Trending
WILLIAMSTOWN - An Air Force veteran from Jackson County is the new manager of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport.
Sam Dennis, who has been the manager of the Jackson County Airport near Ravenswood for the last three years, was selected last week by the Wood County Airport Authority. His first day on the job is Monday.
"Aviation's in my blood," said Dennis, noting his father, Buddy Dennis, managed the Jackson County Airport for 33 years.
Sam Dennis is a graduate of Ravenswood High School who left the area while he served in the U.S. Air Force for 10 years. He worked in transportation logistics, he said, moving cargo around the world.
The Jackson County Airport is a general aviation facility without a commercial airline. A lot of progress was made there over the last three years, Dennis said, and he hopes to see it continue.
"I look at airport management as a career," he said of the decision to apply for the job at the Mid-Ohio Valley airport. "This was a step in my career that ... doesn't come around very often."
Wood County Airport Authority President Andy Daniel said Dennis was selected out of 23 applicants.
"He's got airport management experience," Daniel said. "He's from West Virginia, grew up in West Virginia, lives in West Virginia."
Dennis has served as secretary of the West Virginia Airport Managers Association, so he knows a lot of people in the state's aviation industry, Daniel said.
Dennis was hired after Ben Auville announced his resignation in August, citing family obligations. He had served in the position since December 2022.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.