Dave Haring was named CEO of Spokane Airports in August and began his new role in October.

Now entering his 25th year in the aviation industry, Haring started his career at Cheyenne Regional Airport, in Wyoming, where he became director of aviation.

Most recently, Haring spent 11 years at Lincoln Airport, in Nebraska, where he served as executive director.

In his new role, Haring oversees Spokane International Airport, Felts Field, and the Airport Business Park.

He succeeds former CEO Larry Krauter, who led Spokane Airports for 14 years.

How did you end up pursuing a career in aviation?

Fun fact about me is I'm actually a one-time college dropout. When I left high school, I was on scholarship for accounting and finance, and like probably a lot of kids, I was not mature enough to be in college at the time, and elected to leave college and take a few years off.

When I decided to go back, and was ready to go back, I really wanted to do something that I had a passion for. And there were two things: It was either going to be music education — I was a band geek all the way through high school — or aviation. I decided that there were more opportunities in aviation.

I was originally from Ohio. We were living in Columbus, and the earliest memory that I have is the beacon from the Columbus airport shining and flashing in my window every night. I think that curiosity of what that was is really what started the love of aviation, and I've adored it ever since.

Why Spokane? What made you decide to take the CEO position here?

In all honesty, it was something that I saw but did not originally consider. And I think that was really due to guardrails. (Cheyenne Regional Airport and Lincoln Airport) are both nonhub primary airports, so much smaller airports than Spokane.

So when the job posting came out, I kind of saw it and then discounted it. It really wasn't in my wheelhouse, and it really wasn't where I foresaw my future residing. But I have some very close colleagues in the industry, and it circled back with someone asking me if I had interest with it.

I love career coaching and mentoring, and have done that for a lot of individuals. And one of the things that I say is the only way that we grow as individuals in either personal or professional endeavors is to push beyond the comfort zone that we establish for ourselves.

When you see an airport such as Spokane — and just for comparison's sake, Lincoln has about 260,000 total passengers a year, Spokane has about 4 1/2 million — I had to push by that comfort zone and just believe that the direction of an airport really transcends the size.

What are your initial impressions of Spokane Airports and of the region itself?

There is a lot of change that is occurring, and has occurred, at this airport. When you look at the (Terminal Renovation and Expansion) program, air service, staffing, the business park, Spotted Road, there's just so many things happening at this airport right now.

The team here had a reputation for their professionalism and their capabilities before I ever arrived. That has nothing to do with me, and that has truly played out in what I've seen since I've gotten here.

You also asked about just the perspective of the area as a whole. The first thing that jumps out at you, clearly, is the scenery. I'm not from the Inland Northwest, you know, growing up in Ohio and Nebraska and I guess Pennsylvania has some unique aspects to it. But the scenery out here is like nothing I've ever seen before.

How would you describe the experience of stepping into this new role in the middle of such a large project like the TREX program?

That project itself is going to have immense impacts on not only the consumer experience but the airport's fiscal portfolio for years to come.

The biggest challenge that I've had in this process is really just getting caught up on all of the history. This was not a project that was came up with six months ago, and it's just now moving forward. This was probably a decade in the making, as far as the infancy of thoughts, if not longer.

Getting caught up on all of the different touch points and thought points and what led into this, as well as trying to absorb not only the financial picture of how this particular project is going to run, but the entire financial picture of the airport, those have certainly been challenges.

But again, being blessed with a financial team that has been looking at this for years has made that transition so much easier. Between having that team and a supportive board, I haven't had to come in and try to pick up pieces, if you will. All I'm trying to do is absorb as much as I can, as fast as I can, so that I can become an asset to everybody else.

What are some of your hopes or goals in your new role at Spokane Airports?

I'm coming up on four months, and there's really been four primary goals that have emerged that are my focal points in the next, say, three to five years.

The first, no surprise, is really the team I mentioned. My passion for team dynamics, the team here at both (Spokane International Airport and Felts Field) are the strength of the airport.  I'm spending the first four to six months here fortifying those internal relationships. We have about 140 people here at the airport right now, and I am meeting with each of them one on one to give them the opportunity to get to know me as well as me getting the opportunity to learn about their strengths, capabilities, and what they want to achieve here.

The second goal is a strategic planning initiative. There are so many different facets happening at this airport, from commercial service to general aviation to the business park, now the new transload facility. We want to make sure that we are aligning all of the objectives that we have for those different facets in one sort of consolidated, driven goal where we're doing what's best for the airport and the community.

The third goal is the consumer experience.

With the effort that the airport has spent on the TREX program, and ensuring that we are putting infrastructure in place that creates a phenomenal gateway and outstanding experience while in the campus and providing opportunity for local influence and flair, we want to make sure that we are doing everything possible to really establish our airport as the gold standard for consumer experience in modernized airports.

The last goal is just a continuation of our efforts to fortify economic development here in the community. The airport represents about $3 billion annually in economic impact, and has a significant potential to grow beyond that. The transload facility, as an example, represents sort of a new dawn for development in the West Plains, where it's interlinking that railroad and air access. It's exciting to think of what that could do.

This article has been edited for length and clarity.