Four candidates are on the Fort Smith Regional Airport director short list to be interviewed by the Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission in early September. One of the candidates is already employed at the airport.
Former Director Michael Griffin resigned April 22. He had been director since 2017 and was with the airport for 18 years. Lindsay Conley, airport director of finance and administration, and Andrew Meyer, airport director of operations, were named by the commission as co-interim directors.
Fort Smith Regional Airport in May hired Atlantic Beach, Fla.-based ADK Consulting and Executive Search for $45,306 for their full-search services to fill the airport’s open director position.
According to Conley, the in-person interviews are set for Sept. 8. The salary range for the job is $149,000 to $196,000. Griffin’s base salary was $165,000 when he resigned. The airport has 16 employees, including the director position, and the annual operating budget is $3.121 million.
THE CANDIDATES
Following are the four finalists for the job, according to an email from Conley.
• Drake Beaton
Beaton is the acting deputy director-finance and administration, at the San Jose Mineta International Airport in San Jose, Calif. At San Jose, he manages 32 employees in the finance and administration division, and his responsibilities include ensuring financial stability and contracting for the properties and commercial development areas, according to his LinkedIn account.
His previous experience includes jobs at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the Sacramento International Airport. He has a master’s degree in business administration, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Colorado Technical University.
• Michael Clow
Clow is the governmental affairs and grants administration manager with the Delaware, N.J.-based Delaware River and Bay Authority. In the job, Clow manages governmental affairs and grants programs for the bi-state multi-model transportation authority, which operations include the Delaware Memorial Bridge, New Castle Airport, Cape May Airport, Millville Airport, the Delaware Airpark, the Civil Air Terminal at Dover Air Force Base, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, the Forts Ferry, and the Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Clow holds a master’s degree in business administration-aviation, from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and a bachelor’s degree in naval science from Iowa State University.
• Wade Davis
Davis was most recently executive director of the Montgomery, Ala., airport for the Montgomery Airport Authority. He was hired for the job in December 2021, and resigned in May 2025.
Davis’ previous work included director of airports for the Shreveport Regional Airport and the Shreveport Downtown Airport, and executive director of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority in New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from State University of New York, a master’s degree in business administration, and a master’s degree in engineering and global operations management from Clarkson University.
• Andrew Meyer
Meyer was hired in October 2024 as operations director of the Fort Smith Regional Airport where he directs day-to-day operations, which includes emergency response, building maintenance, and security.
His previous work includes operations positions with the Ontario International Airport Authority, and the San Bernardino International Airport Authority. Before moving to Fort Smith, Meyer was maintenance manager for Atlanta-based TBI Airport management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in aviation administration from California State University, and he is a private pilot.
‘TOTALLY DIFFERENT’ OPERATIONS
While the position isn’t the most widely known in the region, the director plays a key role in a regional effort to bring more airlines and routes to the airport and also is a key figure in helping the U.S. Air Force fully establish the foreign military pilot training center at the adjacent Ebbing Air National Guard Base.
During a June 11 meeting, Commissioner Bob Cooper said operations at the airport were “totally different” than 12 months ago because of the growing foreign military pilot training mission at Ebbing Air National Guard Base.
Ebbing was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland, and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.