Over the past few months, those of you following the MDT's Twitter stream may have seen the hashtag #MDT324 in use. What appears to be a nonsensical collection of letters and numbers actually represented an event planned to bring several of our more active twitter followers to MDT for an opportunity to meet one another in person. In total 5 "tweeps" flew or drove in from across the country for an evening "tweetup" with the airport tweeter. Each tweep has graciously agreed to share their experience in a wrap up blog series.
Chris Stotz's post is the third of the wrap up series on #MDT324. Maybe we'll be seeing you at the 2012 event!
Harrisburg International Airport (HIA) is my hometown airport. I was born and raised in central Pennsylvania, graduated from Penn State in 1998, and lived in Harrisburg until I moved to Fort Lauderdale in late 2002. I remember the original Harrisburg Airport, the newer terminal in the 1980s, and I’m thrilled with the new facility. Until I moved out of the area in 2002, I was flying in and out of HIA all the time. I think the progress of HIA over the years, and what it has become today, really reflects how special and unique central Pennsylvania is. I’m so proud of what HIA has become, and it was exciting to be a part of a special event showing off HIA known by Twitter followers as #MDT324.
#MDT324 was a gathering of HIA Twitter followers from all over the United States. Stephanie Gehman, Marketing Manager for HIA, has developed an impressive online presence for the airport on websites like Facebook and Twitter. She coordinated the event with the HIA fans, and provided a special “VIP” behind-the-scenes tour of the airport. For me, it was a very special event because this state-of-the-art airport, with bright and shiny concourses, busy gates, and great vendors like Starbucks and Subway, is the kind of airport I’ve always imagined for Harrisburg and the surrounding area. It’s nice when you can return to the place you grew up and lived as a younger adult and see things going well, especially in this current economic climate. It was a great feeling to see people from around the country be impressed with what I think is the perfect airport.
In the last few years I’ve been especially lucky to be able to enjoy direct, nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and Harrisburg on AirTran Airways. This makes it very easy and affordable to fly home and visit family and friends, with a flight time of about two hours. Lucky for me, there are many options and carriers going in and out of HIA, so getting home to central Pennsylvania will never be difficult no matter where I am. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again…there’s no place like home!
I really am proud to call HIA my hometown airport, and appreciate the opportunity to connect with HIA on Facebook and Twitter and make lasting friendships with other fans of what has become an airport that many cities would envy. Thank you to everyone involved with the #MDT324 event, and the friendly and hard working staff at HIA, especially Stephanie, for making this fly-in possible, and making HIA a pleasant and “hip” airport!
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