Event Four Years In The Making

Officials dedicated the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport Terminal at the Kerrville (TX) Municipal Airport Friday... an action that has been four years in the making.

The ceremony attracted about 200 people and included elected officials, pilots and leaders of local economic development efforts, according to the Kerrville Daily Times.

NASA astronaut Capt. Eugene A. Cernan was the featured speaker for the dedication. Cernan is a Kerr County resident and was the last person to walk on the moon. He said airports like ERV are "important" for communities like Kerrville and "should be looked at as more than just an economic development tool."

"The greatest legacy of the Wright Brothers is that they instilled in the hearts and minds of all of us the ability to dream to do the impossible," said the pilot of Gemini IX, lunar module pilot of Apollo 10 and spacecraft commander of Apollo 17. "And that's part of this airport."

Cernan also said with the completion of this terminal, the Kerrville Municipal Airport is "coming of age" and will serve as "a gateway to the community."

John Davis, president of the Kerrville-Kerr County joint airport board, said the airport staff identified additional funding for the $1 million project that was first proposed in 2003 rather than scale back plans. The result is 5,000-square-feet of conference room, pilots' lounge and office space.

"This terminal will be a catalyst to move us to the next level of general aviation," Davis said.

About 130 aircraft call the airport home and an average of 164
operations occur per day.

Construction was funded through state, local and FAA funds as well as a grant from the Economic Improvement Corporation.

"No longer will this just be a little strip outside of town where people drop off their kids for camp in Hunt," Davis said.

FMI: www.kerrvilleairport.org/