Ocean Shores airport advisory committee sets Airport Appreciation Day for Aug. 23, outlines logistics and safety plan

The Ocean Shores Airport Advisory Committee voted to hold its 2025 Airport Appreciation Day on Saturday, Aug. 23, and kept a 10 a.m. start time for public setup and exhibits.

Committee members said the decision balances prior concerns about weather and visibility on the traditionally earlier date while keeping the event’s objective of attracting visitors from the beach and the region.

Committee members said the event will use lessons learned from last year to revise the layout, parking, exhibitors and advertising. Key decisions included keeping the start time at 10 a.m., consolidating displays in Bill Capron’s hangar to reduce wind damage to exhibits, moving food trucks closer to asphalt and emergency displays, adding directional median signs to guide visitors from town, and printing updated tri-fold brochures for distribution at local airports and public locations.

At the meeting, committee members reviewed a public-safety checklist for the event and agreed to distribute a safety plan at setup. The plan’s active hours are 09:00 to 16:30 and will include coordination with the Ocean Shores Fire Department and use of two-way radios, yellow safety vests and traffic cones. The committee agreed to ask Fire Department leadership "Chief Ritter" and "Chief Mandela" to confirm vest and radio support and to supply staff for the safety brief at 09:15 on the day of setup.

Exhibitor coordination and outreach assignments were distributed: contacts to be pursued include the Beach Boys Car Club and Ed Duncan’s car museum, local EAA affiliations and regional aviation groups such as the Washington Pilots Association and the Pacific Northwest "flights around the PNW" listing. The committee agreed Jerry Davis and other members will reach out to potential exhibitors, and Scott and others will post event details to regional pilot pages and local radio.

The committee discussed aviation activities: Toledo Skydiving was identified as weather-dependent and will be contacted in advance; the committee also decided to remove Young Eagle flights from the event due to insurance and liability concerns after a discussion of required liability limits and costs. Committee members discussed RC flyers and NOTAM language, agreeing to use a cautionary NOTAM (notice) rather than a full field closure and to keep radio monitoring active during flying activities.

Logistics decisions included reserving visitor parking outside the gate while parking staff and setup vehicles on the apron, and placing food trucks nearer to paved surfaces so attendees do not need to walk across rough ground. The committee also agreed to secure historical photo displays (potentially under plexiglass) and to add temporary directional signs that read variants of "Airport Appreciation Day — this way," in addition to the existing gate banner.

Assignments and pacing: Nicole (staff) will coordinate brochure printing (committee requested about 100 copies with 50 for the library), Jerry Davis will contact regional aviation groups and exhibitors, Scott will coordinate online listings and the Pacific Northwest pilot page, Bill Capron will check the red donation box on site and report back, and Sarah will continue to manage advertising, the NOTAM and exhibitor lists. The committee set its next meeting for June 19 at 11:30 a.m. to check progress on these action items.

Committee members did not reach a formal final arrangement on every exhibitor but recorded responsibilities and follow-up timelines; members emphasized early brochure printing and earlier outreach to regional pilot groups to increase fly-in interest.