Meet Ed Rose.
Q: Tell us a little bit about you.
A: I’m a veteran, a grandfather and a father of four with a lovely wife. We’re from New York where I spent about three and a half decades in airport management. I’ve owned my own outdoor guide business in New York for 20 years, from 2000 to 2020. I’m concerned about the welfare of our outdoors.
Q: What do you do in the community of Sedona?
A: I am the airport’s general manager. That entails every operational aspect of the airport – from landing aircraft to departing aircraft, to hosting law enforcement, search and rescue, firefighting crews, corporate executives, and those that owned second or third homes in Sedona.
Q: How many airplanes up there?
A: There are 99 hangers up there and they are full at any given time. And then there are probably between 10 and 30 aircraft on any given day visiting.
The Sedona Airport is a tourist center. There are a pair of helicopter tour operators, Apex and Guidance Air. There’s also a phenomenal restaurant, the Mesa Grill, which is one of the finest eateries in the area with Chef Mercer Moore at the helm. The Sky Ranch Lodge is situated on the airport’s ridgeline with beautiful views. We’re working with some entrepreneurs to take over the former Masonic lodge building, which had been sitting vacant for six or seven years since I got here. It’s a crying shame that this building with that kind of history had been left out in the weeds so to speak. Currently we are working with Harold Cooley, whose company outlined a plan to transform the old Masonic Lodge property into a corporate event space tentatively called Venue on The Mesa. The company envisions 6,400 square feet of a fully updated and modernized event space” designed by Phoenix architect Christoph Kaiser
Q: So aside from the airport, what else do you do in Sedona?
A: I hike, mountain bike, and I’m one of those respectful off-highway vehicle people. I really enjoy the backcountry, that’s just my nature – hunting, fishing, and hiking.
Q: What do you do with the chamber?
A: I’m on the board of directors. This is my first year on the board. I’m interested in listening and learning about the obstacles that confront the board. I’ll see if I can learn something through the equation to identify a resolution.
Q: How long have you lived in Sedona and what brought you here originally?
A: I came originally for a conference in Phoenix. Being from the Northeast, I always wanted to see the Grand Canyon. My instructor said to stop at two places on the way up. One is Montezuma Castle and the second is Sedona. After four opportunities and interviews, I finally got the job as an operations manager. Then after three days, I was appointed the interim manager.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Sedona?
A: Mesa Grill.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Sedona?
A: Lonnie Lillie is the former president of the chamber. He has a lot of energy, good ideas and a great perspective. Eden Archer from the D.A Ranch down in Page Springs became a good family friend. Mike Wise has impressed me in the community. Darin Dinsmore is the tiny home guy of Oak Creek Canyon. We’re all interested in the same things and that’s the preservation of the characteristics of Sedona and not letting it turn into a theme park.
Q: How would your closest friend describe you?
A: Naughty, Dangerous.
Q: What advice would you give to a crowd of people?
A: I would point to some of the wonders of nature that we’re surrounded by and speak to respecting that. Leave No Trace.
Q: Anything that I haven’t asked about yourself that you’d like somebody to know?
A: I like motorcycles. I like OHVs, four-wheeling, I love anything and everything outdoors- rock climbing, ice climbing, which is probably one of my favorites. There’s nothing like climbing a 90-foot icicle.
I feel like I’m here for a purpose for a reason and that’s to polish this airport up and create more value for the community and a steward of Yavapai County, which is all of us.