CAA: GA News, "Oregon has new Department of Aviation Director in Ann Crook"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@cwnet.com>]

Friday, March 17, 2000

Oregon has new Department of Aviation Director in Ann Crook
GA News


The new incarnation of the Oregon Department of Aviation has a native
Oregonian at the helm. Ann Crook, from Eugene, was appointed to the position
by Governor John Kitzhaber, last month. The state senate unanimously
approved the appointment.

This is the second time the Beaver State has had a Department of Aviation
separate from DOT. They began as different agencies in the 1920s, but in
1973 were merged under the Oregon Department of Transportation. Having all
transportation under one roof is great, in theory. However, with “4,000
people working in the highway department and 16 in aviation, we often found
our needs didn’t get recognized.”

Crook joined the Oregon Department of Transportation in 1997 as state
airports manager. She began serving as the division’s interim manager in
December 1998. In 1999 the state legislature approved a measure creating the
Oregon Department of Aviation. Crook has been instrumental in the
transitional phase. The switch is expected to be finalized in July.

Part of Crook’s first task is to determine what ODOT has been doing in terms
of support services like accounting and payroll.

“We found the bureaucracy so intense we couldn’t even find out what they
were doing for us,” Crook explained. “We also have to make sure
accountability measures are in place.”

She has a degree in aviation management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University. After college she moved back home to Eugene, taking a job as
airport manager at Eugene’s Mahlon Sweet Field. A career move took her to
Hutchinson, Kansas for about two years, but she returned to Oregon when
another job beckoned.

She doesn’t have her pilot’s license yet, but plans to get it. For now, her
energy is focused on getting the new department up and running.

Crook is a big believer in town meetings.

“The meetings don’t have a specific agenda,” she said. “We invite local
pilots, county commissioners, state legislators if they’re in the area, city
councilmen, residents, you name it, and let them bring up the issues.”

Recently one was held in Lincoln City. People wanted to know about the
policy for leasing hangars (the airport is state owned), others complained
about the noise, and someone from the local casino wanted to know when
airline flights would come in to service the casinos.

“Airports are an economic tool, a tool we have to use without adversely
affecting the livability of a community,” Crook said.

On the coast, needs are different. “The coast needs to expand the use of
airports, because with perennial flooding and Highway 101 sliding away,
coastal communities can become islands,” Crook said.

As for Eastern Oregon, Crook suggests communities could combine aviation
with the Internet in some way.

Crook is a member of numerous aviation organizations. She is the immediate
past president of the Oregon Airport Management Association and is currently
serving as its secretary/treasurer. She serves on the board of directors for
the Northwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives and
the International Northwest Aviation Council, as well as being a member of
the National Association of State Aviation Officials.

*****************************************
California Aviation Alliance: General Aviation Airport List E-mail Commands
To subscribe to the GA News List, send an email, from the email account you wish to receive your posts on, addressed to listserv@californiaaviation.org and place the following in the first line of the body of the message:
 Subscribe ganews YourFirstName YourLastName YourJobTitle YourAirport/Company 

To unsubscribe from the GA News List, send an email, from the email account you have been receiving your posts on, addressed to listserv@californiaaviation.org and place the following in the first line of the body of the message:
 Unsubscribe ganews YourFirstName YourLastName