Airport expansion news?

[zuluwarrior0760]

I will be the first to say the current terminal is a UNIVERSE away from what it replaced, but something needs to be done to keep on top of the small stuff to keep this new jewel from looking run down in months...

1. I was in one of the restrooms next to baggage claim
and noticed that the toilet had seperated from the wall and it was clear that mold had collected in the gap....not the look of a NEW airport.

2. Whoever picked all the general light fixtures needs to be the one to get a lift and put a vacuum snoot in them to get all the bugs out.....every one of them has a nice collection of dead bugs...and these are inside the airport, not out....

3. Walls are scuffed everywhere it seems

4. Not a maintenance issue, but the people mover looks very low end, just like before the remodel. Plasma screens and a little higher end wall treatments with nice advertising would have provided a more high end appearance.....

Overall, I'm very pleased with the look, but with some tiny detailing, they could have something knocked out of the park....the two airports in my opinion that get the small stuff right are Bethlehem, PA and Norfolk, VA....those airports are absolutely spotless......
and both have remodels over a decade old.....

[OUman]

^^Email the airport directly with these observations. They'll definitely jump on this stuff especially as the terminal expansion/renovation has just been completed.

[brianinok]

Did anyone else see this past week that Monday, Nov 20th is Karen Carney's last day? She is moving to a similar position in the private sector.

NewsOK.com | Powered by The Oklahoman and NEWS 9

[Pete]

I wish her well and feel the airport will only benefit from this change.

[Pete]

Don't know if you guys saw this, but the airport authority hired a new PR person.

The WRWA website is now being updated with news releases on a regular basis but parts of that site are still woefully out of date, particularly the airport guide which still shows the terminal under construction and doesn't have the all the current gates, ticket counters, baggage claims, etc.

I just send an email to Jennifer congratulating her on the appointment and thanking her for the timely news updates. Also mentioned the airport guide, so hopely that will be changed sometime soon.

*******************

3/16/2007
Department of Airports Names New PR, Marketing Manager
WILL ROGERS WORLD AIRPORT (March 16, 2007) – Jennifer James McCollum, APR, is the new Public Information and Marketing Manager for the City of Oklahoma City Department of Airports. McCollum previously served the City of Oklahoma City Utilities in the same role.

McCollum will be responsible for developing and managing a variety of programs for Will Rogers World Airport and two general aviation airports, Wiley Post and C.E. Page. Her responsibilities include researching, planning and conducting strategic public relations and marketing campaigns; recruiting passenger and air cargo service; airport volunteer programs; managing the airport’s Web site and serving as spokesperson for the Department.

McCollum began her career as a print journalist, and over the last 17 years, has held key public relations positions in local, state and federal government including serving in the Office of Public Affairs at Tinker Air Force Base during the Gulf War and Base Realignment and Closure. She spent five years as Director of Public Relations for the State Arts Council of Oklahoma.

McCollum graduated in 1989 from Southern Nazarene University with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and speech communication, and has completed 24 hours of graduate work in English and literature from OU and UCO. She has won several awards throughout her career including commendations from the Air Force Materiel Command and U.S. Department of Energy, a $5,000 marketing award from Ford Motor Company, and in 2003, the 40 Under 40 award from OKC Business. She recently received a writing award from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists. A longtime member of PRSA, in 2006, she earned her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

McCollum lives in Oklahoma City and is married to Robert McCollum. They have two children, Juliette, 9 and Sullivan, 19 months.

[Pete]

Here's Jennifer's prompt and enthusiastic response to my email:


Thanks for writing.

I completely agree about the guide and the photos. The Web site needs a great deal of work. My challenge is working with the current design and trying to navigate through construction that is not very user-friendly (for me, anyway). I've had several discussions with Mark about the Web site, and we have several changes in the works, but they are very costly and are going to take time. I am going on maternity leave in about eight weeks, and so we've decided to hold off on major changes until I return. Having said that, the vendor is currently updating the Airport Guide. I thought he had already completed all that, but I'll follow up with him. Some of the changes you can expect in the future are a photo of the week feature, which will change every seven days (on the home page); an airport blog that Mark and I will primarily author (we'll have some guest bloggers on occasion); and a photo gallery, so we can showcase the new terminal. Also, I'd like to do away with the scrolling divs. They are annoying to me. I wish all of this was already completed. I think the Web site is so critical to public information and marketing efforts, and should be regarded as a weekly publication, if not daily.

Anyway, thank you for writing and for sharing your concerns -- and thanks for noticing the changes to the site. I hate it that I am so limited in what I can do right now, but it will get better - hopefully by mid-fall.

When I find out about the airport guide updates, I'll email you again.

Thanks, again.
Sincerely, jen

[Patrick]

Sounds like Jennifer is the right person for the job.

[Pete]

Yep.

And to be fair, it seems Mark Kranenburg is doing a good job thus far.

We've added several non-stop flights and I know he's done a lot to bring other types of revenue into the airport authority.

[jbrown84]

I agree, Malibu.