Coffee, donuts and a sprayer plane drew curious individuals to the Vermilion Airport for Bradley Airspray’s Coffee on the Ramp.
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The June 10 event served a dual purpose: to familiarize people with Bradley Airspray and to raise awareness of the airport.
“I wanted to bring awareness to the Vermilion Airport,” said one of Bradley Airspray’s owners Garth George. “I think it’s good to have airports in the community.
“We brought our planes here today and invited (people) for coffee and some donuts, have a visit and let the community come see us.”
He explained that the Vermilion Airport was one of many airports the business operates out of, including Elk Point, Maidstone, Provost, Lloydminster and Wainwright.
“This is one of the other airports we operate out of,” said George, who owns the business with his wife, Cortney. “Once we get outside the 25 nautical miles of distance from one of our stations, we tend to move to another airport.”
Vermilion Airport on June 20. Christian Apostolovski – Meridian Source
Town of Vermilion Mayor Robert Snow was thrilled to see the event, getting a tour of the plane before explaining the importance of having the airport in the community.
“It’s very important. It encompasses our vision with the airport,” he said. “The airport’s a vital part of not just our community, but the region.
“Having this airport means we can have businesses like Bradley Airspray, which supports not only our town, but our farmers.”
Vermilion is also looking at investments in improving the airport, including addressing the cracking pavement.
“We’re investing in upkeep (of) the runway and looking at future planning on resurfacing the runway,” said Snow.
“With the Province of Alberta, we’ve looked at the STIP funding. We’re hoping that the province partners with us, nonetheless, we’ve started a strategy in our budgeting to put reserves away to resurface it.”
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