Meet the airport manager finalists

— by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues reporter –

The Orcas Port Commission is planning to hold a public meeting this coming Friday, June 5, that will provide an opportunity for the island community to meet with the three remaining candidates for the airport manager job. The location is yet to be finalized. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 am, and may also be available by Zoom. An official meeting notice will be published soon.

There were initially 26 applicants for the position. The remaining three would each bring different qualifications to the position. Each of the three final candidates has been interviewed by the Port Commission. A decision on who will be offered the job is anticipated later in June.

The following brief introductions are based on materials that each of the candidates provided. In alphabetical order:

Stephen Gharst is currently the airport operations manager at Crater Lake Klamath Regional Airport. After 28 years of military service, Gharst retired from the US Air Force earlier this year. Much of his military time was spent in airport management, including a deployment as airfield manager at Kirkuk, Iraq in 2007, with assignments at 11 other airfields over the course of his career. Mr. Gharst holds degrees in Aviation Maintenance and Aviation Management. His hobbies include running, SCUBA diving and hiking. He and his wife Laura have two children, the youngest of whom is a junior in high school. Their home is in Vancouver, WA.

Jeannie Sharpe learned to be a pilot while living in Sitka, AK, where she was active with the Civil Air Patrol and Southeast Alaska Aviation Association. While living in Sitka, Ms. Sharp organized two fly-in events for the regional airport that were similar to the annual Orcas fly-in. Ms. Sharp has worked for Builders FirstSource, a Fortune 500 building supply company, since 2003. She is currently the General Manager of a branch in Olympia, WA. Ms. Sharpe is married with two grown children. In recent years, she has visited Orcas Island numerous times, including  camping at both the airport and at Moran State Park.

Neil Singer has a background in organizational development, planning and communications. Mr. Singer is a graduate of Cornell University and is the President of Architectural Art, a marketing firm that he has owned since 2004. He has been a pilot since 2006 and is active with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). He is also an avid kayaker and has built several small boats, including Inuit style kayaks and a Polynesian-style outrigger sailing canoe. Neil and his wife have been residing in the Port Angeles area throughout this time of sheltering in place.