november-december 2021 - 28

Jeff Kadlec, CM
Jeff Kadlec fell in love with aviation as a child. Growing up in
the Chicago area, he would go to the annual air and water
show downtown where he became fascinated with planes
and aviation.
Age: 38
Hometown: Woodridge,
Illinois
Alma Mater: Arizona State
University
Fun fact about yourself: I
enjoy painting when I have
the time. I'm no Bob Ross,
but I like doing it.
Someone I look up to in
the industry: Debbie Alke
My favorite thing about
aviation is: I'm a pilot so
getting up in the air!
He eventually landed a job with Mesa Airlines and then took a
job in airside operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor International
Airport (PHX) where he fell in love with airport management.
Kadlec is the manager of Yellowstone Airport (WYS), a position
he has held since 2013. He's a noted advocate for the airport
and prides himself on looking for the next opportunity. In
2016, he led his team in receiving the airport's first-ever " zero
discrepancy " inspection report.
" My kids grew up around here so they call it 'daddy's airport,'''
he said. " It's a cool thing to hear them say that because we
all do look at this airport as our airport. You take ownership
of that and our operations staff, it's their airport too. We all
show up to back one another up and take care of business. "
Under his leadership, the airport has transformed from a
financial liability to a self-sustaining business enterprise. He
always has an eye on entrepreneurial opportunities at the
airport and constantly looks to the future.
Kadlec is proactive in attracting advertisers and businesses
and was instrumental in fostering the airport's first hangar
development in its 66-year history. The hangar is now home
to the area's first medical air ambulance transportation service
that provides emergency air medical transport to the Greater
Yellowstone Region and Yellowstone National Park.
After many previous attempts by the state of Montana, Kadlec
led the charge in 2018 to work through the federal processes
to lift deed restrictions that prohibited non-aeronautical
development at the WYS. This resulted in the long-term
self-sustainability of the airport.
" This isn't a job where you just punch the clock, " Kadlec said.
" It's something that if you're not here and not taking care of
business, then things aren't getting done. "
He also led the charge for Congress to recognize the unique
challenges of seasonal, commercial service airport operations
like WYS. Kadlec's efforts resulted in legislation to include
seasonal commercial service airports with 8,000 or more
enplanements as primary airports.
Kadlec is currently president of the Montana Airport Management
Association (MAMA).
www.AviationPros.com/21238169
Colin Bible, PE
Colin Bible's sights weren't set on aviation when he graduated.
The industry wasn't even on his radar, he recounts, only ever
having flown once in his life at that point. But when he began
work with engineering firm Garver, the bulk of his work at the
time was in aviation and Bible found himself quickly enamored
with the industry.
" I started work there and it was so great. I loved it immediately.
I got to travel to more places than I'd ever been and work with
people that really stretched my comfort zone, " Bible said.
Age: 38
Hometown: Clarksville,
Arkansas
Alma Mater: University of
Arkansas
Someone I look up to in
the industry: I have been
lucky to work with some
exceptional people in our
industry and it's hard to
narrow it down.
Fun fact about yourself: I
traveled the western half of
the U.S. the summer before
my junior year of college and
camped at 10 national parks.
Bible added that one of the unique aspects of aviation engineering
that drew him in right away was how involved an
engineer is from the beginning to the end of the process.
" We get to help the airport with grant funding all the way
through closeout, and we get to help them design it and make
sure that it's constructed according to all the specs. You get
to see it the whole way through, and believe it or not, that's
surprisingly unique in engineering, " Bible said. " And you see
that from early on in this specialty, you're exposed to it from
day one. And that was something that really stood out to
me early on. "
Since joining Garver, Bible has worked in 10 states at over 70
airports and lived in three states over his career, most recently
www.AviationPros.com/21243825
moving to Denver, Colorado, to help lead Garver's aviation
practice in the western U.S.
" I've gotten to work on projects ranging from small rehabilitation
projects at local GA airports to large runway and taxiway
projects at large hubs, " Bible said.
Bible continued that he's proud to be entrusted by Garver to
represent them in the western part of the country where the
firm doesn't have a large presence yet.
Another of Bible's proudest career accomplishments has
been developing an internal training program for Garver's
project managers from all over the country within Garver to
stay connected and helping develop soft skills to better serve
the firm's clients.
" A colleague and I helped develop training for project managers
within our firm. There is more than just engineering in
what we do, there's a lot of soft skills that really make the
difference in how we provide service. A huge portion of what
we do is communicating solutions with funding agencies and
contractors, and the goal of the training is to help our team
continue to improve that skill, " Bible explained.
28 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
UNDER
http://www.AviationPros.com/21238169 http://www.AviationPros.com/21243825
november-december 2021

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