Tower manager Jessica Turner outlines safety, training and staffing as she prepares to move to a regional quality-and-safety role

Jessica Turner, the air traffic manager at the Athens contract tower, told the authority she has worked in air traffic control for roughly 22–23 years and has been at Athens for about 10 years. She said the tower was recently named facility of the year within her company and described why experience, training and standardized phraseology are central to safety at smaller contract towers.

"For those who I haven't met, Jessica Turner, I am the air traffic manager here at Athens," Turner said, and later summarized the facility’s training and automation practices: controllers have extensive initial and on‑the‑job training, the facility tracks operations with flight‑progress strips and automation provides low‑altitude warnings and alarms to highlight aircraft not aligned with the intended runway surface.

Turner described repeated drills and an annual joint emergency exercise with firefighting and hospital partners and said the facility participates in tabletop and full-building exercises on a recurring schedule. She emphasized checks such as rapid-stacking procedures, visual memory aids, and daily or weekly evaluations to keep controllers current.

Turner also said Abraham Ramirez will take over as manager; she said she plans to bring Ramirez to the next authority meeting so members can meet him and so the authority can continue a working relationship between operations and tower leadership. Turner offered to provide a write-up of post-game lessons and to return with photos and slides for members who want more detail on tower procedures.

Authority members asked what the authority could do to support continuing safety after Turner’s departure. Turner recommended continued engagement with operations staff, attending post‑event review meetings after busy days and staying informed about staffing needs during peak events such as football games.