Thomas Lynn | The Valdosta Daily TimesElaine McPherson and Jim Galloway, executive director of the Valdosta airport, shake hands at the Sniffle Station made for those saying 'goodbye' or 'welcome home' to loved ones.

VALDOSTA — Elaine McPherson’s son and husband were deployed three weeks apart.

When she dropped her husband off at the Valdosta Regional Airport about nine months ago, so many tears were shed by everyone present she ran out of tissues.

“So, I came up with this idea that everybody who needed a tissue coming through the airport, either dropping someone off or someone is returning home, had a tissue when they needed it,” McPherson said. “When I got home, I just had this idea, and once I had the idea, I just wanted to roll with it.”

That was the beginning of what became the Sniffle Station located inside the Valdosta Regional Airport.

She called her friend, Scott Evens, husband of Col. Jennifer Short, commander at Moody Air Force Base. Evens said he thought it was a great idea. 

“I helped her start connecting the dots,” Evens said. “She made contact with Jim (Galloway, executive director of the airport) and he was onboard. We’re grateful for Lowndes County and the airport championing this effort and making it a reality.”

McPherson said she made creating the Sniffle Station her do-it-yourself project. She heard about an old hotel getting rid of older furniture.

“So I ran over there and bought a TV armoire,” she said. 

The armoire has white sides with blue drawers and Ikat wallpaper and enough tissues for a small funeral.

Eventually, because McPherson and her family are in the military, she won’t always be around to restock the tissue supply and manage the station. That’s why Lowndes County decided to step up and sponsor the station, said Paige Dukes, county clerk and public information officer.

“This is a small thing the county can do for the community and those traveling through here that has a big impact,” Dukes said. “What Mrs. McPherson has done here is just a great example of how airmen come to our community and leave it better than they found it.”

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256