'There might not be a Whiting Field' without him: Santa Rosa's Don Salter remembered

County Commissioner Don Salter told a reporter back in 2019 that he was going to seek another term in office the next year because he wanted to see the 288-acre Whiting Field Aviation Park become a reality.

The then-72-year-old's bid for his sixth four-year stint on the board would ultimately prove unsuccessful, but Salter, who passed away early Sunday, did live long enough to see his dream come to fruition. Leonardo Helicopters broke ground July 28 on a $65 million, 113,000-square-foot maintenance facility, becoming the Aviation Park's first tenant.

Salter's fragile health at the time prevented him from attending the ceremony.

But Salter will forever be honored for the work he did to bring the park to fruition and cement ties to Naval Air Station Whiting Field with its construction adjacent to the base. Last year the road leading into Whiting Field Aviation Park was officially designated Don Salter Boulevard.

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Sam Parker is the only sitting county commissioner who served with Salter, who completed 20 years on the board. At Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting he called Salter "the one who mentored me."

"I had a bond with him," he said. "He was like a grandfather figure. I enjoyed the time I got to serve with him."

Parker remembered being counseled by Salter not to dwell on the criticism that would certainly come his way as a commissioner. "He wasn't a perfect man," he said, but the county has, since his departure from government, been able to look back and see all that he accomplished.

Commission Chairman Colten Wright said while he never worked professionally with Salter, he knew him to be "tough and fair. And he had a big heart."

"He was always respectful, he always treated me with dignity and respect no matter which side of an issue we found ourselves on," Wright said.

Commissioner James Calkins, who defeated Salter in 2020 to take over his District 3 seat, said that serving behind Salter left him with "big shoes to fill."

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Salter joined the U.S. Army right out of high school in 1965, according to previous stories run by the Pensacola News Journal. He served as a paratrooper during the Vietnam War and spent three years with the military, primarily with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Among the citations he received was the Bronze Star, which is presented for heroic or meritorious achievement.

Upon leaving the Army Salter returned to Northwest Florida and earned a master's degree from Troy State University. He had a 30-year career with Gulf Power before successfully running for the Santa Rosa County Commission in 2000.

County voters returned Salter to the District 3 seat in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. During his time in office he served as the chairman of the county board four times.

When asked, Salter would say that his greatest strength as a commissioner was what he was able to accomplish for military base protection and enhancement.

He began working in earnest to protect Whiting Field in 1995, after it was placed on the Department of Defense's list for closure and has been credited with securing some 10,000 acres around Whiting Field as a buffer against civilian encroachment.

"Santa Rosa County would be a completely different place without him," County Attorney Tom Dannheisser said during Monday's meeting. "Without him there might not be a Whiting Field."

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Salter and Whiting Field Training Air Wing Commander Terrance “Rufus” G. Jones together saw the potential for economic development around the base in 2003. Whiting Field now generates more than $1 billion annually for the Santa Rosa County economy.

The county and base have created a unique private/public partnership with Whiting Aviation Park, which helped ultimately lure Leonardo Helicopters to the area.

"It took me seven years working with people in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon, other military leaders to get the limited access use agreement," Salter told the News Journal in one article. "We finally got that in 2009. And that was a key to helping develop what has become the Whiting Aviation Park."

He was the founder of the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Plaza and served as chairman of the Emerald Coast Honor Flight, the Santa Rosa Initiative Committee and the Santa Rosa Military Advisory Council. Last year the state of Florida recognized Salter by inducting him into the state's Veterans' Hall of Fame.

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Salter bore witness to another monumental Santa Rosa County achievement in 2019 when after about 20 years of wrangling over where to locate it, he was among the commissioners present to break ground on a 19-acre parcel off Avalon Boulevard where a new county judicial center complex now stands.

Salter also received leadership awards that included the Community Leader of the Year Award, Santa Rosa County Hall of Fame Award, Santa Rosa County Man of the Year Award, Spirit of Santa Rosa Award, Friend of Agriculture for Santa Rosa County, and the Business Leader of the Year Award, among others.

County Administrator DeVann Cook credited Salter at Monday's meeting with being fair and easy for county staff to work with.

"I worked here the entire time he was on the County Commission, and he was always supportive of the staff," Cook said. "I always appreciated that and his work as a commissioner."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Don Salter served 20 years on Santa Rosa Commission, died Sunday