John Benzinger.
(Photo courtesy of Jason Benzinger.)
John Benzinger has been the face of the Mt. Pleasant Municipal Airport for close to 30 years as its manager.
On Oct. 30, the 65-year-old suffered a stroke after returning home from work at the airport and is currently in the hospital in an induced coma.
His son Jason Benzinger said he is hopeful his dad will make a full recovery and asked for everyone’s thoughts and prayers.
“John has been a great guy for a lot of years at the airport and we wish him well on his recovery,” said John Zang, director of Mt. Pleasant Public Works.
Meanwhile, managing duties will be handled by Chris Coale, who is certified for the job and served as the airport’s assistant manager under John Benzinger.
Coale said he’s been working closely with him for a little over a year and a half.
In that time, he got to know the man who he calls a really nice, genuine guy who loves the airport.
“John has been preparing me to take over his duties since I started working here,” said Coale. “So stepping into a lot of this stuff hasn’t been too hard.”
While Benzinger is in the hospital, operations will continue as normal even though less hours will be worked.
The airport already had a small staff so losing anyone is tough, but members of Central Michigan Aviation—the local flying club—are helping out, too, said Zang.
“It’s great to have a person like Chris out there to make sure things are still running smoothly,” he said.
Coale said Benzigner knew all the regulars and everyone who came into the airport more than once twice knew him well, too.
Over the course of Benzinger’s life, he’s made his mark both in the local aviation circles as well as the community.
He worked as a postal carrier in Mt. Pleasant and was part of a farm family before beginning a fascination with flight, according to Jason Benzinger.
“My dad is a helper,” he said. “Whether it’s at the airport or not, he’s well-recognized outside of it in the community from his days as a postal worker and living here all his life.”
Jason Benzinger said his dad first purchased an experimental aircraft that he put together when he was young and had an airstrip between the house and the farmland where he lived.
“He got into the local EAA [Experimental Aircraft Association] and ran into some friends and that’s how he got into airport part of it,” said Jason Benzinger. “Not sure how he became manager, but opportunity was there and he took it and has been the manager ever since.”
When you have an employee that puts 30 years in at some place, it’s a big deal, he said.
“For my dad at the airport, it’s been him and only him for almost 30 years,” said Jason Benzinger. “It wasn’t until recently they started having guys over there learning the skill and the trade.”
Coale is hoping to have Benzinger return at some point.
“It’d be nice to see him come out of this with a decent quality of life,” he said.
- Source: http://www.themorningsun.com
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