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LANETT — The Lanett City Council on Monday recognized a 17-year-old Lanett resident on the initiative he’s shown to get into aviation at an early age. Jaquerious “Jay” Barnes is participating in the Atlanta-based Aviation Career Enrichment (ACE) program, which is designed to uplift and support minorities in the field of aviation.

This program requires a cross-country flight. Jay took a route back to his hometown and a landing at the Lanett Regional Airport.

“Approaching Lanett from the air was a thrilling experience,” he said. “Seeing familiar landmarks from above filled me with a sense of pride. It felt surreal to connect my flight training with my roots. I could envision myself inspiring other young people from Lanett to consider aviation as a viable path.”

Pilots who are African-American are relatively rare. In fact, less than four percent of airline pilots in the U.S. are Black. It’s even rarer to have Black youths with flying experience.

Monday’s council meeting opened with the reading of a mayor’s proclamation commending Jay for taking a challenging career path early in life. “It is the hope of the mayor and council that God uses Jay’s life experiences to inspire others from various backgrounds, showing them that despite obstacles, their dreams are within reach,” the proclamation reads. “Be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the City of Lanett that we salute this young man, knowing that he is creating a pathway for others hoping that this will inspire others to pursue their dreams in aviation.”

The mayor and council, along with a large crowd gathered inside the council chamber at city hall, gave Jay a standing ovation.

“I just want to thank everyone, especially my family, for the support they have given me in this,” Jay said. “I hope that my doing this will motivate more people of different backgrounds to get involved in the field of aviation.”

The room was packed with lots of Jay’s friends and family. They were among the loudest to applaud what the young man has done at an early age.

The exercise he did required him to make a solo flight from Atlanta to Lanett Regional, to land and then make the flight back to Atlanta.

“It makes my heart feel good to see a young African-American man fly to Lanett from Atlanta and then make the flight back,” said Council Member Angelia Thomas. “I know Jay’s family. They are good people, and their support of him has been exceptional. What Jay has done shows that there are things other than sports our youth can excel at. I am so proud of him, and I know his family is.”

“I want to thank for Jay for the courage and persistence he has shown in doing this,” Council Member Tony Malone said.

“Jay is a former student of mine,” said Council Member Tamalita Autry. “I’m so proud of you, Jay.”

Things look to be moving along at the airport. Mayor Jaime Heard said that the new airport manager, Craig Stapleton, had sold his house in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico and will be on the job in Lanett in January. He’s a retired Navy pilot and has done much flying in New Mexico. His wife is originally from Lanett.

Jordan Russell, a civil engineer/project manager for Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, gave an update on what’s been going on at Lanett Regional. “It’s been busy out there,” he said. “We still have some construction that’s been going on. It should be completed very soon.”

Recent work has been taking place to lengthen the taxiway, which is a paved path connecting the runway to other areas such as a terminal, hangars and parking areas.

A major step will be taken when a jet fuel tank is added. Russell said that could be done by next year. Progress has also been made on having a new access road to the terminal. It would extend from the airport area to Phillips Road to the traffic signal leading to the WestRock plant. Before this project can commence, there must be a full environmental clearance. Russell said that could be taking place within the next few weeks. 

“We have started a preliminary design for the road,” he said.”There’s a lot going on out there. There’s a very active fight school taking place, and there’s a lot of interest in using this airport as a backup to the airport in Auburn.”

Russell added that the airport is to the point where a full-time manager is needed to direct the day-to-day activities that are taking place.