Airport is an outstanding community asset

We attend the Sisters Airport 4th of July Fly-In, no matter what. This community event started six years ago to celebrate the airport makeover, including the re-paved runway, new hangars, offices, and aviation fuel. The festivities start at 7 a.m. with pancakes, the buzz of planes arriving, and the rumble of classic cars for the hot-rod show. The Sisters Fly-In is just one of the many ways Benny and Julie Benson contribute to our community.

When the Bensons became the owners of Sisters Eagle Airport, the facilities were in a sad state of disrepair. The Oregon Department of Aviation had designated the airport runway as "failed." There was no business base, and no jobs at the site. Under the new ownership of the Bensons, revitalization of the dilapidated airport began immediately. Every time we drove by the airport, we noticed projects underway, from painting the fence to digging up the house-sized boulder that created the hump in the runway.

The Bensons dedicated their airport as a community asset, and received two ConnectOregon grants, which provided 45 percent of the project costs to resurface the runway, and helipads for emergency and fire services. The Bensons paid the remainder. While most airports are owned by a public agency and receive funds for the operation and maintenance, the Sisters Airport is entirely financed by the Bensons, but still operates as a community asset for the public.

The annexation of the airport into the City of Sisters was facilitated by the Bensons, supported by an unprecedented voter approval of 87 percent, seven public hearings, and unanimous city council approval. The 34-acre airport property now provides Sisters with additional tax revenue, along with recreational uses, including a fly-in campground and the community garden. These improvements drive tourism, recreation and business to Sisters.

The Bensons proved the airport met the criteria to be included on the Oregon Department of Aviation (ODA) list of Airports of Significance, including a public hearing which demonstrated overwhelming support of the community and Flight Science students. Now listed, the Sisters Airport is recognized and protected for current and future aviation uses.

Julie Benson helped start the Flight Science program at Sisters High School (SHS), and then founded Outlaw Aviation with the purchase of a Cessna 172. Julie also facilitated the donation of the FAA-certified simulator from COCC, which is available for students to use after school. The Bensons plan to host a new Career Technology Education class at the airport starting next fall for SHS students to build an airplane.

The Bensons' business, ENERGYneering Solutions, Inc, (ESI), employs more than 50 living-wage employees, providing services for over $10 million in renewable energy projects. ESI also designed and built the new biomass boiler at SHS in 2011. As a traded-sector business, ESI brings revenue from distant projects back into the Sisters economy. ESI received the Sisters Pioneering Spirit Award in 2013, Business of the Year Award in 2014, and the Oregon Business award "Best 100 Companies to Work for in Oregon" in 2015. Their projects are making a difference and are actually changing the world. ESI's combined projects offset the carbon footprint equivalent to two million cars per year!

More than a half-million dollars in infrastructure and street improvements is directly tied to the jobs being created by ESI. Funding is partially from grants, the remainder was covered by the Bensons.

Their community contributions reach beyond the airport. They donated HEPA filters for all three Sisters schools when unsafe levels of smoke from fires filled the schools, and they serve as advisors for the SHS engineering academy, Aspire mentors, and Pursue Your Passion programs.

The Bensons' goal is to provide an airport which is a true community asset. We congratulate Benny and Julie for contributing tirelessly to the Sisters community.

We hope you join us to celebrate the 4th of July!