Port manager remembered

MOSES LAKE  — Albert Anderson missed seeing commercial air service restored to Grant County by just 17 days.

Anderson, the Port of Moses Lake’s former industrial development manager, died on May 17 from mesotheliomic cancer. He was 60.

Seventeen days later, on June 4, United Express’s first flight took off from the Grant County International Airport, bound for Seattle.

It was about two years since commercial air service stopped in Grant County.

Anderson was part of a group of community members who served on an air service committee to find a new local carrier.

“Albert was certainly an important link,” said Kim Foster, corporate counsel for the ASPI Group.

ASPI Group is the primary private land owner at the Grant County International Airport and has a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Moses Lake for marketing and economic development in that area, Foster said.

Having commercial air service was a critical factor in the business’s efforts for economic development, he explained.

“This would have been a victory for Albert,” Foster said.

While talking to many different carriers, he “was there every step of the way,” Foster commented.

Throughout his endeavors, Anderson had a demeanor about him. It didn’t matter is he was talking to the governor or a businessperson, Foster said.

He would get straight to the point, stay on the issue and never be intimidated, Foster recalled.

Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council, remembered Anderson as one his very good friends.

Like everyone else, Anderson was disappointed when commercial air service was lost and was aware a new carrier needed to be found, Brewer explained.

“He was dedicated to doing that,” Brewer commented.

He added he missed his knowledge and experience in so many matters.

“I miss him a lot,” Brewer said.

He hopes late Port of Moses Lake Commissioner Larry Peterson and Anderson were looking down on them Wednesday and saying “good job,” Brewer said.

Port of Moses Lake Project Manager David Bailey hired Anderson in 1994.

“Albert was always a proponent for aviation here at the airport,” Bailey said.

The restart of air service is “something he would really appreciate,” Bailey added.

Larry Godden, general manager of Million Air, said he thought Anderson would have been pleased to be part of the day.

He called Anderson “a driving force behind the success of the airport,” with his work on the air service committee and involvement with last year’s air festival.

“He was always a good team player,” Godden said. “He had a lot of vision and foresight.”