Tate, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Frontier Airlines, was born in Canton. His wife, the former Tracie Smith, was also born in Canton. His mother, Grace Tate Ewing, still lives in the area. So does his sister, Heather Fisher, who is married to Jeff Fisher, president and owner of Fisher's Foods.
Tate said whenever he'd come back to the area to visit, his relatives would ask him why his airline wasn't at Akron-Canton. They'd tell him of Akron-Canton's phenomenal growth and how it was one of the fastest growing airports in the country.
''I'm thinking 'Growing from what base?' '' said Tate, who remembered the airport from its earlier days when it wasn't growing.
Tate said he didn't take the airport seriously until airport officials started courting Frontier's market planning department, which researches new destinations, and that department started asking him about the viability of Akron-Canton.
Last August, Tate gave a presentation to a group of civic and business leaders put together by Jeff Fisher, also a Stark County businessman.
''I came away very impressed,'' said Tate.
Fisher said he and Tate's other family members had been telling him that Akron-Canton had a big void in the market for airline service out West. But Fisher said he knew Tate the businessman and not the brother-in-law would have to be convinced.
The business community and airport staff ''convinced Frontier that this was the market to be in. We're thrilled,'' Fisher said.
Tate, 53, was born in Canton and lived in the area until he was 16, when he left to train to be a congressional page in Washington, D.C.
He usually came back to see family about four or five times a year.
''More now,'' he quipped.
