![\"Board](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-AIRPORT-0828-01.jpg\")
Board member Chris Belles confers with fellow board members during the board meeting in the conference room at the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. Thursday, August 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\nPITTSTON TWP. \u2014 The bicounty board overseeing the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport unanimously voted Thursday to hire Kim \u201cBill\u201d Hopper as the airport\u2019s next executive director.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an accomplished aviation executive with more than 40 years of airport leadership experience,\u201d said Luzerne County Councilman Chris Belles, chairman of the bicounty airport board.<\/p>\n
Hopper served as executive director of the Pitt-Greenville Airport Authority in Greenville, North Carolina from February 2019 through June 2026, according to LinkedIn.<\/p>\n
Board member Chris Belles confers with fellow board members during the board meeting in the conference room at the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. Thursday, August 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
Hopper starts Nov. 1 as executive director of the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport and has agreed to serve at least for five years, Belles said.\u00a0 Hopper\u2019s contract and salary are still under negotiation and will be approved at next month\u2019s airport meeting, officials said.<\/p>\n
Lackawanna and Luzerne counties share ownership of the airport in Pittston Twp. and Avoca. Stephen Mykulyn has been serving as the interim executive director of the airport since March.<\/p>\n
Hopper will succeed Carl Beardsley Jr., who was director from January 2015 until late 2025 when he went on sabbatical leave for a non-disciplinary reason. The sabbatical became a permanent leave.<\/p>\n
Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak chaired the airport board before confirming he was a finalist for the job as airport executive director. Chermak, a Republican, was temporarily replaced on the airport board by attorney Chris Munley on July 15.<\/p>\n
Hopper and Chermak are the only finalists for the job to be identified and did not attend Thursday\u2019s board meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very excited to be joining the team at Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton international airport and the communities of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties,\u201d Hopper said in a statement released by the board. \u201cI look forward to working with staff and board to do our part in growing the economic development of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Lackawanna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-AIRPORT-0828-03.jpg\")
Lackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby speaks during a board meeting held in the conference room at the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. Thursday, August 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
In March, the board hired ADK Consulting and Executive Search to facilitate the process of finding a new executive director. The annual salary range advertised was $135,000 to $150,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased to support this appointment, and I want to welcome Mr. Hopper to Northeastern Pennsylvania,\u201d Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan said at Thursday\u2019s meeting. \u201cThroughout this entire process, I have consistently said that a national search should result in one thing: the most qualified person for the job. After reviewing the candidates and participating in the interview process, I believe that Mr. Hopper clearly meets that standard. He brings decades of aviation experience, more than 20 years of executive airport leadership, a degree in aviation management, extensive knowledge with FAA regulations, a strong record in financial management, capital development, air service, and importantly, community engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaughan said he was \u201cvery impressed by his approach to leadership,\u201d noting Hopper understands \u201cthat an executive director works with the board, keeps the board informed, listens to employees, engages the community and develops a long-term strategy for the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chermak released a statement Thursday in a text message.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased that the search for a new Executive Director has concluded and that the Board has selected a qualified individual. I am confident he will continue to move our airport forward and accomplish great things,\u201d Chermak said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-AIRPORT-0828-02.jpg\")
A board meeting is held in the conference room at the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. Thursday, August 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
Chermak thanked ADK Consulting and airport board members for considering him for the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am personally honored and proud to have been selected as one of the three finalists through that nationwide process,\u201d Chermak said. \u201cUnfortunately, along the way, I read some unkind and dismissive comments regarding my candidacy in the media. While those comments were disappointing, being selected as one of three finalists following an independent nationwide search speaks for itself regarding my credentials, experience, and qualifications. I am proud of the way I conducted myself throughout this process, grateful for the tremendous support I received from throughout our community, and appreciative of the opportunity to have been considered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lackawanna County\u2019s three representatives on the airport board are Gaughan, Munley and County Commissioner Chairman Thom Welby.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst I\u2019d like to I\u2019d like to thank all of the people who applied for this position, and we got some incredibly qualified people that stepped up to fill this role if so chosen,\u201d Welby said, adding \u201cwe\u2019re all 100% behind Mr. Hopper as the new director for the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luzerne County\u2019s three representatives on the airport board are Belles, County Manager Romilda Crocamo and Councilwoman Lee Ann McDermott.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased that the process was fair, and the two counties worked together as we should,\u201d Crocamo said, noting the board members are \u201ccommitted to make sure that the services at this airport continue to be stellar.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDermott thanked the applicants interviewed by the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were all very qualified, making the decision was difficult,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cBut again, we all feel that this is the best choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
On April 22, Hopper announced\u00a0 he was retiring as executive director of the Pitt-Greenville Airport effective June 30, according to a LinkedIn post.<\/p>\n
\u201cBill brings extensive experience in airport operations, finance, capital development, air service development and board governance,\u201d Belles said. \u201cHe is also a United States Marine Corps veteran who served as an air traffic controller. Just as importantly, Bill is known for a collaborative and visible leadership style with a strong commitment to community engagement, employee development, fiscal responsibility and strategic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
From 2016 to 2019, Hopper worked as director of aviation at Elmira Corning Regional Airport in Horseheads, New York. From 1994 to 2016, Hopper worked in New Hampshire as the airport manager for the Pease Development Authority, where he directed a multi-airport system that included Portsmouth International Airport at Pease and Skyhaven Airport, a general aviation airport.<\/p>\n
Hopper began his aviation career in 1982 as an air traffic controller with the U.S. Marine Corps at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSTON TWP. \u2014 The bicounty board overseeing the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport unanimously voted Thursday to hire Kim \u201cBill\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,803,139,28,4487,178,180,179,181,2155],"class_list":["post-273548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pittston-township","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}