Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2024

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DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR SMALL-HUB AIRPORTS

Left: Well-respected in Lubbock, Campbell has also wowed the broader airport industry, not least due to her involvement in and commitment to the American Association of Airport Executives.

for more from her career. “I had been deputy director of finance and administration for, I don’t know, five or eight years, and I was talking to our director and said in a candid and vulnerable moment, ‘I’m a little bit bored and unmotivated.’ And so, he volunteered us to host the chapter conference,” she says. “It was a great experience and it opened a lot of doors for me to get to know the folks in the chapter better.” Campbell credits the connections she made in SCC with propelling her career forward. “I’ve had some great mentors and some great friends who strongly encouraged me to get my accredited airport executive certification. And it was career changing for me because I had kind of been siloed in a finance and admin role, and getting accredited forced me to learn more about an entire airport operation. And it really opened doors for me that I don’t think I would’ve been prepared to handle without it. I credit that program and AAAE a lot ,and that encouragement from people to seek that accreditation.” It was her mentors and friends at AAAE who also encouraged Campbell to pursue leadership roles within SCC and AAAE. She has served as SCC president, an at-large member of the board of directors with AAAE, and, most notably, she was Chair of AAAE for the 2020-2021 term at the height of the pandemic. Campbell currently serves on the Policy Review Council for AAAE. “It’s just such an honor; it’s really humbling to have that opportunity,” Campbell notes. Mark Haberer, director of aviation for Parkhill , which provides engineering services to LBB, recalls a conversation he had with Campbell shortly after she first got involved with SCC. “She was a bit hesitant at the time, as if the move might push her a bit out of her comfort zone. The next thing I knew, she was all in and it was just a short time until she became involved in chapter leadership and then ultimately national leadership,” he says.

The airport was looking to bring in concessions that would entice passengers to increase their dwell time. SSP America won the bid, with their plans to revamp the terminal’s bar and restaurant, food court and gift shop offering proprietary concepts reflective of Lubbock’s culture and featuring local brands. Construction began in February and is anticipated to finish this coming spring. “The new bar area actually opens this week, and we’re really excited,” Campbell says. “SSP has gone above and beyond what was required and have improved another area of the terminal building we had offered through that procurement process, which was not part of their original proposal. It’s a second bar area that’s been very well received. It looks great. We’re really proud and excited about that partnership.” Making Her Mark On The Industry In addition to her dedication to LBB, Campbell supports the aviation industry at large in myriad ways. She is active with both the national organization the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and the South Central Chapter (SCC) of AAAE, and also serves on theboard of directors for the Texas Commercial Airports Associatio n. She first got involved with AAAE some years back, at a time when she was looking

Response to the new and improved LBB has been overwhelmingly positive. “From city council and airport board members to when we’re out visiting with the Experimental Aircraft Association or general aviation groups, or the Rotary Club or Lions Club, or whoever we encounter, it’s been incredible. And I’ll admit that it never gets old,” Campbell says. Concessions Overhaul Campbell adds that following the completion of the remodel, bringing in new concessions was a top priority. “We need the food and beverage to reflect the rest of the building.” Despite Campbell’s long tenure with the airport, she had never solicited a new food and beverage contract so she was excited to proceed. “We tried to put something out there that was going to meet the needs and the expectations of the community, and also be lucrative to these concessionaires because we are a smaller market, and it’s not necessarily an easy market,” she explains. “One of the beautiful things about a small hub airport that you often hear, ‘oh, it’s so easy to get through.’ But that also means that people know exactly how long it takes them to get to the airport, park the car, get through screening and get on board a plane.”

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025