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Stambaugh said he has been fortunate to have had many\npersonal and professional mentors that have helped him prepare for his new\nrole, which began April 16th. Before moving up, he served as an aviation\nprogram manager and facilities specialist for IDOT, where he managed the\nIllinois Aviation System Plan process and supported the development of annual\nand multiyear airport improvement programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe my frontline experience as a pilot, graduate\nassistant working with FAA on the National Airport Safety Data Collection\nProgram (5010), an airport manager at a municipality, and my work at IDOT, has\nprovided me a systematic knowledge of how aviation is administered with a\nfundamental understanding of the bottom line and overall purpose,\u201d said\nStambaugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stambaugh grew up around heavy machinery on farms and at\ncoal mines. He watched skilled operators manipulate controls and levers into\nprecision maneuvers. \u201cThat was always fascinating, like watching an artist at\nwork,\u201d said Stambaugh. \u201cThat lends itself with anything transportation, and I\nsoon became fascinated with aviation.\u201d Although Stambaugh says flying is\nwonderful, and something he just had to do, he found there\u2019s so much more than\njust being a pilot. \u201cIt\u2019s like theater, really. So many pieces, roles, and\npeople putting on an amazing show,\u201d said Stambaugh. \u201cI\u2019m lucky to have a part\nin it all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a world of COVID-19, with employees working from home,\nthe graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale said working remotely\nhas it\u2019s challenges, but there continues to be a lot of innovation in\ndelivering technical assistance and oversight for all of IDOT. \u201cWe have\nall been forced to leverage technology and new processes, and I think on the other\nside of this challenge, we will be better positioned than ever\nbefore because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once Illinois emerges from the virus, the biggest challenge for Stambaugh will be to set an overall strategic direction for their programs to meet current and future challenges. \u201cIDOT is completing the Illinois Aviation System Plan and Economic Impact Analysis,\u201d said Stambaugh. \u201cWe\u2019re going to identify the issues, explore strategies to resolve those issues, implement new policies and programs, measure what\u2019s been implemented, and evaluate.\u201d Delivering airport improvement programs is just one of many challenges that needs considering. Stambaugh said workforce, emerging technology, environmental considerations, industry promotion, \u201cand many others must be explored with a similar continual systematic management process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stambaugh said one of his goals is to have all of Illinois\nAviation work together and support each other in meeting current and future\nchallenges. A collaborative approach with clear objectives and goals, from\nindividuals to organizations large and small \u2013 \u201cthat\u2019s how we ensure success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To relax and unwind, Stambaugh really enjoys cooking. \u201cI\nalso listen to a lot of music, and hiking is always great when I get the\nopportunity. Of course, spending time with family and friends is up there as\nwell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5013edit.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nStambaugh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation\nManagement and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Aviation Flight from\nSIU. He holds a Commercial Pilot Certificate for Airplane Single and Multi-Engine\nLand with an Instrument Airplane rating, as well as a Remote Pilot Certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is his favorite airplane you ask? The Douglas DC-3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Clayton Stambaugh believes the one thing that remains universal, especially among historic figures, is a distinct level of selflessness. \u201cYou get what you give,\u201d says Stambaugh, recently appointed as the Deputy Director of Aeronautics for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). \u201cThat inspires me profoundly.\u201d Stambaugh said he has been fortunate to have had many personal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-illinois"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15420,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15417\/revisions\/15420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}