Dan Shearer is the new manager of the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — Last week, Dan Shearer, started work as the new manager of the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport.
The Airport Commission appointed Shearer, who was previously the manager of the Pittsfield Municipal Airport, in July.
“We’re very excited about having Dan here,” said William Gonet, the chair of the city’s Airport Commission.
The commission searched nationwide to find a replacement for Chris Willenborg, who resigned as airport manager in April after five years to take a similar at Hanscom Air Force Base.
Gonet said six candidates were chosen and after interviews, two were chosen for a final interview, which was conducted last week before Shearer was chosen.
He said Shearer will bring several positive qualities to the city’s airport.
“He’s a very energetic person and has a lot of enthusiasm,” Gonet said.
Shearer, he said, is already familiar with state politics and working with the state’s Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division.
“He’s done a great job at Pittsfield,” Gonet said, adding that Shearer is from Western Massachusetts.
Shearer managed the Pittsfield Municipal Airport for over five years but has extensive experience in airport operations.
Before Pittsfield, Shearer served for five years as Cape Air’s director of emergency response, hazardous materials officer, starting in February 2015 as the carrier’s manager of safety management systems in Hyannis, according to his LinkedIn profile.
As the manager, he was responsible for coordinating the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Cape Air’s Safety Management System, according to his profile.
Before Cape Air, Shearer spent nearly five years working with SeaPort Airlines, starting in 2011 in Alaska as acting director of flight control before moving to Portland, Oregon, to become the carrier’s director of safety, according to his profile.
Shearer is also the emergency management director for Plainfield, which is where he grew up.
“I spent 10 years to find the right opportunity to come back,” Shearer said referring to stops in Alaska and Oregon.
Calling Pittsfield Municipal a “steppingstone,” he said it allowed him the opportunity to learn and create contacts with the Federal Aviation Administration, MassDOT, local and state agencies, and working with a municipality.
“I’m not coming in after working at a big airport,” he said.
Having visited Westfield-Barnes, he was pleasantly surprised at how busy it was.
“It’s a great airfield and there’s a lot going on. It’s constantly busy,” he said referring to the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard base there, Gulfstream Aerospace and the general hustle and bustle of an airport.
He also noticed the number of aerospace engineering firms surrounding the airport.
And he’s admired the terminal at the airport since it was opened 2007.
“It’s an amazing building,” he said.
Shearer graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a bachelor’s degree in safety science. He also earned a master’s degree in safety, security, and emergency management from Eastern Kentucky University.
Gonet pointed out the Shearer is the secretary of the Massachusetts Airport Management Association Inc., which is a nonprofit organization that advocates for safety, community relations, and innovation in the state.
Jeff Lovejoy has been serving as the interim manager since Willenborg departed. Gonet said Lovejoy will resume his position as the airport’s director of operations.
