Greenville Downtown Airport Director Joe Frasher was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest honor, at a ceremony Sept. 15 at the Greenville Convention Center.
The award was presented on behalf of Gov. Henry McMaster by Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in recognition of Frasher’s 39 years of service to the state as the airport’s director.
“We brag about the people of South Carolina and it is really the people of South Carolina that keep attracting business from all over the globe.” Evette said. “Here in South Carolina, we are a close-knit family, and in South Carolina we have an award we give. It is an award that can’t be bought. An award that you can’t schmooze your way into. You have to earn it.”
Frasher is a 1975 graduate of Greenville High School and studied airport management at Auburn University before obtaining his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1982. He became director of the Greenville Downtown Airport, known by its FAA designation GMU, in 1983 when that position was created and will serve in that role until his retirement September 30.
Among his contributions to GMU and the state as the airport’s director were the installation of an FAA contract tower, which played a significant role in the airport’s becoming the busiest general aviation airport in the state.
Frasher also oversaw the installation of the first Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) at a general aviation airport in the country, a system which has been credited with saving the lives of five people in 2006 when the brakes on their plane failed.
“It has been a wonderful 39 and a half years. I had the job of my dreams” Frasher said. “I enjoyed every minute of it and I am thankful for all the relationships that I have made with so many people because of this job”
