Parowan names Megan Young as new airport manager; city outlines hands-on role

Megan Young (soon to be Megan Trudeau) was introduced Feb. 9 as Parowan’s new airport manager, a role city staff designed to combine hands-on maintenance work with coordination of the Fixed Base Operator (FBO). Young said she recently graduated from Southern Utah University’s AMT program, worked at Align (formerly Metal Craft) in Cedar City building A-10 airframe components, and lives in Paragonah with two daughters.

City Manager Dan Jessen told the board the dual-role approach was chosen to provide Young with full-time-equivalent hours while allowing the city to regain operational control. Young said the airport "needs some love" and that she has "all the energy to put into the airport," adding she expects to work often as a mechanic and keep an office with an outside door so board members and pilots can drop in. The city will offer subsidized rent on the airport house to a power-department employee who will provide after-hours coverage and security monitoring; Young declined the house because of family arrangements.

Young said she has been reaching out to airport managers in Cedar City, St. George, Panguitch and Beaver to build professional relationships and avoid operating in isolation, and she invited the board to share maintenance lists and concerns. "I’m obsessed with the airport," she said, noting she wants to restore the field to its "heyday" condition. The board and staff encouraged the city’s strategy of training multiple employees on NOTAM procedures and standard operating steps while Young gains experience.