Community leaders, city officials and descendants of George Sumers gathered Thursday at KGWS Sumers Airpark in Glenwood Springs to celebrate the airport’s future with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The event marked just over a year since the nonprofit KGWS Sumers Airpark was formed and signed a 20-year lease with the city to manage the facility. Airport Manager Amy Helm said the transition has opened the door to growth and stability.

“We got $250,000 in grant money from CDOT Aeronautics, we’re working on a master plan update, and we’re talking about expanding west onto land that will revert back to the airport,” Helm said. “We’re looking at building new hangars, hopefully getting a flight school and maybe a small restaurant. It’s just awesome to finally have a future, a lot of potential, a great partnership with the city and forward momentum.”

A legacy honored

Jon Wesley Lafferty and Toby Lafferty, descendants of George Sumers, said the ceremony was a proud moment for their family.

“It puts a tear in my eyes. I’m just so incredibly proud,” said Jon Wesley Lafferty, Sumers’ great-grandson. “I think it’s like every pilot’s dream to have access to a really cool airport in the mountains, and then to be able to share it with the community too. It really is just an awesome community airport.”

Toby Lafferty, Sumers’ granddaughter, added that her grandfather always envisioned the airport as a resource for the whole community.

“He spent every summer out here and wanted to do things for the community. The airport was really for the community,” she said. “We used to come out into the yard when there weren’t a lot of planes, and everybody would run and wave when one came in. It was a big thing, something that we all loved.”

Supporting community projects

Beyond its history, the airport continues to play a role in major regional projects. Jon Wesley Lafferty, vice president of Alpine Cable and Construction based in Grand Junction, said helicopters have been staged at the airpark to move equipment for the Segundo and Primo chairlift replacement project at Sunlight Mountain Resort.

“To be the great-grandson of the fella who started this and now use the airport for a project like Sunlight’s new lifts, it makes me tear up,” Lafferty said. “I have a daughter now who would be the great-great-granddaughter of George Sumers, and she’s out here running around on the ramp. We’re keeping the legacy alive.”

The project will retire the Segundo lift, the oldest operating chairlift in Colorado before it closed last season, and replace it with a refurbished triple-chair from Arapahoe Basin. A new quad will take the place of the Primo lift, boosting capacity and modernizing the mountain’s infrastructure. While Sunlight has not disclosed the project cost, Director of Business Development Travis Baptiste said it is the largest investment in the company’s history.

Plans for growth

Airport board president Eric Strautman said the new long-term lease with the city has given the facility stability after years of uncertainty.

“For 15 or 20 years, they were doing everything they could to stifle the airport, and they wouldn’t allow any development at all,” Strautman said. “Now everyone at the city is helping us to be successful, and with the new airport layout plan we’re going to be able to build new hangars, new maintenance facilities, maybe a restaurant. This facility is owned by the city, and everyone’s welcome to come out here.”

Strautman also highlighted the airport’s role in emergency response. Just weeks ago, the airpark served as a fire base with five helicopters staged there during the Derby Fire in Eagle.

“I think it increased their efficiency by like 30% by having the helicopters staged here, versus Rifle,” he said. “We’re small enough that we don’t have the big jet traffic, so it’s safer for everybody and more efficient.”

City support

Glenwood Springs City Council member Erin Zalinski, who also serves on the airport board, said the airpark is a unique community asset.

“When you have an asset like this that is super unique, it’s hard to even know how many applications could possibly be there for future use,” Zalinski said. “Now having that future a little bit more secure so those things can be explored is super exciting.”

She said the potential for a flight school and other aviation-related businesses could diversify Glenwood Springs’ economy.

“Being really tourist focused is great, but what other industries can we possibly have? I think this presents a new potential regional influence,” Zalinski said.

Looking ahead

While board members decided to delay last year’s popular community fly-in until 2026 to focus on the airport’s layout plan, they said the event will return as an annual tradition. Helm added that youth outreach remains a priority, including career fair presentations and opportunities for children to explore aviation at their hometown airport.

“This is your airport,” Helm told attendees. “We’re the custodians of trying to improve it, but it belongs to the people of Glenwood Springs. And we’re excited about where it’s headed.”