Chris White, A.A.E., director of Onslow County’s Albert J. Ellis Airport, has been named as Southeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives 2022 Airport Professional of the Year. The award was given during the annual meeting of the organization in Memphis.
The chapter serves 12 states in the Southeast as well as Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands & Caribbean and South American countries.
Citing his leadership, outstanding commitment to the aviation community as well as his local community, White was nominated by his staff without his knowledge. The staff noted that when White came to the county in 2009, the airport was reporting financial and business losses and the terminal dated to the 1970s. He was credited with working with the Onslow County Board of Commissioners, the FAA and NC DOT’s Division of Aviation to build a new state of the art terminal complex that would be more efficient and welcoming.
“I am humbled and sincerely appreciative of this recognition and the credit truly belongs to our wonderful and talented team at OAJ,” said White.
Six years in the making, the new Albert J. Ellis Passenger Terminal complex has been the subject of many state and national awards and is frequently cited as Onslow County’s front door. Use has dramatically increased as the new terminal welcomes more than 350-thousand passengers annually. As part of the campus, a new executive terminal opened in 2015 and the County’s first Air Traffic Control Tower was added in 2019.
He was praised by the group for growing the economic impact of the airport noting the growth from 2015 of about $191 million a year, to over $565 million for 2021. The airport supports jobs for about 3,400. He worked to win more than $50 million in federal and state discretionary grants, ultimately adding over $60 million in assets to the community without cost to the local property taxpayers. The Airport Redevelopment Program was awarded the 2016 Commercial Airport Project of the year by the same organization that has now named him Professional of the Year.
White was also credited with leading the airport through several natural disasters as well as the recent pandemic. It was noted that Onslow’s airport has experienced an exceptional recovery, including some record-setting months, after the pandemic’s initial showdown. His staff attributed the sustainment of the airport during the pandemic to the leadership of White.
Most recently the airport was awarded a Small Community Air Service Development Program Grant to attract new airline service as well as to increase current services. The Airport has also been allocated $29 million from the state budget to extend the runway and taxiway which will increase the opportunity for longer flights, larger aircraft and improved aircraft performance and safety. White was praised for his expertise and devotion to the airport in achieving these new benefits.
He has focused efforts on enhancing services offered to Airport guests with a focus on military service members by adding amenities such as the USO and changing rooms to the new facility and worked with the Government Services Administration to expand the City Pairs program from six cities to over 60 making travel easier and more cost effective for the Marines and other service members who fly out of Ellis Airport. They and others also benefit from a NC Digital Library Kiosk, which was the first placed at an airport in the state. Operated by the Onslow County Library, it allows passengers and visitors to digitally check out ebooks, videos and other materials at no cost.
He moved the airport from a financially negative position to a fully self-sufficient county-operated enterprise while also generating about $20 million annually in state and local taxes that help offset property taxes. White also has championed the “Art in the Airport” program by working with Onslow County Schools which hosted students to display art and for musical groups to perform at the airport. The program will now expand to the Jacksonville-Onslow Arts Council.
He is active in local transportation planning groups, economic development activities, and serves in leadership roles with state and regional airport groups. He lectures at NC State University and makes frequent presentations to legislators and groups on behalf of aviation.
