Regional Manager John Pfeifer at Southwest Chapter American Association of Airport Executives’ (SWAAAE) sixty-eighth Annual Summer Conference in Long Beach, California, July 19 through 23.
Pfeifer gave an update on the current status of Santa Monica Municipal Airport during a “Hot Topics” session on July 22. “The timing could not have been better, since the news broke that weekend that Santa Monicans for Open and Honest Development Decisions' proposed charter amendment had officially qualified for the November ballot,” he said. “Also, the news broke on July 21 that the city council would be voting on a competing ballot measure the evening of the 22.”
During social events and breaks there was a lot of discussion of how the AOPA Regional Fly-Ins were doing and when the guidelines for the 2015 Fly-Ins would be coming out, said Pfeifer. “I was able to report the results of the first three fly-ins and plug the Sept. 20 Chino Fly-In,” he said. “The RFP for our 2015 Fly-Ins came out on July 23, so I sent the announcement to SWAAAE for distribution to the membership.”
Pfeifer participated in the Southwest Chapter American Association of Airport Executives Board of Directors meeting July 20 and presented the legislative committee report to the board. He was also appointed to his third consecutive term as chair of the legislative committee by incoming Southwest Chapter American Association of Airport Executives President Eric Peterson of the Santa Clara County, California, Department of Aviation.
AOPA has actively participating in the Southwest Chapter American Association of Airport Executives organization for many years, said Pfeifer. “We participate not only on the membership level, but also as a committee chair, keeping open lines of communication and collaborating on issues and events with other members,” he said. “Many members of SWAAAE are also AOPA members and seeing the regional manager active in the organization projects a positive image for AOPA.”
Other groups attending the Southwest Chapter American Association of Airport Executives event were representatives from the National Business Aviation Association, California Pilots Association, Arizona Airports Association, Nevada Airports Association, and many airports and consultants.
