Yesterday was a day to remember! Bob Konstand, Rick McQueen and I spent the day in Washington D.C. visiting elected officials who serve our airport extremely well. Along with  dozens of quailty bonding moments, we had a delightful breakfast meeting with our DC counsel, visited four congressmen, one congresswoman, and one senator. We didn’t have an agenda per se, instead we wanted to share the CAK success story with them and to thank them for their many efforts on our behalf.

We were thrilled that our visits began at Congressman Steve LaTourette’s office. He personally spent 20 minutes with us discussing issues of great importance to the airport and the community; like our runway extension and security upgrades. Congressman John Boccieri met us on the Capitol steps between votes, which was totally cool. Then, Congressman Tim Ryan sat with our team for roughly a half an hour brainstorming ways to advance aviation at all the airports in the region. Along with these three representatives, Congresswoman Betty Sutton’s and Congressman Zack Space’s senior transportation staff spent a generous amount of time with us as well.

None of this would have been possible though, without the nonstop flight from Akron-Canton Airport to Washington Reagan National Airport. About 13 months ago, US Airways won a competitive slot award from the US Department of Transportation to commence the service. We are so grateful that US Airways selected CAK for this slot competition. It wasn’t easy, but with the help from the businesses, travelers, and community leaders in our region, we prevailed and the service started last January. Now, our elected officials, businesses and community leadership can pack in a full day of meetings in our nation’s capital without having to stay the night. It is a blessing. Thanks US Airways!