DICKINSON - Matt Remynse hopped out of a pickup onto the tarmac where a diesel-powered de-icing machine was parked. He was about to walk back to his office when he spotted something on the ground. It was small, white...a cigarette butt?
No, just a piece of wood. Phew.
"That probably wouldn't have been the best place to be smoking, next to a gallon of diesel fuel," he said.
Remynse, though, doesn't stop at cigarette butts.
"If I see a rock, I'll stop and pick it up," he said. "If a rock is out on the runway or the ramp, it could get sucked into an engine."
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It's this type of close attention to detail that helped Remynse score so well on a recent review of his performance as manager of the Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport.
Remynse, of course, does more than watch the runway for debris. He's in charge of the airport's daily operations, as well as planning for the long term. Among other duties, he coordinates construction projects, schedules staff and creates and maintains the airport's budget, Remynse said.
Remynse, 24, was hired in August 2006 straight out of an internship at the airport.
"Matt's been doing great, actually a little surprising," said Tom Reichert, chairman of the Dickinson Airport Authority Commission. "He had zero experience, just his educational background to go on. And I think he's done great."
Remynse met or exceeded the airport commission's expectations in nearly all categories, a copy of his review showed.
"Our meeting expectations are really very high expectations," said Jon Frantsvog, vice chairman of the commission.
Each member of the airport commission completed an evaluation of Remynse, and a subcommittee consisting of Frantsvog and Charles Krug, the commission's secretary and treasurer, compiled those evaluations into one document.
The first half of the review assessed Remynse's skills as a manager. He scored well in all categories, with his highest mark coming from his day-to-day management of the airport.
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The second half appraised Remynse's success in achieving goals he and the commission had set for 2007. Remynse scored highest for his work planning the construction of a new terminal for general aviation airplanes and for his efforts in ensuring he and his staff are certified in Aircraft Rescue Firefighting.
Remynse did not meet expectations, however, when it came to the goal of establishing a lasting link between the airport and the town of Medora. This item carried little weight in the review and was seen as a low priority by the commission, Frantsvog said.
"That was one that I put on the back burner," Remynse said. "That is one I'm really going to look at this year and see how we're going to develop a relationship with Medora."
On the whole, the airport commission is happy with the job Remynse is doing, Frantsvog said.
"We're very pleased that we selected Matt as our manager," Frantsvog said.
Frantsvog said the next step is for Remynse and the commission to make a list of goals for 2008.
Reichert said the big three are shaping up to be securing a fourth flight, completing the construction of the general aviation terminal and developing a better working relationship with the airport's fixed-based operator, which provides fuel and service to planes.
