Airport Authority sees old faces in new places

The HMCAA board of directors held a relatively short meeting August 12. (File Photo/Nick Sellers)

By Nick Sellers | Staff Reporter

HUNTSVILLE – Among other regular updates such as changes in passenger traffic, rail cargo traffic and air cargo landing weights, the monthly meeting of the Huntsville-Madison County Airport Authority on August 12 saw longtime Port Authority employee Barbie Peek in a new role.

Peek, an employee since 1989, was most recently marketing director for Port Huntsville. Her position was created along with her being hired for it, officially titled Director of Business Development.

“We are excited about this new direction and look forward to working with our strategic partners to further our mission of providing quality multi-modal transportation services to the region and to stimulate the economic development of the Tennessee Valley region,” HMCAA Executive Director Rick Tucker stated in a press release.

In her address to the HMCAA Board of Directors, Peek described the recent trip to the Farnborough International Airshow as productive. Peek, Tucker, board chairman Carl Gessler and Brooks Kracke, director of the Jetplex Industrial Park, made up the four-person team that traveled to the United Kingdom for the event.

Peek said around 30 meetings were held with representatives from businesses at the airshow. Peek’s new role wasn’t formally announced at the time, but she said she performed a variety of roles on behalf of the airport.

“Personally, it’s a great time to grow,” Peek said of her new position.

For July, passenger traffic increased 7.1 percent from the same month last year. Rail cargo traffic, on the other hand, decreased 15.4 percent last month as compared to July 2013.

Updates about ongoing projects continue to be vague, with an unnamed aerospace company meeting with airport officials last week to discuss a business venture at the airport.