Paul Werts is the Chief Executive Officer of the Celebrate Freedom Foundation.

Appointed as executive director of the S.C. Aeronautics Commission in 2008, Werts is responsible for the supervision and control of the state’s 60 airports and promoting aviation safety and air commerce across the State of South Carolina. He has worked for the S.C. Department of Commerce, Division of Aeronautic, since 1979.

Werts previously worked as Program Manager I of the Airport Development Section, managing and supervising the Airport Development Section for the S.C. Division of Aeronautics. He also assisted the Commission’s executive director on state and federal airport development programs; created state aviation program methodologies to enhance airport safety and program efficiency and implementation of the statewide aviation system plan priorities and the program objectives; directed the Airport Development Section on appropriate federal, state, and local airport development procedures, regulations and codes pertaining to airport and aviation development; managed a staff to accomplish airport planning development and engineering objectives; and helped enhance web interface programs and administer state grants, budgets and financial reports.

Werts received a professional Airport Compliance Certificate and satisfied his License #06046 Airport Compliance Requirement, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy. He also received an Airport Pavement-Asphalt Institute Certificate, issued by the University of Kentucky, and a Cement Stabilization for Pavements Certificate, issued by Clemson University; and GPS and GIS Surveying certificates, issued by Trimble.

He received his Associate’s degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Midlands Technical College.