Airport Facility Named for Key Official
By Jane Roberts, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
May 22–If Daniel Austin, 8, thought the gushes of water pluming over Memphis International Airport were a powerful display, he couldn’t see what everyone else saw.
Daniel Ward — school principal over the years to thousands and superintendent to tens of thousands — gently draped his arm around his grandson Wednesday as the fire trucks roared to action and jets touched down less than 100 yards away.
The noise, in part, was a tribute to Ward, the longest-serving commissioner on the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority and, as of Wednesday, the namesake for the $11 million aircraft rescue firefighting facility dedicated in his honor.
“The Daniel Ward you know is a teacher, principal and district superintendent,” authority chairman Arnold Perl told the crowd of airport officials, firefighters in dress blues and members of Ward’s family.
“The Dan Ward you may not know,” he said, served on the airport’s ground transportation committee back in the 1970s and insisted that the authority talk to the taxi drivers first in a dispute over how local taxi companies routed and charged airport customers.
What Perl learned, he said, “is that you don’t just talk to management; you talk to everybody and value everyone’s contribution.
“It’s no accident that Dan Ward’s style of collaboration became a central part of the airport’s governing philosophy.”
In 1969, Mayor Henry Loeb appointed Ward — an Air Force-trained pilot — to the airport authority’s first board of commissioners.
When Ward left the board in 1999, his 30 years of service set a record for longevity that still stands.
“Dan’s wisdom, experience and knowledge of aviation gained as an Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard pilot made him a highly respected adviser and leader for the airport’s safety and security operations,” said Larry Cox, longtime president and chief executive of the airport authority.
One of Ward’s largest contributions was helping the airport develop the diversity programs that have made it a national model for hiring and creating business opportunities for women and minorities.
“During his service, Memphis International Airport became the nation’s hassle-free passenger hub and No. 1 air cargo airport in the world,” Cox said.
Ward, who has twice left retirement to fill in as interim superintendent at Memphis City Schools, told the crowd, “If the airport named a stump after me, it would be more than I deserved.”
After expressing his appreciation, he introduced his family, one by one, and then praised airport staff and management for creating the environment that makes it possible for the world’s largest cargo airport to run smoothly.
“You can’t buy this kind of service,” he told the crowd. “The kind of quality you have in this airport you won’t find anyplace else in the world.”
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