Friday, May 16, 2025
Three graduating Smyrna-area high school students received a Captain Jeff Kuss USMC Memorial Scholarship worth $2,000 each, it was announced during the May 13 Smyrna Town Council meeting.
The scholarship recipients are Evers Frank from Central Magnet School, Dawson Binder from Stewarts Creek High and Briley Walker from Stewarts Creek High. Kuss is the Blue Angels aviator who died June 2, 2016, in a Blue Angels jet crash during practice for that year’s Great Tennessee Air Show.
Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed and Kuss Scholarship Committee members Kellye Goostree and Gary Winton presented the awards in ceremonies at the students’ school. Committee members Janet Kuss (mother of Captain Jeff Kuss) and Blue Angels tech representative Landy Harnishfeger spoke to the students on a remote video link.
The Kuss scholarships, as well as repair and upkeep of the Kuss Memorial, are funded by the annual Top Gun Night Run 6K. The 2025 night run is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 12.
Airport updates
Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority Executive Director Evan Lester’s report to the town council included an update about a seven-year relocation project that will move significant elements of the Tennessee Air National Guard and Tennessee Army National Guard to the Smyrna Airport from Nashville’s Berry Field.
The Smyrna airport is expected to become the base for more than 1,100 National Guardsmen. The economic impact of the relocation is expected to be more than $1.8 billion for Army and Air National Guard operations and more than $400 million in capital expenditures, Lester said.
The Smyrna Airport is the third-largest airport, by acreage, in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department Of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division recently assessed the Smyrna Airport and reported that the airport provides more than 1,500 jobs, with a payroll of more than $92 million.
The Smyrna Airport will host the Great Tennessee Air Show, featuring the Blue Angels Aerial Demonstration Team and many other aircraft on June 7-8.
The Smyrna Airport also hosts the Rotary Club of Smyrna’s Wings of Freedom Fish Fry on Saturday, Sept. 13 honoring the Tuskegee Airmen.
May 7, 2025
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