Jun. 18—For about six months, the La Crosse Aviation Board has been on the search for the next airport director. Last month, the board finally settled on a director it believes is the best fit for the open position.
After his first day on the job on Monday, Jeffrey Tripp, the new La Crosse Regional Airport director, was officially introduced to the board.
"I am excited about the opportunity — it is a great airport. The community has supported the airport by going to the terminal and supporting the infrastructure, and that's not always the case," said Tripp. "My job as the incoming director is to continue to listen to the community's needs and move the place forward in a positive manner."
Staff said they were relieved to have Tripp fill the role of airport director.
"It's great. The last six months have been very busy and hectic here at the airport," said Lauren Koss, deputy airport director and former interim airport director. "It's a relief to finally relinquish some of those additional duties that were piled on. ... He is very knowledgeable and has what it takes to move this airport forward."
Tripp has worked in aviation since 1996 in several roles at different airports.
Before taking the position, Tripp worked in various airport management positions across the country, including working as an airport manager and airport operations superintendent at Arizona's Prescott Municipal Airport; airport director of Redmond Municipal Airport in Oregon for over a year; airport manager at Muskegon County Airport in Michigan for over three years; and, most recently, working as airport manager at Cottonwood Municipal Airport in Arizona.
While much of Tripp's experience has been at municipal airports, he has over three years of experience with commercial service airports during his time at Mukegon County Airport, which is served by United Airlines with daily service to O'Hare International Airport.
"Over the course of my career, I have worked at some of the busiest general aviation airports in the country, and I have also managed multiple commercial service airports," said Tripp. "You see a lot of commonality from airport to airport — we all have a lot of the same issues and concerns. I am going to ask a lot of questions that help to shape how we continue to move forward."
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