Jared Rabren may only be 25, but interestingly enough his experience helped land him a shot at a contract to run the Columbus-Lowndes Airport.
The airport’s board of directors unanimously selected Rabren as the facility’s next fixed-base operator (FBO) Thursday afternoon, after they heard presentations from two men who wanted the gig.
Rabren has worked as operations manager for Bryan Field, the municipal airport in Starkville, for the past year. Before that, he worked stints as a mechanic at the Cleveland Airport in Bolivar County and a lineman at the Greenwood-Leflore Airport. He holds a degree in aviation management from Delta State University, a commercial pilot’s license and his working to become a certified flight instructor.
“My age will definitely be a factor for some people, and I’m prepared for that,” Rabren told The Dispatch after Thursday’s meeting. “For this position, though, I believe it’s going to prove more of a help than a hindrance.”
As FBO, Rabren would have an independent contractor lease for the airport that Columbus and Lowndes County jointly own. He would be responsible for day-to-day operations and upkeep at the facility, including keeping the grass mowed and making sure aviation fuel and other services are available to pilots. In return, Rabren could set prices for fuel and other services and keep the profits.
He would replace Claude Hendrickson, who served as FBO for four years. The airport board rescinded his lease in October after multiple complaints he let the aviation fuel tank sit empty for long periods and that he was often not accessible at the airport.
The city council and county board of supervisors must ratify the airport board’s recommendation for Rabren to officially become the new FBO. Those decisions are expected in mid-December.
“I was most impressed with his presentation,” said airport board chairman Jeff Smith, who also serves as District 4 Lowndes County supervisor. “He’s young and he looks eager to take on a bigger challenge. Jared has experience working at a very successful airport (in Starkville), and I’m hopeful he will bring that same success and energy to Columbus-Lowndes.”
Rabren asking for $48,000 in public money as part of his lease agreement, which is $8,000 more than what Hendrickson was allotted. He also wants to inspect the fuel tanks before signing the lease agreement.
He’s requested giving Starkville at least a month’s notice of his departure before coming to Columbus.
“Excited is definitely the word for this,” he told The Dispatch. “It hadn’t quite hit me yet that the board selected my proposal. I’m pumped.”
‘Good bones’ but a bad reputation
Rabren, in his proposal to the airport board, said the local facility has “good bones” but one big problem.
“The biggest issue here is reputation,” he said. “It’s hard to get fuel here. It’s hard to get service here. So pilots have stopped coming here. I can tell you that for fact because we’ve been taking a lot of business from you over in Starkville.”
To stop that, he plans to move to Columbus and become the face of the local airport as someone who works there full-time. He said he would hire part-time labor to help with grass cutting and other day-to-day operations as needed.
Rabren also plans to sublet the airport’s maintenance hangar rather than try to hire a staff mechanic. He told the airport board he had tentatively agreed with Robert Sorrels of Starkville-based Circle S Aviation on a sublease for the hangar from which the company would provide mechanic services and flight instruction. Under that agreement, Circle S would remain based in Starkville, Rabren said, and simply expand its operations.
If that agreement falls through, Rabren said, he would seek another party for the sublease.
Rabren addressed the need for more, and updated, hangar space from the 27-plane capacity at Columbus-Lowndes. He also noted he would support efforts to extend the now 4,500-foot runway to the minimum 5,000 feet needed to support jet traffic, though he said Federal Aviation Administration grants would almost certainly have to fund that.
Now, the airport supports mostly small, single-engine, aircraft.
But speaking with The Dispatch, Rabren said he sees Columbus-Lowndes, at least in the short-term, taking the most advantage of what it already has.
“I would like to see this place become a general aviation hub,” he said. “Not just a fuel stop. Something more.”
Part of that will come from rebuilding a sense of community among pilots who rent hangar space, he added. To start that process, he plans to hold a town hall-style meeting with them after he comes on-board.
“I want to let these guys tell me what they need,” Rabren said.
Other proposals
Andy Owens, 54, of Columbus, a longtime pilot who keeps a plane at the airport, also presented to the board Thursday.
He asked only for $40,000 annually from public funds and his presentation focused almost exclusively on meticulously keeping the grounds rebuilding pilot morale.
Russell Sheffield, a Columbus businessman, submitted a written proposal asking for $72,000 annually from city/county sources — which is more than the entire annual public budget for the airport.
But when it came time for Sheffield to present before the board Thursday, he had left. Instead, he sent an endorsement text to board member and Columbus Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong explaining his departure.
“Pull my proposal,” the text said. “I’m for Jared Rabren.”
“I’ve never seen that happen before,” Armstrong told his fellow board members after he read the text.
A consultant to the process
Rabren also earned the endorsement of Rick Milburn, who attended Thursday’s meeting to offer his consulting services.
Milburn, who now lives in West Point, has 40 years of aviation management experience, working in the private sector for three aviation companies in Illinois — including in sales, service and appraisals.
The retired Milburn said he wasn’t interested in being FBO but would be willing to contract his consulting services to either the airport board or the FBO selected. He sat in on the presentations Thursday and offered, free of charge, his opinion of both Owens’ and Rabren’s proposals before the selection vote.
“This is a tough business,” Milburn told the board. “(Any FBO) is dealing with a lot of dollars (in expenses) and very little profit margin. I believe I can help the airport authority or the FBO with my expertise.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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