Rod Propst held the position of general manager and COO of Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority for the last two years, but on Jan. 7, he moved on to greener pastures — or saltier vistas — as deputy director for airports in San Diego, Calif.

According to Propst, during his two-year tenure at Sedona Airport he “was able to increase profits by nearly $200,000 in calendar year 2014 and present the board with a conservative and balanced 2015 operating and capital improvement budget with a 10 percent reserve.

“I am pleased with what I accomplished in my two years at the Sedona Airport including nearly $3 million in capital improvements, new operating procedures, initiating a new airport master plan update, and answering difficult noise and safety questions that the constituents surrounding the airport had. I grew professionally and particularly enjoyed the entrepreneurial portion of the airport business.”

Regardless, several issues arose during Propst’s time with the airport — a place he called a “complicated airport with many more ‘moving parts’ than most airports.”

According to Propst, SOCAA’s board of directors is intended only to deal with “airport issues,” providing the general manager with strategic guidance and goals to accomplish. While Propst stated that he “implemented both ‘strategic’ goals and ‘tactical’ objectives to meet what I thought was the board of director’s vision for the Sedona Airport,” he claimed that in many ways the board worked contrary to his efforts.

To read the full story, see the Friday, Jan. 30, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.