Catherine "Kate" Lang, Acting Associate Administrator for Airports, FAA Headquarters along with Ann Tedford, Manager, NextGen Planning Group within the NextGen Integration and Implementation Office, addressed attendees of the FAA Western Pacific
Region’s 6th Annual Airports Conference held June 2nd through the 4th in Los Angeles, California.
Brian Armstrong, Manager, of the Los Angeles Airport District Office, served as Master of Ceremonies and introduced Mark McClardy, who welcomed attendees to the conference. McClardy, who has been splitting his time between Los Angeles and Chicago in the Great Lakes region suggested to the State Aviation Journal that he would continue in his role as Manager of the Airports Division of the FAA’s Western Pacific Region in Los Angeles. (Photo, right – Kate Lang)
Opening remarks were given by William "Bill" Withycombe, Regional Administrator for the FAA’s Western Pacific Region. Withycombe also presented this year’s Herman C. Bliss Airports Partnership Award to Martinez Jacobs, Airports Fire Fighting Staff Officer with the Hawaii Department of Transportation.
Representatives of the airport manager associations in the four state region brought their peers up to speed on the latest challenges, victories and changes in aviation in their states. (Photos below, Bill Withycombe, right, watches as Martinez Jacobs receives several lei for getting the Herman Bliss Award. Brain Armstrong introduces Ann Tedford.)
The Western Pacific Region of the FAA includes Arizona, Nevada, California, Hawaii and the U.S. Territories in the Pacific, which include Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. State aviation officials and regional directors of each state and or territory were also given the opportunity to provide updates on airports and aviation in t
heir respective areas. Mike Klein, Aeronautics Group Leader for the Arizona DOT, Jeff Brown, California Office of Airports, Caltrans, Peter Lefiti, Assistant Director, Port Administration, Airports Division, Ameican Samoa, Ed Deleon Guerrero, Director, Commonwealth Ports Authority, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Mary Torres, Acting Executive Manager, Guam International Airport Authority and Martinez Jacobs gave presentations on their respective airports and states.
The theme for this year’s conference, Planning, Partnership, Progress, Our Road Map to Meeting Future Aviation Demands, was carried throughout the conference.
