When people meet Gary “Yam” Richardson of Georgetown, it’s often his smile they notice first and remember later. It’s warm and genuine. It makes people feel at ease and want to smile back.
That smile paired with a polite, friendly demeanor opened the door to a successful career for Richardson, 34, who is now an airplane mechanic at the Georgetown Airport. His work ethic and drive to succeed did the rest, allowing him to make the most of the opportunity presented.
It all started because Richardson worked at a gas station near the airport where Airport Manager Jim Taylor would buy gas.
“Gary worked the counter there. Every time I walked in, he would be smiling,” Taylor recalled. “He conversed with me; he’d seen the Georgetown County Airport logo on my shirt and asked me what we did, who’s out there.”
In turn, Taylor would ask Richardson questions, like if he played football. Richardson did and had been something of a star player for Georgetown High School as a student.
“It was always a good conversation, no matter what we talked about,” Taylor said.
So when Taylor had a job opening at the airport, he asked Richardson if he’d be interested in applying. He’d advertised the position and hadn’t found the right applicant.
“I got to thinking, ‘maybe Gary,” Taylor said.
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Airport staff are usually the first point of contact for prospective businesses, destination travelers and many other visitors. That makes a winning smile, a bright personality and being a good conversationalist huge assets for airport staff.
“To shine, to smile, to extend your hand for a handshake and help people with their bags. It puts a great first impression in people’s heads,” Taylor said.
So the next time Taylor stopped in for gas, he decided to find out if Richardson wanted an opportunity to try something new.
“I’m thinking ‘what would I do at the airport,’” Richardson recalled. “He said ‘just come on out here, I’ll give you a tour and you let me know if you like it.’”
Richardson decided to give it a shot. And he excelled.
He excelled so much that it wasn’t long before someone else made him an offer. Sam Boyle, president and CEO of Tumeq, the company that owns the airport’s fixed base operator Seven Rivers Aviation, saw how Richardson conducted himself at the airport.
“He was impressed by his skill set – and demeanor is a skill set,” Taylor said. Boyle asked if there would be any ill feelings if he “stole” Richardson for his company.
“He approached me and said, ‘How’d you like to learn how to work on planes? You’re a little too smart to be cutting grass,” Richardson said.
He accepted and the company created a maintenance apprenticeship position for him, where he has learned to work on aircraft. He repaired his first engine just this spring.
Richardson graduated from Georgetown High School in 2008 and attended Georgia Military College for a semester before deciding that wasn’t a good fit for him. He moved to Springfield, Mass., for a while and got his commercial driver’s license. He drove trucks and traveled for a bit, but his hometown was always calling to him. He took custody of his daughter, now in middle school, and decided to settle back in Georgetown near family in 2018. That’s when he took the job at the gas station where he met Taylor.
Before that fateful conversation about a job helping Taylor at the airport, Richardson said he had never given any consideration careers in aviation or really even known it was an option to be considered.
“I mean, I guess I knew somebody had to work on airplanes, but it’s not something I thought about,” Richardson said. "I didn’t know anything about planes. To be honest, I couldn’t have told you the difference between a metric wrench and a standard one. I’ve been training since September of last year and in April I installed my first motor.”
Though it’s a career path he never imagined for himself, Richardson said its one he enjoys and intends to continue on.
“It’s a great opportunity and there’s lots of room to grow, so I like that. It’s also cool to tell people, ‘Hey, I work on planes,’” he said, flashing that radiant smile. “You’re never really doing the same thing every day, and there’s so many different planes – some I haven’t even seen yet. It challenges you every day. That’s what I like about it.”
Appropriately for a job in Aviation, Taylor said the sky is the limit for Richardson if he stays on this track.
“At the end of two years, hopefully he has acquired the skillset to take the test to become a certified A&P – airframe and powerplant mechanic,” Taylor said. “If he puts in another five years beyond that, he legitimately could write his own ticket and go anywhere in the country. It’s awesome.”