2Airport Authority

FRANK J. VALA

CHAIR

Mr. Frank Vala was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board of Commissioners by Sangamon County Chairman Andy Van Meter on September 11, 2002.

Mr. Vala is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and has served on numerous boards. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Springfield Urban League, and the YMCA. Mr. Vala served as Chairman of the State of Illinois Procurement Policy Board under Governor Rauner and Governor Pritzker. Mr. Vala founded Community Care Systems in 1980 and Valco Awards & More, Inc., in 1982.

DIANNE HARDWICK

VICE CHAIR

Dianne Hardwick was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board in 2013.

MIKE HOUSTON

COMMISSIONER

 J. Michael Houston was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority by Mayor James Langfelder in July 2015 and is the Chair of the Finance Committee.

His career includes extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. He was elected mayor of Springfield in 1979 and reelected in 1983. In 2011 he was elected for a third time. The 24 years between terms was spent in the banking industry. He retired from J.P. Morgan Chase as a Senior Vice-President and the Town & Country Bank as its Chairman, President, & CEO. Upon his retirement from Town & Country Bank he was named Chairman Emeritus. His career includes more than 25 years in CEO positions. Long active in civic affairs, he has provided leadership in Springfield in each of the last 5 decades. He served 16 years on the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University including 4 years as its Chair. He is a past president of the Illinois Municipal League, Springfield Jaycees, and Downtown Springfield, Inc. He was Chair of the Board of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce in both 1999 and 2009, the only person in the Chamber’s 150 year history to serve as Chair twice. Among his current activities, he serves on the boards of St. John’s Hospital where he also served as Chair of the Board for 4 years and the Abraham Lincoln Council of the Boy Scouts of America for 40+ years. He graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a major in Business Administration and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a M.B.A.

DR. SUSAN SHEA

COMMISSIONER

Dr. Susan Shea was re-appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board (SAA) by Mayor James Langfelder in February 2018. She previously served on the SAA Board from 1993 – 2005, as Finance Commissioner and Chair; she resigned when she became the first female Director of Aeronautics for the Illinois Department of Transportation, a position she held from June 2005 through December 2014. Dr. Shea is also a former educator with extensive experience in administration and personnel. Previous positions include K-8 teacher, school administrator, Manager of Program and Professional Development for the Illinois State Board of Education, adjunct professor and guest lecturer for the University of Illinois at Springfield, and the Education Policy and Agency Relations Director for the Illinois Education Association. Dr. Shea received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Western Illinois University and her Doctorate in Administration from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

ELIZABETH DELHEIMER

COMMISSIONER

Elizabeth Delheimer was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board in September of 2018

TERESA HALEY

COMMISSIONER

Teresa Haley was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board in June 2021.

MARK C. KINNAMAN

TREASURER

Mark Kinnaman was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board in August of 2006. He is a Springfield native having attended both Lincoln Land Community College and Sangamon State. 

He was appointed to serve on the Selective Service board in March 2005, after serving as an ad-hoc member of several boards under the Governor and Secretary of State. He has an extensive background in project development, sales and marketing, management and training, as well as a strong background in computer skills.

R. BEVERLY PETERS

SECRETARY

R. Beverly Peters was appointed to the Springfield Airport Authority Board in April 2008. Mrs. Peters is President of Peters Consulting and Management Group, Inc. and Vice President of HAP III, Inc., a management and strategic planning firm. Peters holds a Bachelor Degree from LeMoyne Owen College, Memphis, TN, Masters Degree from SIU-Carbondale, and is currently a doctoral student.

Mrs. Peters worked for over thirty five years for the State of Illinois. From 1991 until 2004, she worked at the Illinois Department of Transportation as a legislative liaison, Bureau Chief of Small Business Enterprises, and Deputy Director of Finance and Administration.

Mrs. Peters is President of the Springfield-Decatur Area Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a 2006 graduate of the Springfield FBI Citizen’s Academy, serves on the Executive Board of the NAACP, and is a member of the Frontiers International Springfield Club.

Mrs. Peters is a past recipient of the YWCA “Women of Excellence” award and the recipient of the “2009 Studs Terkel Humanities Service” award. Mrs. Peters holds the distinction of being named Chairperson of Springfield Mayor Timothy Davlin’s 1908 Race Riot Commemoration Commission.

Mrs. Peters is married to Rev. Howard A. Peters III. They have two adult sons.