Airport manager receives surprise at board meeting

Published 4:00 am Thursday, September 17, 2026

Just as the hot air balloons have floated away for another year, members of the Boone County Regional Airport held their monthly meeting also looking to the skies. The meeting even included a special surprise.

As the concrete was being poured for the new terminal outside, inside the board members met in regular session. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Blaise Koch. Koch then brought forth the minutes from the previous meeting, which were approved. Next came the financial report, which was also approved.

Judy McCutcheon gave the manager’s report, reporting on how many flights in and out both FedEx and Southern had made through HRO.

Following the manager’s report, the board was briefed on progress with the new terminal. Things are progressing. Along with the patio, concrete was also currently being poured for a new ramp. Many pictures were shown of the progress, including a mock wall and of the ceiling, which will “start to steal the show” upon completion. There was a problem with galvanization of the beams which it was feared would take up to six weeks, but instead took 3-4 weeks to fix.

Following updates on the progress, the text and rendering for a new plaque was shown to the board. The size was a question; it was originally said to be the “size of a piece of paper,” but Koch suggested the plaque should be “proportional” to the size of the wall.

Following corrections to some of the grammar of the plaque. Mayor Jerry Jackson approached with a surprise for airport manager McCutcheon. Jackson presented McCutcheon with a special recognition. The recognition was for “outstanding service to Harrison, Arkansas,” presented to McCutcheon for her 35 years of service as airport manager. According to Vice Chairman Layne Ragsdale, the honor was “Jerry’s idea” to do something special for McCutcheon.

With the surprise of the honor setting in, and no new business to hear, the meeting was adjourned.