ROME, N.Y. — Michael (Chad) Lawrence has been named aviation commissioner of the Oneida County Griffiss International Airport.
Lawrence’s appointment was announced by Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. on Monday. Commissioner of aviation is the top management position at the county-owned airport.
Lawrence has been deputy commissioner since 2013.
“Chad has a lifetime of experience at Griffiss International Airport,” Picente
said in a news release. “He has been at the forefront of its transformation from its original designation as the county airport to its recent development as the premiere UAS [unmanned aerial systems] testing site in the country. Chad has the right skill set to continue the development we have seen at Griffiss International Airport and to keep it running as a key economic engine of this community.”
Lawrence has worked for Oneida County since 1995, when he was serving as maintenance supervisor at the former county airport in Oriskany. He became the superintendent of the airport, now located at Griffiss International Airport, in 2006. He was appointed deputy commissioner in 2013.
“I have seen first-hand what Griffiss has become and I believe in County Executive Picente’s vision of where Griffiss can go from here,” Lawrence said in the release. “This community, which has been my home for my entire life, has one of the most unique economic assets in the entire country at Griffiss and I’m honored to have this opportunity.”
Lawrence replaces Russell Stark, who resigned in late December to take a similar position in his wife’s hometown of Stockton, California. He had been commissioner for four years.
Griffiss, once an Air Force base, serves the region as a business park and general aviation airport and is the anchor for the unmanned aerial systems corridor. Supporters expect the corridor will allow Central New York to be a leader in unmanned aerial system research and development.
Contact McChesney at writer@cnybj.com
Photo credit: Oneida County