The local flying community and officials are celebrating the completion of several projects at the Habersham County Airport. The additions and renovations include a repaved runway, ramp expansion, and the creation of a runway object-free area (ROFA).
The projects have been years in the making and position the airport for future growth and increased use by both field-based and transient aircraft. Around 30 people gathered at the airport in Baldwin on July 9 to celebrate the occasion.
“It would be impossible to introduce every person who played a part in this monumental task, going back to the very beginnings of this airport,” said Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn. “Some of those who were instrumental in the early days of this facility are here today, while some already have passed on.”
Dean Swanson and former state Senator John Foster pulled a measuring tape to lay out the original airport. They were present and cut the ribbon on Tuesday. Don Higgins, one of the airport’s early pilots and former mayor of Cornelia, Jackie Sherwood, whose late husband Charles Sherwood, a regular at the airport, was also there.
Current members of the Habersham County Airport Commission and county officials also attended.
