A photo at Naples Airport shows its flooded airfield during Hurricane Ian. The storm’s 150-mph winds caused extreme flooding and damage in the community of Naples and at Naples Airport, one of Hanson’s valued clients in southwest Florida.
Tying for the fifth-strongest hurricane on record to strike the U.S., Hurricane Ian delivered destructive winds, rain and storm surges to the state’s western coast when it made landfall in Lee County, Florida, on Sept. 28, 2022. According to The Washington Post, President Joe Biden called the hurricane’s effects the “worst in the nation’s history,” with at least 157 deaths and damage estimated at more than $112 billion in the areas it affected.
Ian’s 150-mph winds caused extreme flooding and damage in the community of Naples and at Naples Airport, one of Hanson’s valued clients in southwest Florida. Several of Hanson’s staff assisted the airport with an assessment of hurricane damage and reporting, as well as obtaining replacement lighting materials.
On Nov. 17, 2022, Rick Ruppert, vice chair of the Naples Airport Authority Board of Commissioners, honored numerous individuals and organizations, including the Airports Council International-North America; Allen Enterprises; the American Association of Airport Executives; the city of Naples Fire Department; Collier County, Florida; Entech; Experience Aviation; the Lee County Port Authority; Martin County Airport in Stuart, Florida; Orlando International Airport; Quality Enterprises; Robinson Aviation; the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport; the Southeast Airport Disaster Operations Group; and Hanson, specifically Project Manager Mike Harris and Aviation Civil Engineer Chris Reynolds, P.E., both of Hanson’s Sarasota, Florida, office, with Proclamations for Hurricane Ian Appreciation.
“We thank the Naples Airport Authority for this recognition,” Mike Harris said. “We have always appreciated the opportunity to work with the outstanding staff at Naples and are honored to have been able to stand by them and assist during this challenging time.”
Mike also credited Hanson Construction Observation Discipline Manager Tom Coughenour, of the Sarasota office, for assisting with field assessment efforts and Electrical Engineer Kevin Lightfoot, P.E., of the Springfield, Illinois, office, with providing input for evaluation and recommendations for airfield lighting that had been inundated by the storm surge.
“We will always be grateful for their tremendous support and valuable contributions during this time,” Ruppert wrote in his letter to the recipients.