Sunday, September 05, 2021

Vance Brand Airport (KLMO) manager David Slayter remembered for his ‘expertise’ and ‘kind heart’

David Slayter, the new Vance Brand Airport manager, poses by an airplane at the airport in 2015.
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City leaders reflected on the life and legacy of Longmont’s Vance Brand Airport manager, who died Friday at the age of 51.

David Slayter began serving as the airport’s manager in March 2015, according to the Times-Call archives. Longmont Assistant City Manager Sandi Seader released a statement Saturday sharing city leaders’ condolences for Slayter’s death.

City Manager Harold Dominguez said he would “miss David’s sense of humor and the expertise he brought to our airport operations, but most of all, we will miss his kind heart.”

Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley echoed the sentiment.

“The city of Longmont has lost one of its finest,” Bagley said. “He was the kindest, gentlest, most thoughtful employee. He will be missed not for what he did, but who he was.”

When Slayter took over as airport manager, he sought to quickly respond to residents’ complaints about noise from Mile-Hi Skydiving planes.

Slayter told the Times-Call that dealing with the general public involves efforts “to just make sure they know they’re being acknowledged and being heard.”

Slayter was no stranger to working with the public to understand their concerns. Before his role in Longmont, he worked as the executive director for Houma-Terrebonne Airport in Houma, La. He said residents experienced similar noise issues, but with offshore helicopters.

Slayter brought a host of knowledge in aviation jobs to his work as manager. The Times-Call reported Slayter as a “jack-of-all trades” in aviation jobs before his role in management. He responded to aircraft emergencies as a firefighter, worked in flight operations for Frontier Airlines in Los Angeles and spent six years as an aviation program manager and aviation legislation liaison for the state of Louisiana.

Thinking of what he wanted to accomplish in his role as Longmont’s newest airport manager, Slayter told the Times Call in March 2015:

“One of the things I made a statement or comment on is I want to make a positive difference; I want to make a positive impact, and if I can do that, that’s what makes me happy.”

Services for Slayter will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hixson Brothers Funeral Homes, 2701 Military Highway in Pineville, La.

Longmont leaders said they are working “on contingency plans for interim airport management,” and that more information will be available in the coming days and weeks.

“Please bear with us while we manage this sad transition,” Seader’s statement read.

When contacted by city leaders Saturday, Slayter’s family said they didn’t yet wish to speak to the media or feel comfortable sharing further details on Slayter’s passing.

Residents who have questions on airport operations can direct them to the city manager’s office at 303-651-8601.

4 comments:

  1. Died of COVID, which seems to be taking out more 50-something year old unvaccinated men of late. I knew two who died last week.

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    1. The data points to those with 1) weak immune systems and 2) those with pre-condition health issues (including the fatties) are most prone to succumbing COVID. Follow the science...like the statistics. There is no correlation with age and COVID deaths no matter what this idiotic administration's puppet masters in the CDC try to tell you.

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    2. Immuno health declines with increasing age. That’s biology 101, not political. That’s why the vast majority of 65+ Americans got vaccinated. People in their 30s-50s are now dying because they felt their immune systems were strong enough on their own. Not with this mutation.

      Don’t listen to anyone who ever inserts a political comment into a discussion about COVID. Their motivations are far removed from science.

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  2. THE STAFF DID EVERY THING THEY WERE TRAINED TO DO AND FOLLOWED THEIR PROTOCOLS, A SOURCE CLOSE TO THE FAMILY SAID THAT HIS BROTHER 18 MONTHS OLDER THAN HE, WAS TREATED UNDER DIFFERENT PROTOCOLS IN ANOTHER STATE AND SURVIVED COVID, AND ALSO UNVACCINATED. THE FAMILY DID NOT WISH TO GO INTO FURTHER DETAILS.

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