Interim manager Rod Hightower said there have been five applicants for airport manager, with four of them qualified to be considered.
Interviews have occurred with candidates.
Hightower said the one who is well qualified, who lives outside of Illinois, is “a little expensive.”
There were to be discussions with the board.
Other restaffing has occurred with the airport.
Office Manager/Assistant Airport Manager Sheryl Tingley has resigned.
Hightower said Tingley’s position has been eliminated.
It now will be an office administrator position to answer phones and meet with people. This will be a part-time position.
The bookkeeping part of the former office manager position will be outsourced, Hightower said.
Doug Hardy is now the full-time maintenance manager and John Brumfield is part-time in maintenance.
Hightower said the airport will hire the right manager candidate as soon as possible. A timeline is based on the candidate chosen and availability too.
Hightower said it’s hard for many organizations to find employees right now.
“I’m done when the board is done with me,” Hightower said about serving as manager in the interim.
Alexandra (“Alex”) Gale
Alexandra "Alex" Gale passes out her letter of resignation to the Vermilion Regional Airport Authority.
Interim Director Rod Hightower reads list of allegations involving Gale.
Pilot Jeff Williams speaks in support of Alex Gale.
Jake Majors speaks prior to submitting his resignation.
Crowd assembles prior to meeting.
Pilot Larry Owen speaks.
Suspended Vermilion Regional Airport Manager Alex Gale resigned during the public comment portion of a special Airport Authority Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Gale then immediately left with family and friends saying she had no comment at this time. Also resigning prior to that was airport mechanic Jake Majors. At the start of the meeting, Interim Airport Director Rod Hightower read a list of allegations that he said led to Gale’s suspension, stating that they were being read due to community interest and Freedom of Information Act requests by media sources.
Hightower’s explanation included the stated numbers of 24 documented policy violations and seven safety violations. A specific item mentioned by Hightower included allegations of a September 8th incident that involved driving a non-airport vehicle on an airport runway, with a non-Airport Authority person on board, at a high rate of speed and after drinking alcohol. There were various public speakers who were positive and negative towards Gale; and some spoke with us during Executive Session.
Pilot Jeff Williams believes Alex Gale was hit by a bunch of allegations without proof, and that the board is at fault for their actions.
One public comment speaker, citing himself as a longtime veteran of the Vermilion Regional Airport, Bill Iver, stated while speaking that those who think they know Alex Gale need to, quote, “revisit that.” When asked what he meant afterwards, he simply stated that the media needs to be like Paul Harvey and find “the Rest of the Story.”
Plane and balloon pilot Larry Owen felt that regardless of any mistakes by Gale, the Airport Authority Board’s way of handling it, and bringing in an outsider as interim director, was not good.
After Executive Session the board officially accepted Gale’s and Majors’ resignations. It was also mentioned during the meeting that Interim Director Hightower has been earning $2,800 per day since he was installed October 1st, with the work including the investigations involving Gale. Now that the resignation has occurred, the Board stated that Hightower will now be earning $1,200 per day. The Board also stated that no taxpayer money is being used to pay Hightower’s salary during his time as interim director. The Airport Authority consists of Steve Foster, Craig Davidson, Chairman Jonathan Myers, Gardner Peck, and Joe Vincent.
Rod Hightower, middle, takes notes at the special Vermilion Regional Airport Authority board of commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
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DANVILLE, Illinois (WCIA) — Shake up at the Vermilion Regional Airport Tuesday afternoon, both the manager and maintenance manager quit their jobs during a special board meeting.
Alex Gale, the now-former airport manager, was suspended about two weeks ago.
On Tuesday during the afternoon meeting, the airport’s board laid out the accusations against her.
She’s accused of 24 policy violations, including conduct standards with discipline violations, safety failures, ethical decisions, bullying, harassment and drinking while driving on an airport runway.
Dozens were fired up at the meeting, all with a wide variety of opinions.
Some supported Gale, others supported the board. Pilots said the future feels unclear.
The interim manager, Rod Hightower is filling Gale’s position. He read her accusations at the beginning of the meeting.
Hightower said on September 8, 2022, she was driving a non-airport vehicle with a non-airport authority employee on board at a high speed on a runway, after consuming alcohol.
But now, after 21 months in the position, she’s out.
“Please accept this as my formal resignation,” Gale said during the public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting.
“You have proven time and time again that I’m not a human being. I’m just an object that you can chew up and spit out and kick when I’m down,” she said to the board.
Board members said there was witness testimony backing up the violations.
“Ms. Gale has failed to meet acceptable standards of airport operation and management and leadership,” Hightower said.
Gale’s mother was vocal during the meeting, upset with the board. Laughing during comments and yelling “shame on you” at times when members were talking.
Hightower is a friend of someone on the board, he’s temporarily taking her place. He’s not from the area, leaving some people concerned.
“He’s not given the best impression when he’s talked to people,” Larry Owen, a hot air balloon pilot, said.
Jake Magers, the airport’s former maintenance manager, also quit at the meeting.
“I want employee protection, I want safety in a workplace against retaliation, aggressive behavior intimidation, sexual harassment,” Magers said.
He said he trusted Gale, but Hightower disrespected him this past week.
Jeff Williams, a pilot, said he flies in and out of the airport often. He also supports Gale.
“She’s been a really good manager for us,” he said. “She’s always been very good to work with, she’s incredibly knowledgeable.”
But others are standing by the board.
“As a pilot, I can’t condone drinking alcohol and driving a vehicle on a runway. I can’t do it, it’s not funny,” Kevin Davis, a pilot, said.
Hightower will fill the position for now, they did not mention a timeline to fill Gale’s role.