Airports leadership focuses on operational excellence by investing in staff resources, certifications

The Department of Airports may be a small county department that doesn’t register high on the public’s radar. However, behind the scenes, the small but mighty department stays committed to the aviation community and industry by ensuring they achieve operational excellence through the department’s No. 1 resource — its staff.

Director of Airports Brett Godown, who recently replaced former Director James Jenkins, who retired earlier this year after 33 years of service, says his vision for the department starts with his three-pillar approach to operational excellence: people, processes and product.

“The airports and services we provide are certainly part of operational excellence, and through having the right people in place with the right skills, education and experience we can deliver on operational experience,” said Godown.

The Department of Airports operates and manages six regional airports throughout the county, including Apple Valley Airport, Baker Airport, Barstow-Dagget Airport, Chino Airport, Needles Airport and Twentynine Palms Airport. These airports are considered general aviation airports (non-commercial), ranging from pilot training and recreational uses to the transportation of goods and civil activities, such as firefighting and rescue missions. Chino Airport is the largest of the six with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tower.

For Godown, he says having the technical resources in administration, operation, planning and maintenance of airports is what separates his department from others. “It’s such a niche industry that having technical resources embedded in the organization helps deliver on the mission of the department. We are a specialty department running a specialty county asset,” said Godown.

Airports Administrative Supervisor Erin Johnson couldn’t agree more with her director’s vision. Johnson, who has been with the county since 2007, said when she transferred into the department in 2019 as a Staff Analyst II she knew very little about the day-to-day operations of the airports. Her expertise was on the fiscal side, such as managing contracts and vendors as well as state and county audits.

As her role grew within the department, Johnson said although she understood the fiscal way of doing things, she did not really have a grasp on FAA policies and regulations, which challenged her operational knowledge of airports and led her to the decision to pursue the American Association of Airport Executives Certified Member (AAAE C.M.) credential.

Johnson became the third member of the Department of Airports staff to earn the C.M. status, which carries a prestigious designation in the field of aviation as well as representing an elite group of professionals in the county. The two other staff members who also have a C.M. credential are Director Godown and Airport Manager Greg Zarco.

“This certification is shared knowledge base. I think it is going to make our airports more efficient in its functions. On the financial side, I don’t really deal with operations and vice versa with Greg. Through this course, we had to learn the operations regulations, CFR parts and all the things in between.

“We can communicate now in the same language and move toward the same goals. I think you are going to see our airports overall process improve … and hopefully that will show in our operations, fiscal and actions with our tenants and stakeholders,” said Johnson.

Godown highlights the importance the certification carries for those who hold it. “We have the same education and experience, and so we are elevating the staff to the same level, which allows us to function as a team,” he said.

“We have one other staff member that’s doing the training right now and looking to take the test, and once they’re done, we will continue to find more people in the department who want to invest their time and energy.”

The benefit of the training, Johnson said, is she understands grant opportunities and regulations for Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs), how to develop Board Agenda Items and navigate through federal policies, which opens the doors for the department to partner with agencies, such as the FAA, Department of Transportation and Caltrans for more funding opportunities.

“This information I can now relay back to my staff so they can understand their daily best practices and why they are doing what they are doing. That way, we always stay timely and in compliance for better outcomes,” said Johnson.

Additional County Update News – October 10, 2024