Airport manager retires

After running Minden-Tahoe Airport for 13 years, airport Manager Jim Braswell is retiring Feb. 22, but he won't be going far.

"It's time," he said. "But I won't be out of the business. I'm just retiring to a new challenge."

He will be working as an independent airport consultant from his Gardnerville home, except for those times when he and wife Terry take the RV to warmer climates. In making his decision, he questioned whether it would make a difference, working at his present position or outside as a consultant.

"I decided it wouldn't," he said.

Braswell, 60, talked about his accomplishments, including the $14 million in grants he acquired during his tenure. Together with other county officials, he acquired land, T-hangar and tie-down leases.

The job did get done and the debt for the hangars was paid off last year, Braswell said.

In the late '90s, Braswell brought a proposal to build 24 hangars. They were leased in 40 days, he said.

"We now have 78 hangars and they generate over $300,000 a year," he said.

Braswell will leave an administrative hole that could slow progress on the master plan and ordinance issues. Assistant County Manager Michael Brown will replace Braswell temporarily, but county officials won't advertise for a permanent replacement for 60 days after he leaves and it will be longer before the position is filled.

Once the job is posted, people from all over the country will submit applications, Braswell said.

He could continue working with airport officials on current issues, including a proposal to bring the U.S. Air Games to Minden and annual events like Wings of Change, Braswell said.

"I will try to finish the (airport) master plan as much as possible before I go," he said. "And if the county wants me to help with anything else, I'd be glad to."

Originally from Norfolk, Va., Braswell was born to a Navy family.

He spent four years in the Air Force, as a crew chief on both the F-4 and F-105 Thunderchief fighters during the Vietnam war. He was stationed in Germany for 21Ú2 years and based at Whellis Air Force Base in Lybia when the 1967-68 war broke out in the Mideast.

He received a bachelor's degree in business from New Mexico State University and his masters from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, Calif.

He is a certified airport executive and this is his fourth job with local government over a 30-year career, he said.

Braswell has been married to wife Terry and together they have two children. Son, Robert is an engineering student and daughter Elizabeth is a nursing student, both at the University of Nevada, Reno.

• Susie Vasquez can be reached at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.