Lenhard and Dustin Reelected to Head Naples Airport Authority Board

The board of commissioners of the City of Naples Airport Authority reelected Michael Lenhard chair and Kerry C. Dustin vice-chair for 2021.

The board is comprised of five citizen volunteers, each appointed by the Naples City Council for a four-year term, to govern the Naples Airport Authority. Other commissioners are Donna M. Messer, James Rideoutte and Rick Ruppert.

After his reelection, Lenhard appointed commissioners to serve on committees for the year. Dustin chairs the Audit Committee, which includes Rideoutte. Ruppert chairs the Consultant Selection Committee, and Lenhard serves on the committee. Messer serves as the liaison to the Noise Compatibility Committee and Technical Advisory Committee.

Appointed to the board in 2017, Lenhard served as chair in 2020. He retired from National Records Centers Inc. in Dallas, Texas, as president and CEO. Lenhard has more than two decades of experience in the records and information management industry. He has served as vice president and treasurer on the Aqualane Shores Association Inc. board of directors. A private pilot and member of the Naples Pilots Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Lenhard moved to Naples in 2015.

Dustin was appointed to the board in 2017 and served as vice chair in 2020. He is founder and chairman of Falls River Group LLC and has more than 40 years of experience buying and selling businesses, structuring financing for acquisitions and valuing of closely held businesses and micro caps in the United States, Europe, Mexico and South America. Dustin is a 24-year Naples resident.

Messer was first appointed to the board in 2014 and served as chair from 2016 to 2019. She is principal of Carl Ryan Associates LLC, a Naples management consulting firm specializing in coaching, mentoring, team building and facilitation. She has also been affiliated with Kansas-based Overland Resource Group since 2008, consulting on labor-management collaboration. A full-time Naples resident since 2012, Messer previously spent 30 years with American Airlines in a variety of executive positions. Active within many community organizations, Messer serves as board chair of the Women’s Foundation of Collier County and is also on the board of directors for both Greater Naples Leadership and Baby Basics of Collier County. She is a mentor for the Junior Women of Initiative at the Boys & Girls Club of Collier County. She is also a member of Women of the (239) and serves on its Strategic Planning Committee. Messer is also a Greater Naples Leadership Class XX graduate.

Rideoutte, who was first appointed to the board in 2013, held executive assignments throughout the country during his career with the IRS. After retiring to Naples in 1989, he became an active community volunteer and served as executive director of The Naples Players for 12 years.

Ruppert, appointed to the board in 2020, retired with over 40 years of executive experience at several corporations, including Jet Aviation; The Walt Disney Company; and most recently at Ulta Beauty as vice president of merchandise and private label products. He is a five-year resident of Naples who previously served as the Gulf Shore Association of Condominiums liaison to the NAA.

Naples Airport Authority meetings are held monthly at Naples City Hall; they are open to the public and available for online viewing through the city’s website.

All funds used for the airport’s operation, maintenance and improvements are generated from activities at the airport or federal and state grants from aviation-related user fees. The airport receives no local tax dollars. The Florida Department of Transportation values the airport’s annual economic impact to the community at more than $440 million.