{"id":25458,"date":"2023-05-01T15:47:43","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T15:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=25458"},"modified":"2023-05-01T17:43:22","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T17:43:22","slug":"ncdot-bids-farewell-to-aviation-director-bobby-walston-after-33-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/north-carolina\/ncdot-bids-farewell-to-aviation-director-bobby-walston-after-33-years\/%20","title":{"rendered":"NCDOT Bids Farewell to\u00c2\u00a0Aviation Director Bobby Walston After 33 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The N.C. Department of Transportation has bid farewell to Director of Aviation Bobby Walston as he retired April 28 after 33 years with the program. (Walston is pictured above with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pictured from left – Bobby Walston, Carol Comer, retired Assistant Director, Division of Intermodal for the Georgia DOT and former NCDOT staff member, and Steve Brian, Aviation Manager for the Georgia DOT.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the first days joining Aviation,\nI have loved this industry and the opportunities aviation provides for so many\n\u2013 from protecting our nation to saving lives to connecting people and products to\nmarkets all over the world \u2013 I have seen it all,\u201d Walston said. \u201cI have loved\nintroducing newcomers to the field, from local officials managing their public\nairports to young people discovering the world of aviation careers available. There\nare so many things about this form of transportation that inspires me and so\nmany others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walston, a registered professional\nengineer with extensive experience in aviation planning, programming and\nairport engineering and construction, was recognized earlier in April with the N.C.\nGovernor\u2019s Order of the Long Leaf\nPine Award<\/a>. The award is among the highest honors given to individuals who\nhave made significant contributions to the state and their communities through\nservice and exceptional accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tarboro native holds a\nBachelor of Science in civil engineering from N.C. State University and a\nmaster\u2019s degree in military operational art and science from the U.S. Air Force\nAir University’s Air Command and Staff College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He joined the N.C. Department of\nTransportation in 1990 through the Transportation\nEngineering Associate (TEA) Progam<\/a>, becoming the division\u2019s first TEA and a\nmentee of the late Willard G. Plentl, Jr., the state\u2019s first aviation director.\nSince his time as a TEA, Walston has held numerous roles at NCDOT, including\nairport planning engineer, airport development engineer and manager of\nstatewide plans and programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walston has served as director of\naviation for NCDOT since 2013, leading initiatives that promote a safe and\nrobust air transportation system and vibrant economy. His work led to\nsignificant innovation in the state\u2019s air transportation system, from\ndeveloping the state\u2019s first statewide airport contract program to save tax\ndollars to creating a first-of-its-kind tiered classification system with objective\ncriteria for prioritizing grant funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bobby Walston, joined by Division of Aviation staff, was honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award during the April N.C. Board of Transportation meeting.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He established an economic\ndevelopment program within the Division to help airports recruit new businesses\nand an economic development grant fund for general aviation airports that\nsupport projects that create jobs. Since 2017, the fund has awarded 14 grants expected\nto yield $224 million in additional investment and 1,017 new jobs in the\ncommunities granted airports serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under his leadership, state\nfunding for airport development climbed nearly 500 percent, becoming the\nsecond-highest level of state investment in the country behind Florida,\noversight of state aviation funds reached an all-time high and North Carolina\nhas become a national leader in unmanned air transportation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to his 33 years of\nservice within NCDOT, Walston served 28 years in the N.C. Air National Guard\nfor years, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2010. He also served as chair\non the Executive Board of the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO)\nand received the organization\u2019s top awards: a NASAO Exemplary Service Award, in\nrecognition of his outstanding contributions to NASAO and lifelong dedication\nto the aviation industry, and the Kenneth Rowe Ambassador of Aviation Award,\nwhich honors state aviation directors who embody the award namesake\u2019s spirit,\noptimism and fierce pride in the capabilities of state aviation agencies. He\nreceived an N.C. Airport Association\u2019s President\u2019s Award and its Willard G.\nPlentl, Jr. Airport Professional of the Year Award for working tirelessly to\nraise awareness and the impact of aviation in North Carolina and the nation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m humbled and honored to have\nhad the pleasure to serve this division and role in the state where manned flight\nbegan,\u201d Walston said. \u201cWith so many leaders and great people working in this\nspace in our state, I\u2019m certain the forecast for continued success is clear and\nbright!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The N.C. Department of Transportation has bid farewell to Director of Aviation Bobby Walston as he retired April 28 after 33 years with the program. (Walston is pictured above with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award) \u201cFrom the first days joining Aviation, I have loved this industry and the opportunities aviation provides for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-carolina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/52798768345_eb8140842d_c-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25458","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=25458"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25472,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25458\/revisions\/25472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}