Following the retirement of his predecessor, Eric Bowers took over as manager of the Jefferson City Memorial Airport about six months ago.
A Jefferson City native, Bowers had always had an interest in mechanics, and about 12 years ago, he would often bring his young daughter to the airport to watch the planes.
"This is the airport that I really found aviation at," Bowers said.
While working in a different field about 10 years ago, he decided he needed a change and turned to this interest.
At one point, Bowers started taking helicopter pilot lessons, with the thought of flying emergency medical helicopters. But before earning that license, he switched to learning to fly single-engine planes at the Jefferson City airport, where he eventually earned his pilot's license.
"I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do," Bowers said. "That kind of all came together, and I thought, 'I'm going to look at what I could do in the field of aviation.' I really like the airport part, not just the flying."
With that in mind, he earned an undergraduate degree in airport management and a master's degree in aeronautical management and operations management.
Bowers came to Jefferson City Memorial Airport in May after the retirement of former manager Ron Craft. Previously, he spent about three years running the Sedalia Regional Airport.
"This was a nice move up, and it was at home, at my favorite airport," he said.
Bowers said it's not so easy to explain what the job of airport manager entails.
"We always joke that we don't really have an answer to that question because it's hard to explain what we do," he said. "There's a bunch of little things we do."
Bowers oversees the day-to-day operations of the airport, making sure things go according to plan to keep the airport running. Responsibilities include facilities management, grant processes, land leases for buildings at the airport and emergency management.
He also has to keep an eye on weather conditions, like freezing weather that can shut down the airport. River levels and the possibility of flooding are another important element the airport has to monitor.
In spring 2019, a year before Bowers came on, the airport was hit by flooding that damaged buildings and runway lighting, culminating in the demolition of the airport terminal, which is currently being rebuilt.
"We avoid the word 'flood' at this airport," Bowers said. "We got flooded twice last year, and I'm still working on things from a flood that happened over a year ago. It takes time to recover."
Other difficulties of the job come from balancing funding needs, when the airport doesn't always have the money it needs to take on every project.
"You don't always get money as quick as you need it," Bowers said. "You have to make a lot of tough decisions on how to make sure you're keeping a safe, operational airport moving along."
Overall, he said he enjoys the job despite the challenges because of the variety it brings.
"Infrastructure and logistics are interesting to me, but for airports specifically, there's always something different going on," Bowers said. "Very rarely do you have the same day two days in a row. It keeps it interesting."