During July 2014, Rotary Club of LaPorte had two outstanding speakers in particular.
Airport Dinner
At the annual Airport Dinner at the LaPorte Municipal Airport on July 21, Chris Snyder, an engineering consultant for the airport, shared interesting information on the new directions and development ahead for general aviation. There are 3,355 public-use airports in the country, with 69 of them in Indiana. LaPorte County is fortunate to have two thriving municipal airports, while some of the state’s 92 counties have none. Future pilot and aviation training is important as there is expected growth in the area of general aviation over the coming years. Airport administrators looking to the future are using “aerotropolis,” the concept of land use planning around airports. The LaPorte Municipal Airport Board is one such body using this type of planning and has some exciting development on the horizon. The FAA Nextgen is a program that provides modernization of air traffic in and around airports. This will improve communication not only ground to air, but also air to air. There is some exciting development in the design and production of new general-aviation aircraft, including the new Honda family-oriented jet, a turbine aircraft requiring only one pilot. New aviation fuels are being designed to drive down the cost. Snyder also talked about the terrific job done by Indiana airports in handling the tremendous influx of air traffic for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Air traffic operations jumped by 85% for that one-day event.
City attorney’s speech
At the last July meeting, LaPorte City Attorney Becca Meyer McCuaig detailed her role, with interesting insight into what all her job encompasses. She also talked about some of the projects ahead for the city, how the legal department works with the Code Enforcement Department in resolving property issues in LaPorte, new state laws and their impact on the city, and some history on her background coming from the prosecutor’s office in Marion County.
Rotary meets each Monday at noon at Best Western Hotel. All guests are welcome! Besides welcoming interesting speakers at each meeting, Rotary is involved in some exciting local and international service projects. “Service Above Self” is the motto of Rotary International.
For more information, visit rotaryoflaporte.org.