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With Zachary Colescott moving on to another job after being the Winchester Municipal/Regional Airport manager for 13 years, the Airport Authority is making the moves to fill the vacant position.

Chairman Carey Wofford said Friday that the Airport Authority has received about 30 applications for the position thus far with plans to narrow the field to three candidates for the final interview process, expected to take place in about three weeks.

He added that Vice-Chairman Jeff Smith and fellow Authority members Cile Alexander and Chuck Chamberlain will be involved in the decision-making process.

Wofford said he’s not worried about filling the position because he’s been through it a half dozen times during the past 23 years he’s been on the Airport Authority.

However, he added that it’s been a while since an airport manager has been selected because Colescott, who is taking over as the director of the Cleveland Regional Jetport in Cleveland, Tennessee, has been such a solid, dependable employee who stayed on the job for an extended time.

Wofford said Colescott, who was hired from a similar job in Colorado, has done an excellent job at Winchester.

“I really had the feeling when we hired him that he would be an excellent manager, and I was right,” Wofford said about Colescott. “He made my job easy.”

Wofford said he’s happy for Colescott moving up the employment ladder and wishes him the best in his new venture which will be at the newest airport in Tennessee. The Cleveland facility was constructed in 2013.

Colescott said in a Facebook post that he appreciates the opportunity he had in Winchester to hone his skills, allowing him to advance in his career.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to have been the airport manager in Winchester for the past 13 years,” he said. “I’ve met so many great people and been offered so many outstanding opportunities that my life truly will never be the same again.

“As I have always maintained though, the only real constant in this universe is change, and as I depart the City of Winchester, I can only hope and wish for the best for (not only) the Airport, but also for the community. The stage has been set for my successor to accomplish great things.”