By Chris Sasser
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
As I travel around Texas visiting airports, I am always pleasantly surprised by how impressive the generaI aviation airports are that serve their communities. Winston Field, located in Snyder, is no exception.
I arrived at Winston Field on a hot summer day about a half hour early for my scheduled interview. Upon entering the comfortable, and thankfully cool, terminal building I noticed someone_ blowing off leaves and lawn clippings from the back patio. The gentleman was Winston Field manager Rodger Sullenger. After introductions and a brief cool-down, we sat in his office and talked about his background, the airport and its role in the community.
“I’ve worked here since 1995,” began Sullenger. ”When I took over as manager, you couldn’t see the runway out there because the weeds were so high. The manager prior to me was a mechanic who simply didn’t have time to maintain the facilities.”
Despite not having a background in aviation, Sullenger understood the value of having a functional airport for the citizens of Snyder.
“Half the folks in Snyder didn’t know we had an airport, and the other half didn’t know what we did,” chuckled Sullenger. “So I made it a practice to go around and speak to core city organizations and let them know how important we are to the community.”
Every airport needs a champion, and Sullenger fits that role for Winston Field. Whether it’s hands-on maintenance work or working to secure grants for airport upgrades, he is involved with every aspect of the airport.
In 2009, the airport received nearly four million dollars in grants to reconstruct their runways. The 1.95 million dollar partial reconstruction of runway 17 /35 was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Other work included repair, overlay and marking of runway 8/26 and the taxiways. Improved signage was also installed.
“We went through a period in the ’90s when it hardly rained at all,” says Sullenger. “Because of that, we started getting a lot of cracks. We sealed them, but it was definitely time to have more extensive rehab work performed. Our runways and taxiways are stronger now. We can handle aircraft as heavy as a Gulfstream Five.”
Despite the reduced traffic due to the recent economic downturn, Sullenger is confident that fliers will once again see Snyder as a destination, especially now that the renovations are complete.
“One of the things I enjoy is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. You might not think that in a small community like this, but planes do have to refuel somewhere, and why not go to the best place with reasonable fuel prices?” says Sullenger. “I’m 68-years-old and I’m dreading the day I have to walk out the door and pitch somebody else the keys,” Sullenger says with a big smile.