After a nine-month search, the Santa Maria Public Airport finally hired a new general manager. Chris Hastert, the former deputy director of two Ventura County airports, began on Oct. 14.
As general manager, Hastert is responsible for managing hundreds of commercial leases, private and county hangar license agreements, and the future development of several airport properties.
Hastert has more than a decade’s worth of experience working for airports, including the Camarillo and Oxnard airports. From 1991 to 1996, he served at U.S. Army airfields in the United States and abroad.
Hastert holds a private pilot’s license and belongs to several professional aeronautical organizations, including the American Association of Airport Executives, Association of California Airports, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He is currently completing a degree in aviation management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
“[Hastert] had a number of pluses that made him a good candidate for our airport,” said Don Lahr, president of the Santa Maria Public Airport District Board of Directors.
Lahr said that because the Santa Maria airport is its own special district, managing it is “almost like running a small city.” He added that Hastert had one up on the competition because he “already knows all the key players” from his work in Ventura County.
Plus, Hastert’s experience in and out of the cockpit boded well for the board of directors while members were making their decision.
“He’s an exec that flies,” Lahr said. “He can identify with both sides—he’s strong politically and with the guys back in the hangar.”
On top of his usual duties, Hastert will oversee the Santa Maria Airport Business Park project, which officials hope will bring new business and dozens of new jobs to Santa Maria. The project, however, has met with resistance from some community members, including residents living in a mobile home park on airport property.
“I hope to develop a plan that addresses the actual needs of the residents, the [Federal Aviation Administration], and the airport,” Hastert said in a release to the media.
The general manager position opened up when former manager Gary Rice retired earlier this year. During the search for a replacement, Veroneka Reade, the airport’s manager of finance and administration, served as interim manager.
This article appears in Oct 16-23, 2008.
