Profit: Airport upkeep a priority

Van Wert County can no longer continue to lose potential business due to inadequate airport facilities.

My campaign slogan is “Work Together — Grow Together.” We must work together as county and city to ensure the Van Wert County Airport provides a warm welcome to all air travelers, especially corporate air traffic.

Our current airport facilities are nearly 80 years old and severely outdated. The airport’s runways, taxiways, aircraft parking areas, and hangar facilities have long been inadequate in regards to accommodating modern corporate and private aircraft.

It is no secret that attracting and landing a tenant at the Van Wert megasite will be challenging. Competition from neighboring communities will always be stiff. An airport that can adequately accommodate the needs of prospective business will give us a real competitive advantage.

Standing out in the crowd is critical. Rejuvenating our airport and carefully considering other major projects around the county will go hand in hand in helping gain and sustain economic growth.

I personally encourage business owners and residents alike to attend a monthly Van Wert County Regional Airport Authority meeting and ask the same question I did when I attended: “What can I do to help?”

Great first impressions are critical. A bad first impression of Van Wert County seen through the eyes of a visitor at our airport could be impossible to reverse and detrimental to our economic future.

–By Vicki Profit, Republican candidate for VW County Commissioner