Will Regan, former Habersham County Airport Manager, and Risk Manager, resigned from his position, effective on December 14. For 20 months, Regan was employed with the county.
First airport manager
In his resignation, dated November 30, 2023, Regan stated, “I hereby resign my position with Habersham County, and my last day of employment will be December 14, 2023. Thank you for the opportunity to fill this role, and I appreciate the time spent in your employ. Sincerely, William Regan”
When Bly Sky tendered their resignation in February of 2022, Regan was hired on April 11, 2022, as the county’s first airport manager. Bly Sky managed the airport for eight years.
Regan’s experience
With 13 years of experience as a pilot, Regan was hired as the airport manager. Regan had over 2,500 hours of total flight time. At the time of his hiring, he was a First Officer with PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. He also had 17 years of experience in law enforcement which took him from being a patrol officer up to being the police chief for the city of Fairmount.
At the time of his hiring, Airport Commission Chairman Ken Shrubring stated, “He was the most well-rounded of all of the applicants we interviewed; he has a business background and an airport background,” Shrubring added. “Mr. Regan has great people skills; he is the perfect fit for what we need at our airport.”
Regan’s salary was set at $74,000 annually at the time of his hiring.
Regan’s tenure
Regan’s tenure with the county as airport manager was not without controversy. During a commission meeting on November 21, 2022, Regan requested on behalf of the Airport Commission a loan from the county commission for $3.4 million from ARPA funds. The funds were to be used for an airport hanger expansion project. He stated that the airport commission had seen all documentation related to the project including tabulation costs for the project when they had not. His statements to the Habersham County Commission led to emails being sent to commissioners from airport commission members stating that Regan had misrepresented the Airport Commission and misled the County Commissioners.
First Risk Manager
On August 14, 2023, Regan assumed the role of the county’s first Risk Manager. His salary of $78,998.40 carried forward from his previous position, basically a lateral promotion with no increase in salary. During his first month as Risk Manager, Regan rolled out the county’s “How’s My Driving” campaign by placing stickers on county vehicles with a phone number to call to report employees’ driving behavior, good or bad, to make drivers accountable for their actions on the road.
Regan’s last day was December 14, four months to the day that he took the role as the county’s first Risk Manager.
Human Resources Director Ann Cain stated that the position was posted from December 5 through December 22.
