NATA Recognizes Outstanding Leadership in Airport Relationships
The Airport Executive Partnership Award recognizes an airport manager for his or her outstanding efforts to foster relationships between aviation businesses and airport operators. Recipients of the award must illustrate leadership in the “partnership” between airport operators and airport tenants. NATA is extremely pleased to recognize the airport manager who has devoted his or her career to developing a positive relationship between the airport and its tenants.
2025 Winner | Cynthia Guidry, Airport Director of Long Beach Airport
When you are situated in a city of 451,000 and in a county nearing 10 million, it may not be intuitive to use the word community to describe your surroundings. Yet that’s exactly the word that Cynthia Guidry uses.
As Director of Long Beach Airport (LGB), Guidry knows that an airport with heavy general aviation traffic thrives and is appreciated only when it’s a true part of the local fabric.
“We’re absolutely part of this community, whether it’s residents, pilots, or the many successful businesses at the airport,” she explained. “We’re neighbors and our job is to listen and bring everyone together. Even though this airport and its businesses bring a lot of economic value and jobs to the region, there are still concerns that we need to listen and respond to. We listen to residents, and we listen to the pilot community here. While we can never make everyone happy all of the time, sincerely listening is important.”
For her leadership and stewardship of the airport, especially in challenging times, Guidry has been bestowed NATA’s 2025 Airport Executive Partnership Award. The honor recognizes “an airport manager for outstanding efforts to nurture the relationships between aviation businesses and airport operators.”
Current Recipient
2025 – Cynthia Guidry, Airport Director, Long Beach Airport
Past Recipients
2024 – Rick Crider, Airport Director, Prescott Regional Airport
2023 – Mike Fronapfel, CEO and Executive Director, Centennial Airport
2021/2022 – John Black, Executive Directory, Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority
2019 – Diane Crews, President and CEO, Orlando Sanford International Airport
2018 – Flora Margheritis, C.M., Airport Manager, Van Nuys Airport
2017 – Juan E. Rivera, Airport Director, Manassas Regional Airport
2016 – William T. Hutto, Jr., A.A.E., PhD, Airport Director, Auburn University Regional Airport
2015 – Mark R. Davidson, A.A.E., Airport Director, Airport Commission of Forsyth County – Smith Reynolds Airport
2014 – Jess Romo, Airport Manager, Van Nuys Airport and LA/Ontario International
2013 – William (Bill) Welstead, Airport System Director, City of Fort Worth
2012 – Christopher U. Browne, Vice President and Airport Manager, Washington Dulles International Airport
2011 – Dave Edwards, President and CEO, Greenville-Spartanburg Airport
2010 – John Bales, Airport Director, Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Missouri
2009 – Eric J. Frankl, Executive Director, Blue Grass Airport
2008 – Gary Schmidt, Director of Reliever Airports, Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission
2007 – Ray Bishop, Airport Director, Jackson Hole Airport
2006 – Robert L. McDaniel, Airport Director, St. Louis Downtown Airport
2005 – Clara Bennett, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
2004 – Edward B. Cooley, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority
2003 – Frederick Krum, Director of Aviation, Akron-Canton Regional Airport
2002 – Robert Olisagers, Executive Director, Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority
2001 – William Barkhauer, Airport Director, Morristown Municipal Airport, Morristown, NJ
2000 – Richard R. Baird, Airport Manager, Friedman Memorial Airport
1999 – Michael Barth, Airport Manager, Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio
1998 – Brent Shiner, A.A.E., Airport Manager, City of Hayward, CA
1997 – Kevin T. McNamara, Director of General Aviation, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
1996 – Steven G. Whitney, President, Friends of Meigs Field
1995 – Harold “Hall” Wight, A.A.E., Manager of Airports, Contra Costa (CA) County Airport
1994 – Loretta Scott, Airport Manager, Tyler Pounds Field