Despite a two-year hiatus from competition, Bangor International Airport Airfield Maintenance Assistant Supervisor James Scripture was once again victorious at the annual Snow Plow Rodeo recently held in Buffalo, New York.
This year’s competition brought in more than 25 drivers from around the world. The timed course is designed to challenge the competitors’ skills while including obstacles that are encountered during snow plowing events at airports. Scripture first participated in this skills challenge in 2017 when he placed second. In 2018 and 2019 he came home with first-place recognition for his skilled driving, but pandemic conditions prevented the competition from taking place in 2020 and 2021.
Scripture, who has been working at the airport for nearly 20 years, is the BGR Snow Boss for night operations during the winter season.
The driving competition was part of the 54th Annual NEC/AAAE International Aviation Snow Symposium, presented by the Northeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives. This is the largest gathering of its kind focused exclusively on airfield snow removal and winter airport operations.
“We go there and talk to people from other airports- everybody has different equipment, different techniques, different ideas, and we do a lot of communicating to gather and trade experiences with each other and learn new ways to handle things by talking to the people who live it,” said Scripture. “The people who go to this symposium are really the only people who know what we do and what we go through.”
BGR’s snow crew was also awarded an honorable mention as a Small Commercial Airport for the Balchen/Post Award which is given annually for excellence in the performance of airport snow and ice control. These awards are presented to the personnel of the airport who have throughout this past winter demonstrated determination for excellence in their efforts to keep their airports open and safe. BGR has been participating in this symposium for decades, with awards dating back to 1984.
“We are proud of James’ third year as champion in the Snow Rodeo. There is a lot that goes into maintaining one of the longest runways on the East Coast, and our team always gives it their all,” said Bangor International Airport Director Tony Caruso. “This was one of the toughest winters in BGR’s history, however, our snow crew’s experience, hard work, and diligence allowed us to keep our runway open. Around the clock, all year long, our runways remain safe and clear for aviators from around the globe thanks to the work of our team.”
