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Officials honor Sayle, Fannin
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FLYER: John Sayle of East Liverpool and his wife, Sally, stand outside the Columbiana County Courthouse on Wednesday where the county commissioners recognized him for 30 years of service on the county airport authority. The commissioners also recognized Judy Fannin of the county's Department of Job and Family Services for her 30 years of service. She is retiring, Sayle is not.
The veteran pilot first took to the sky as a parachutist.
LISBON — John Sayle, the heart and soul of the Columbiana County Airport Authority, dryly said, “It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this nonsense for all these years.”
His comment came Wednesday as the county commissioners approved resolutions to acknowledge Sayle’s 30 years of service on the authority.
Penny Traina, the president of the commissioners, said Sayle had made the county “a better and safer place.”
Commissioner Jim Hoppel told Sayle the resolution “seems like small recognition for what you’ve done.”
Hoppel’s comment was notable because the commissioners and the airport authority had clashed many times in lean years when the commissioners did not always fund operations at the airport in Madison Township.
But the airport authority has continued to plug away at keeping operations going with grants.
Sayle, 69, of East Liverpool, began his airborne activities by parachuting while he was a student at Columbia University in New York City, and then he began flying.
When he and his wife, Sally, 63, moved to the county in 1978, Sayle said, “There was no gas and no operations” at the county airport.
Sayle is chairman and CEO of Hall China Co. in East Liverpool. He has more than 8,000 hours of flight time because he flies for both pleasure and business. He can be in Cleveland for a business meeting in 30 minutes instead of a 2 1‚Ñ2-hour drive. He’s flown around the world and said he has been on almost every continent.
He’s also active in the International Defensive Pistol Association.
His wife also is a pilot, although she said she became one to be able to land a plane if needed.
The commissioners also recognized Judy Fannin, 62, of East Liverpool, for her 30 years of work in the county’s Department of Job and Family Services. Her last day will be Tuesday.
“I love the work. I still love the work,” she said. “I just wanted to do something that had value.”
She said one of the things she planned to do in retirement is continue a project in which she writes to people who have made a difference in her life.
wilkinson@vindy.com