Mayor Neal Florence unveiled a dedication plaque, which named the new terminal after local pilot Bob Jones. (Messenger photo/Matt Ledger)
The new airport terminal, whick took six months to complete, was made possible through a $500,000 grant from OneGeorgia, awarded in 2011.
It replaces an aging facility that had become inadequate and developed structural problems in recent years.
The terminal was made possible through a $500,000 grant from OneGeorgia, awarded in 2011.
Mayor Neal Florence recognized several people who were actively involved in the process. He recognized Carolyn Wilson Seritt, an FAA engineering technician who designed the terminal and sought the grant money to make the project possible.
He announced the terminal would be named for Bob Jones, a retired local physician and pilot, who first flew into LaFayette in 1958. Jones, 83, was born and grew up in LaFayette and even taught English and science at LaFayette High School in 1949.
As a local doctor (1958-75), he delivered more than 2,000 babies and retired as CEO of Hutcheson Medical Center in 2000.
Jones is a licensed commercial pilot who learned to fly in 1946, as a 16-year-old while attending McCallie School in Chattanooga. He also spent 28 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he was qualified to fly 20 different types of aircraft. His predominant military role was as flight surgeon.
Jones served as the chairman of the Barwick-LaFayette Airport committee in the late 1990s.
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