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Youngstown airport director is finalist for Florida job
By Ed Runyan
VIENNA
Dan Dickten, aviation director at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport since April 2010, is one of three finalists to become director of three airports in Florida.
Dickten on Saturday confirmed a report in the Northwest Florida Daily News that said he will interview late this month for the position in Okaloosa County, Fla., near Pensacola in the northwest part of the state.
The post involves operation of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Destin Executive Airport and Bob Sikes Airport.
The two other candidates are Okaloosa’s interim airports director Tracy Stage, who served as the top assistant for previous airports director Sunil Harman; and Jeffrey Tripp, director of the Redmond Municipal Airport in Redmond, Ore.
The finalists were culled from 66 applicants fro m across the country, the Daily News said. The county has been searching for a new airports director since October 2015. The position will pay between $80,000 and $145,000, the newspaper said.
The position is an attractive one within the aviation industry because it’s a blend of general aviation, executive charters and major commercial airlines, said Okaloosa County Administrator John Hofstad.
“You’ve got a system of three airports in this county, which is unique,” he said. “And our geographic location never hurts. It appeals to people. Our lower taxes appeal to people.” Hofstad said he hopes to make his recommendation for the post to county commissioners by late January or early February.
“I’m always open for opportunities, and I have always been my whole life,” Dickten said when reached by telephone Saturday. “It doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere.”
The Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport has 50 non-stop flights daily to hub cities across the nation, according to the airport’s web site. It has about five times as many passengers annually as the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics.