The Definition of "Community"
- John Tomlinson
- May 5
- 2 min read
May 3, 2026
These past few weeks have been busy. Our airport community has stepped up and helped with the numerous tasks we've laid out for ourselves. A laundry list of work has happened--chipping away at the endless list of repairs and improvements. First, thank you to everyone that has stepped up and helped.
The latest step in changing the name of the airport involved cleaning, touching up the paint and applying decals to the fuel tanks. Lots went into that.
Janet Gundlach, Rex MacLean, and John and Leone Tomlinson removed the old Norman Grier decals. Bob Hoelzen power washed the tanks--a solid days work!
And finally, Stephanie Tandberg and Rex MacLean apply the new decals to the tanks!
We can’t forget the ongoing efforts of our fuel team. This crew does a daily fuel quality test on a weekly rotation including Matt Bristow, Dale Leyde, Bob Murphy, Andrew Rerecich, and John Tomlinson.
Another striking change is the hard to miss new runway numbers--freshly painted white. This corresponded with the change to 16/34 to compensate for the annoyingly shifting of magnetic north!
A number of volunteers stepped in to mow while the runway was shut down for painting. Thanks to Kurt Boswell, Dave Dotson, Keith Littlefield, Dale Leyde, Rex MacLean, and John and Leone Tomlinson. Hopefully we didn't miss anyone--it got pretty busy and hard to keep track!
The northern tie-down spots were in need of some moss cleanup, which was no small task. Thanks to Eric Eversole, Keith Littlefield, Molly Littlefield, Jeff Miller, Riley Evetts, and Rex MacLean for the hard work. Sorry we didn't get a picture before the cleanup to show what an amazing difference this made!
The new security fence is coming along nicely thanks to the planning and oversight of Kurt Boswell. Jeff Miller, Bob Hoelzen, and George Clifton spent many days drilling holes in the concrete, installing threaded bolts mounting the posts. Here you see a younger crew consisting of Riley Evetts, Jessy B., Josh J., Dennis D., Evan F., and Forrest B. doing the heavy lifting.
The drilling and pole install crew at work!
“I am thankful to be a part of this community. We didn’t just buy an airport and walk away. I’ve known we were strong but seeing the way everyone continues to show up, we are redefining what’s possible.”
Tara O.
Looking great. I think we will attract ever more interest in tiedowns as we beautify and “security” our airport.
Rob L.