HOPE partnership to help bring 200 jobs to airport

A newly-formed partnership between HOPE Federal Credit Union and the City of Greenville has cemented plans to jumpstart the $11.673 million Hangar Improvement Project at the Greenville Mid-Delta Airport.

Mayor Errick Simmons last Wednesday announced Hope’s financing commitment of $6.421 million — another “key milestone” in the transformation of the Hangar Improvement Project  — which led to the Nov. 3, 2022 financial close of the deal.

Simmons was joined by airport director Sam Washington, HOPE Federal Credit Union CEO, William Bynum, HOPE’s vice president of community and economic development, Demetria “Dee” Jones, Greenville Kearns Aerospace Maintenance, Inc. (GKAM) CEO, Ronnie Kearns, Greenville City Council members Lois Hawkins and Lurann Thomas-Kingdom and Tommy Goodwin, executive director of South Delta Planning & Development District, where the announcement was made.

“This project wouldn’t have happened without the commitment, dedication, sacrifice and leadership of our council,” said Simmons.

In May of last year, the City entered into a 20-year lease agreement with GKAM for the use of Hangar 450 “to develop aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities and provide related services.”

The City’s press release stated, “Included in the Project scope is the improvement, construction, and/or installation of Hangar 450 to support future maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations at the Greenville Mid-Delta Airport to create jobs and workforce development opportunities for the Delta region.”

The mayor and city council in a September 2022 regular meeting approved the issuance of General Obligation Bonds of the City to finance the project.

According to the city’s press release, the bonds were privately placed with JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A, which financed $5.252 million of the Project, and HOPE Federal Credit Union, which funded the remaining $6.421 million. In addition to the two banks, the mayor acknowledged the following financial partners on the successful issuance: Butler Snow LLP, as bond counsel, and Raymond James & Associates, Inc., as placement agent.

“We’re going to bring some federal contracts in by and through Ronnie Kearns to produce on the onset about 200 jobs that will hopefully culminate to about 400 jobs,” Simmons highlighted. “The chief partner in this endeavor for workforce development is HOPE Federal Credit Union.”

He acknowledged how Bynum has been a “friend to the Delta” by and through the expansion of HOPE across the Southeast as well as how instrumental he was in Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Greenville.

“Without Greenville, there would be no HOPE Federal Credit Union,” said Bynum. “Since opening our first loan production office in Greenville in 1994, HOPE has made loans to thousands of businesses in the Delta and across the Deep South. Partnering with the City of Greenville to finance the Hangar Improvement Project is an exciting opportunity to put HOPE’s investment portfolio to work in alignment with our mission of creating jobs and strengthening economies in places with such great untapped potential.”

He credited Jones’ for the integral role she played in the Hangar Improvement Project pursuit.

“No one has done more with less than people in the Delta and we’ve seen so many times over the years that when you provide people with the tools and the opportunities, they can do things that anybody anywhere else can do,” Bynum added, noting HOPE’s good faith commitment to put its investments to work in a way that creates jobs, strengthens communities and improves lives.

Kearns recalled coming to Greenville four years ago, seeing the airport’s hangars, and thinking to himself, “That’s exactly what our company needs — to have hangars just like those.”

“In the beginning that’s what it was about — starting and growing our business and using the facilities — but what we’ve learned since then is there’s such a strong commitment in this community,” Kearns said further, highlighting the benefits and competitive pay his company offers and the potential opportunities for surrounding counties and communities. “We’ve made some great, long lasting friendships and are really excited.”

Goodwin, who has been at the helm of SDPDD for several years, capped off Kearn’s remarks with a few of his own.

“I’ve had a vision for a lot of years for bringing the Delta back. All my work for the last 50 years has been here in the Delta, but when I took the job, I said ‘we’re going to make a difference,’” he told attendees. “The airport is only second to Medgar Evers International for surface and we’re tied for second in runway length so we can land anything out here. It’s about the hangars and we have the opportunity to be tied with the largest in the U.S.”

Goodwin reiterated what airport director Sam Washington said regarding the GKAM partnership last year when it was only being considered.

“There are not a lot of places that can accommodate them to bring in the types of aircraft that need to be worked on. Greenville happens to be one of probably only two locations in this area that can do it and that’s why Mr. (Ronnie) Kearns is here because no one else has what we have to offer,” he said to the council during a May 2022 regular meeting. “This administration’s prioritization of the airport will permanently improve our economic competitiveness in aviation and aerospace in a way that our community has never seen before.”