Certainly the Boy Scouts of America took many things into consideration when selecting a site for the organization’s new high-adventure base.

When they chose more than 10,000 acres in the Mount Hope-Glen Jean area, it stands to reason they must have considered the fact that Raleigh County has one of the best airports in the state.

Not only is the Raleigh County Memorial Airport closer than any other airport to the soon-to-be National Scouting Center, it’s the easiest to access. Once the Z-Way project is complete, access from the airport to the new Boy Scout center will be direct and quick, a 20-minute drive.

Those of us who live here may not have noticed, but the Raleigh County Airport has for years been proactive in preparing for just such an event — or anything else with the potential to boost the area’s economy. Airport Manager Tom Cochran saw that runways were resurfaced, and he built up the weight-bearing capacity on those runways to accommodate larger aircraft.

Right now, the airport is in the midst of an $800,000 paving project in its corporate aviation area. Next month, the airport will begin another $800,000 improvement in lighting and navigational aids on its primary runway.

And there’s room to grow. Runways could be extended, and additional aircraft parking won’t be difficult to accommodate.

Our airport is a central part of this positive economic development picture involving the Boy Scouts, and much of that has to do with the fact that the airport has historically been proactive. Its management worked toward improving infrastructure long before there was any urgent call to do so. Why? Because the Raleigh County Memorial Airport always looks for opportunity.

Now it has another opportunity: to show even more visitors that southern West Virginia really is a great place.

Raleigh County has another opportunity as well, and we must seize it. This is all the more reason to complete the Z-Way project as soon as possible. We know thousands of Boy Scouts will come. Now let’s make it easier for others to get here, too.

-Register Herald