An active Battle Creek businessman and pilot, Sidney Adams, Jr., joined the Commission in September 2001. A private pilot and former executive with the U.S. Veterans Administration, Sidney was instrumental in establishing Western Michigan University's College of Aviation Sciences at Battle Creek's W.K. Kellogg Airport. He has chaired both the W.K. Kellogg Airport Advisory Committee and Battle Creek Unlimited, the city's economic development arm. Sidney, who has operated a computer repair and software consulting business since retiring from the VA in 1987, actively promotes aviation, especially among youth.