NORTH­WEST FLORI­DA BEACH­ES INTER­NA­TION­AL AIR­PORT to wel­come NEW BOARD MEM­BERS

Brad Drake and Ben Lee to begin ser­vice in July on the Pana­ma City-Bay Coun­ty Air­port and Indus­tri­al Dis­trict Board

PANA­MA CITY, Fla. (July 10, 2026) – The Pana­ma City-Bay Coun­ty Air­port and Indus­tri­al Dis­trict will wel­come two new mem­bers to its Board of Direc­tors at the Board’s July 22 meet­ing. Brad Drake, rep­re­sent­ing Wal­ton Coun­ty, and Ben Lee, rep­re­sent­ing Pana­ma City, will begin their ser­vice, bring­ing valu­able lead­er­ship expe­ri­ence and region­al exper­tise to sup­port the con­tin­ued growth and long-term strate­gic vision of North­west Flori­da Beach­es Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (ECP).

As the Air­port con­tin­ues to advance key ini­tia­tives that enhance the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence and dri­ve eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment across North­west Flori­da, Drake and Lee will help pro­vide strate­gic over­sight and guid­ance as mem­bers of the Board. 

Drake cur­rent­ly serves as Chair of the Wal­ton Coun­ty Board of Coun­ty Com­mis­sion­ers, rep­re­sent­ing Dis­trict 3. A long­time pub­lic ser­vant, he pre­vi­ous­ly served in the Flori­da House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives from 2008 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2022, and has held lead­er­ship roles at the state lev­el, includ­ing serv­ing as Direc­tor of Rur­al and Com­mu­ni­ty Affairs.

Lee cur­rent­ly serves as the Senior Vice Pres­i­dent and Mar­ket Pres­i­dent for Han­cock Whit­ney Bank’s Bay-Des­tin Mar­ket, lead­ing strate­gic growth and client devel­op­ment efforts across North­west Flori­da. He pre­vi­ous­ly served as Exec­u­tive Direc­tor for the Office of the State Attor­ney, over­see­ing oper­a­tions across six Flori­da coun­ties, and has held lead­er­ship roles with region­al orga­ni­za­tions includ­ing Tri­umph Gulf Coast and the Bay Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Alliance.

“We are pleased to wel­come Brad Drake and Ben Lee to the Board,” said Air­port Board Chair Mark Shel­don. ​“Their lead­er­ship expe­ri­ence and deep under­stand­ing of North­west Flori­da will be a valu­able asset as we con­tin­ue advanc­ing strate­gic ini­tia­tives that sup­port the Airport’s growth and region­al impact.” 

The Airport’s Board of Direc­tors pro­vides strate­gic over­sight and gov­er­nance, guid­ing key invest­ments, infra­struc­ture improve­ments, and ini­tia­tives that enhance the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence while sup­port­ing eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment across North­west Florida.

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About North­west Flori­da Beach­es Inter­na­tion­al Air­port

North­west Flori­da Beach­es Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (ECP) is locat­ed less than 30 min­utes from Pana­ma City Beach, Pana­ma City and the beach­es of South Wal­ton. Today, with ser­vice from Amer­i­can Air­lines, Delta Air Lines, South­west Air­lines, and Unit­ed Air­lines, ECP pro­vides dai­ly, non­stop flights to Atlanta (ATL), Austin (AUS) Bal­ti­more (BWI), Boston (BOS), Char­lotte (CLT), Chica­go (MDW/ORD), Colum­bus (CMH), Dal­las (DAL/DFW), Den­ver (DEN), Hous­ton (HOU/IAH), Kansas City (MCI), Nashville (BNA), New York City (LGA), St. Louis (STL), Wash­ing­ton DC (DCA), and one-stop to world­wide des­ti­na­tions. The first inter­na­tion­al air­port to be built in more than a decade, ECP pro­vides North­west Flori­da com­mu­ni­ties with first-class facil­i­ties and was strate­gi­cal­ly devel­oped for major eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties. ECP is the gate­way to vis­i­tors seek­ing North­west Florida’s famous beaches.