ECP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PARKER MCCLELLAN, EARNS PRESTIGIOUS FLORIDA 500 RECOGNITION

ECP EXEC­U­TIVE DIREC­TOR, PARK­ER MCCLEL­LAN, EARNS PRES­TI­GIOUS FLORI­DA 500 RECOGNITION

McClel­lan is rec­og­nized for out­stand­ing lead­er­ship in logis­tics and transportation

PANA­MA CITY, Fla. (Novem­ber 13, 2026) - Park­er McClel­lan, exec­u­tive direc­tor of North­west Flori­da Beach­es Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (ECP), has been named to Flori­da Trend magazine's pres­ti­gious Flori­da 500 list, rec­og­niz­ing his lead­er­ship and influ­ence in the state's logis­tics and trans­porta­tion indus­try sec­tor. The annu­al award rec­og­nizes Flori­da's 500 most influ­en­tial busi­ness lead­ers whose con­tri­bu­tions go beyond their day-to-day work to dri­ve Florida's eco­nom­ic success.

Since becom­ing ECP's exec­u­tive direc­tor in 2013, McClel­lan has led a long peri­od of unprece­dent­ed growth. ECP has expe­ri­enced con­sis­tent record-break­ing pas­sen­ger activ­i­ty lev­els. In 2025, ECP wel­comed a record 1.9 mil­lion pas­sen­gers, a 3.1 per­cent increase over the pri­or year, and this year the Air­port is on track to wel­come more pas­sen­gers than ever before.

ECP's con­tin­ued rise has earned sig­nif­i­cant nation­al recog­ni­tion. In the 2026 USA TODAY 10Best Read­ers' Choice Awards, ECP rose as the No. 2 Best Resort Air­port in the nation, up two posi­tions from 2025.

"It is a tremen­dous hon­or to be rec­og­nized along­side so many incred­i­ble lead­ers through­out Flori­da," said Park­er W. McClel­lan Jr., A.A.E. ​"My career at ECP has always been root­ed in eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment and ele­vat­ing the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence to ensure a safe, enjoy­able and con­ve­nient jour­ney. As our indus­try con­tin­ues to see changes in so many aspects of trans­porta­tion and logis­tics, it's very reward­ing to play a role in the momen­tum we're build­ing in North­west Florida."

Dri­ving eco­nom­ic growth, attract­ing new indus­tries, and shap­ing the future of the Region has always been a key pri­or­i­ty for McClel­lan dur­ing his time as exec­u­tive director.

"I'm incred­i­bly proud of the work we're doing along­side our region­al part­ners to ensure con­tin­ued progress for North­west Flori­da," he added.

Major eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment announce­ments and projects like IAG Aero Group and Pre­mier Avi­a­tion are bring­ing mil­lions of cap­i­tal invest­ment to the Region and cre­at­ing hun­dreds of high-way jobs, gen­er­at­ing a sig­nif­i­cant ini­tial eco­nom­ic boost and bol­ster­ing the Region's rep­u­ta­tion as a cen­ter for avi­a­tion excellence.

"This well-deserved recog­ni­tion is a tes­ta­ment to the lead­er­ship and unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment Park­er brings to the job every day," said Will Cramer, Chair of the Air­port Board of Direc­tors. ​"This hon­or reflects his ded­i­ca­tion to the eco­nom­ic growth of our Region and to ensur­ing trav­el­ers receive the very best ECP can offer."

In addi­tion to eco­nom­ic devel­op­ment projects, enhanc­ing the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence remains a top pri­or­i­ty for ECP leadership.

ECP's pas­sen­ger perks include mul­ti­ple art exhibits, a new ECP Fly­Brary pro­gram in part­ner­ship with the North­west Region­al Library Sys­tem, and the Airport's beloved ECP Wheels Up Sum­mer Music Series, a sig­na­ture tra­di­tion bring­ing live music to the Terminal.

ECP con­tin­ues to broad­en its flight offer­ings as well with new non­stop ser­vice to icon­ic des­ti­na­tions like New York City, Boston and Austin. These and oth­er non­stop routes con­tin­ue to encour­age tourism to North­west Flori­da and offer con­ve­nient trav­el options for locals.

ECP's 80,000 square-foot North Ter­mi­nal Expan­sion reflects its con­tin­ued growth, bring­ing three new gates, six new air­line bag­gage offices, and four addi­tion­al bag­gage claim carousels, along with new con­ces­sions, expand­ed seat­ing, and more acces­si­ble restrooms. Plans also include relo­cat­ing and expand­ing the TSA check­point to improve screen­ing effi­cien­cy. As demand con­tin­ues to rise, the addi­tion­al capac­i­ty will be essen­tial to main­tain­ing oper­a­tional effi­cien­cy and sup­port­ing future air ser­vice expansion.

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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 and sea­son­al 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 ser­vice to world­wide des­ti­na­tions. ECP pro­vides North­west Flori­da commu­ni­ties with first-class facil­i­ties and was strate­gi­cal­ly devel­oped for major eco­nom­ic develop­ment oppor­tu­nities. Named a ​"Best Resort Air­port" two years in a row by USA TODAY, ECP is the gate­way for vis­i­tors seek­ing North­west Florida's famous beaches.