Ruane Elected Chair of Lee County Airport Board

The Lee County Board of Port Commissioners elected Kevin Ruane as chair for 2021 during its first meeting on Jan. 21. Cecil L Pendergrass was elected as vice chair. The board, composed of the five Lee County Commissioners, meets bi-monthly as the Board of Port Commissioners to set policy and direct the operations of Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field in Fort Myers, Fla. The other commissioners include Brian Hamman, Frank Mann and Ray Sandelli.

Southwest Florida International Airport served more than 5.9 million passengers in 2020 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. Page Field provides services to corporate, commercial and private aviators and accommodated more than 126,000 aircraft operations in 2020. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operation or construction and both airports are funded solely with revenue generated from their operations. For more information, please visit www.flylcpa.com or Like Us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flyRSW.

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.