spotlight

‘U.S.S. Sedona’ welcomes a new commanding officer aboard 

The best journeys do not necessarily have a flight plan. From growing up near an airfield to becoming a licensed commercial pilot to spearheading a fledgling air-traffic control school, Deborah Abingdon has vectored her distinct aviation experience toward a career in airport management. Plus, she has made the unlikely transition from one mile-high, mesa-top airport with a mile-long runway to another. 

“As a young woman I read ‘West with the Night’ by [noted author/adventurer] Beryl Markham and that really inspired me because she liked horses, dogs and airplanes, like me,” explained Abingdon, who became Sedona Airport’s general manager in July. “She was kind of a heroine of mine.” 

Abingdon started learning to fly in her 20s, but life and work got in the way. Two decades later, she returned to finish what she started near her alma mater – the University of Oregon – in Eugene. As she sat in Sedona Airport’s conference room, which is also the supply room for private jet crews, she explained that she never wanted to fly for a living. “It was always a personal goal. [The scenic Pacific Northwest] was a fabulous place to learn to fly.” 

In search of a better climate after surviving a battle with cancer, she left the verdant coast for the high desert of central New Mexico’s Lincoln County nearly 13 years ago. She continued her flight training at Roswell International Air Center and now holds a Commercial Pilot License with Instrument Rating.  

Looking to do something new professionally, Abingdon landed at Eastern New Mexico University – Roswell, teaching aviation basics at the school’s brand-new air traffic control (ATC) program. “I got hired two weeks before school started, with no curriculum, no materials, nothing. It was a real challenge,” explained Abingdon, who also holds Advanced Ground Instructor and Aircraft Dispatcher licenses. She taught full-time for eight rewarding years before changes in government hiring prompted the college to sign off from teaching ATC.   

Needing a next step, she found a way to parlay her experience, stay in New Mexico and remain in aviation with the manager position at Belén Alexander Regional Airport in 2016. “I typically have pretty good timing,” she said. “I stepped into something really interesting.”  

With state assistance, the airport had recently finished building a new mile-long runway to military specifications, paving the way to a joint use agreement with the Air Force. Located about 30 miles south of Albuquerque’s Kirtland Air Force Base, the upgraded mile-high Belén Airport suited the service branch with its nearby-but-rural environs and its unlit mesa-top airport. This combination makes it optimal for training C-130 transport aircraft pilots in short takeoff/landing and night-vision goggle training at a relatively quiet spot, away from Kirtland’s busy commercial airport neighbor – Albuquerque International Sunport – and without flying nearly 170 miles to Roswell.  

“It saved them millions,” explained Abingdon, who called working with the Air Force a “great experience,” though it meant new coordination and policies for the small airport, including a requirement for radio communications and implementation of an air rescue and firefighting (ARFF) team.  

Running Belén’s modest airport meant she had to wear many hats. “I’d have a day where I’d spend seven hours on the tractor mowing weeds in the dust, so I don’t really miss that,” Abingdon recalled, adding that her main legacy at Belén is the potential arrival of Vertical Limit Aviation, an Albuquerque-based flight school with international contracts.  

If time allowed, she would go out and meet pilots as they gassed up at Belén Airport’s self-serve tanks. This was how she met two pilots from Sedona Airport about 18 months ago. “I thought, ‘I have family in Arizona now and that’s an area I’d consider relocating to,’” she recalled. “I knew it would be a nice area and so I was interested. It would allow me to grow as an airport manager in a little bit of a different environment and get me off the tractor!”  

Abingdon replaced Amanda Shankland as general manager, who is now senior advisor in Public Policy and Government Affairs for the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. 

Abingdon does not see any unique challenges at Sedona Airport, with many mirroring the area’s ever-increasing popularity. “Expansion is not an option here,” she stated, with any capital improvements of flight facilities geared toward improving safety, efficiency, customer service and community considerations per Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines.  

She says one of the reasons the intergovernmental Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority hired her is because of her diplomacy, citing “wonderful” relations with the city, Yavapai County, and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce. She also works closely with the airport’s “fantastic” and proactively eclectic board of directors.  

Relations with Airport Mesa tenants – including 75 hangar/tie-down renters, Sky Ranch Lodge, Mesa Grill, Sedona Car Rentals, and the air tour companies (Guidance Air, Sedona Air Tours, Westwind Air Service) – are also going well, she said.  

Chef Mercer Mohr’s assumption of Mesa Grill’s operations has been very positive, added Nelson Durkee, the airport’s business manager. “They say they’ve turned the corner and been accepted as part of the Sedona vibe,” he noted, adding that they now cater for private air traffic, provide wedding services, while still offering affordable options at every meal.  

Improvements to the overlook parking lot are planned for the coming months and determining the future of the vacant Masonic Lodge property is on the docket. “We’re working on a project to secure a better fire suppression plan for the mesa,” Abingdon said. “A lot of these initiatives have been on the books for a couple years now. I’m results driven. I have a good team and we’re going to try to get some of them done.” 

Lingering concerns voiced by the community remain. “The noise complaints seem cyclical,” said Durkee. “[The air tour operators] are sticking to routes we’ve suggested they take. We don’t have near the volume of calls that we previously had. They are making the attempt to be better neighbors to our community.”  

Guidance Air’s use of smaller, piston-driven Robinson helicopters aids with noise abatement. Military aircraft operations continue to add to noise concerns. Also of note is the airport’s push to limit unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) use on and around the mesa, with “drone-free zones” signs posted on trails, an online map of where they would like drone use to be limited, and an online notice page to inform the airport of nearby planned drone use. The FAA has established rules and registration mechanisms for drone use, but the airport’s desired limitations go beyond federal rules, somewhat controversially. The airport’s concerns are based on the vast interest in taking aerial photos and video of Sedona’s celebrated scenery, and their desire to avoid any airspace incursions and potential incidents between aircraft.  

Abingdon is eager to continue engaging the community about noise abatement, drone awareness, and all other concerns. She is also excited about each fall’s Airport Day and its historic success in bringing people up to the mesa for a day of aviation-centered fun.  

“We want to be a good neighbor. I like to think of myself as a goodwill ambassador for aviation,” she said. Her flight plan now includes this stop at the nicknamed ‘U.S.S. Sedona.’ She hopes to leave a significant positive legacy here, as she did in Belén. QCBN 

Photo captions: 

Sedona Airport General Manager Deborah Abingdon brings a wealth of experience as a pilot and airport manager to the mile-high airport. 

Photo by Tom Vitron 

Step into Kevin Schindler’s office and you get a sample of what he loves and where he has been. There is the shark tooth from Florida, the hubcap from one of the tires in Lowell Observatory’s historic Clark Telescope dome and the bucket of baseballs collected from spring training.

The sign above the door says “Stadium Entrance,” so it should be no surprise when guests find themselves engaged in a conversation while tossing a baseball that has been in the hands of major leaguers. Famous guests to the “Stadium” who have found themselves in the position to catch Schindler’s tosses are Arizona balladeer and state historian Marshall Trimble, astronaut John Grunsfeld and author Andy Chaikin, who wrote the bible of manned moon missions, “A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts.”

Among the walls of books that surround Schindler are five of his own, authored in the last three years. They speak of Lowell Observatory’s past and present science achievements such as the discovery of Pluto and ongoing outer solar system exploration, and Flagstaff scientists’ involvement in the 1969 moon landing effort.

Not surprisingly, these books reflect what motivates and inspires him. Schindler is driven by a passion to learn about and share the stories of great people who pursued their dreams and left their marks on history, and a love for “old things.” As Lowell’s historian, he is also a trivia machine. Did you know the average meteor entering Earth’s atmosphere is traveling a thousand times faster than former Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson can throw a ball?

Schindler’s passion for baseball goes back to his Little League days in Ohio. “Baseball is one of my earliest hobbies. I liked playing center field because you’re in the middle of all the action and you’re always running in one direction or the other.”

Given that description, you could say Schindler is still playing center field, in life. When NASA’s flying observatory, SOFIA, took flight in 2015, Schindler was on board with other science educators to expand scientific literacy. When the New Horizons spacecraft reached Pluto in 2015, Schindler was celebrating in Maryland with the who’s who of the space exploration industry. When his beloved Cleveland Indians clinched the American League pennant in 2016, Schindler was there in the press box capturing the excitement for readers to enjoy. And, when the solar eclipse began casting its chilling shadow across the United States last August, Schindler was in Madras, Oregon, wearing his NASA-approved solar eclipse glasses, marveling at the phenomenon and explaining to anyone interested what exactly was happening in the path of totality.

Schindler’s lifelong fascination with science began as a child. “I collected my first fossil when I was seven. I was picking blackberries in the woods behind my house about 20 miles from Cleveland when I found this cool rock full of what I later found out were brachiopods that lived 320 million years ago. Then I picked up another rock that fit together with the first.”

He was also inspired by his earth science teacher at Buckeye High in Medina, Ohio. “He was the best teacher I ever had.” Schindler applied to his mentor’s alma mater, Marietta College, where he studied geology and specialized in paleontology.

He began his career in the paleontology department at the Florida Museum of Natural History in the late 1980s. A decade later, he moved to Flagstaff and began working at Lowell Observatory, where he has been for 23 years.

Just as his early years of collecting baseball cards and hunting for fossils have morphed into a lifelong passion for sports and science, Schindler loves how things tie together. “My favorite players are the ones who my parents saw, like the legendary Bob Feller, who pitched for the Indians his enitre career. He was a great pitcher, but volunteered to fight in World War II because he felt it was more important to be an American and defend his country than play baseball. There was also Ted Williams, who went off to fight in World War II and the Korean War. He could have hit more home runs, but it didn’t matter. He did what he believed was right for our country. That’s something I really respect.

Schindler offers another bit of trivia. “Ted Williams, this baseball god, was John Glenn’s wingman in Korea.”

And how about this, says Schindler: “Cleveland Indians pitcher Gaylord Perry was notorious for throwing a spit ball. His manager was asked if Perry could hit. He responded, ‘There will be a man on the moon before he’ll hit a home run.’ On July 20, 1969, Perry hit a home run, the same day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.”

Today, Schindler is spearheading a public awareness campaign about Flagstaff’s involvement in the Apollo missions and giving talks about Pluto with the release of his book, Pluto and Lowell Observatory, co-authored by astronomer Will Grundy. “I love to share information and cool stories.”

He also loves to share the baseballs he collects during spring training in the Valley. “I love to give them to kids.” In addition, he leaves them on windshields as souvenirs for fans.

“There are two things I think about a lot these days as I get older that I’d like to impress upon my grandchildren: live positive lives in terms of how you interact with people and your overall outlook; and, leave yourself open to opportunity.”

Schindler’s influence on his five-year-old granddaughter is now mirrored in one of her favorite sayings, “We love nice people!”

What character qualities do you most value?

“Integrity, the passion to follow your dreams, patriotism, and the desire to make the world around us a better place.

    “Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’”

Where do you love to travel?

“When I was younger, I never imagined going to a foreign country, because the USA has so much great stuff. As an adult, I love traveling around the world. If there’s an excuse to go somewhere, I’ll go there! I also enjoy being at our cabin, north of Mancos, Colorado. It’s about 45 minutes away from Internet service and surrounded by snow in the winter, so it’s a great place to go to recharge the batteries with family and work on writing projects.”

What’s your favorite food?

“There’s a place in Florida called Sonny’s that has the best barbecue ribs. Every year, we plan a trip to Florida and I always make it a point to go to Sonny’s. In fact, I’ve even ordered the sauce online. I’m sure the nostalgia of my years there combined with the memory of the food is what makes it such a treat.”

If you had a million dollars to give away, where would it go?

“I would want to give it to places that are meaningful to me: Lowell Observatory, the Museum of Northern Arizona, Marietta College, the Florida Museum of Natural History and Buckeye High School, to start with.”

What’s one of your favorite moments?

“I’ve been fortunate to meet some legendary people — astronauts, athletes, politicians — but these occasions are always more meaningful when they happen with family. I’ve especially enjoyed meeting several astronauts with my wife, Gretchen. When we met Neil Armstrong, she asked for a kiss so she could tell her grandkids that she was kissed by a man who walked on the moon. So, when we met Jim Lovell (Apollo 13 pilot) at a reception, she also asked for a kiss. Later at the punchbowl, she bragged about it to a friend. The comment caught the ear of other women nearby, especially one who looked up and said quite matter-of-factly, ‘Honey, I do that every day.’ It was Jim’s wife.” FBN

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Kevin Schindler will be giving his talk, “Arizona Goes to the Moon,” at the Sedona Public Library on Monday, Oct. 8, and at Red Rock State Park on Sunday, Nov. 4.

Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter and classical keyboardist Toni Tennille could probably live anywhere she wants. She has lived throughout the United States, in cities big and small, from coast to coast, in the scenic Sierra Nevadas and in lush, semi-tropical and sun-kissed Florida.

But, Prescott is where she chooses to call home.

She has done that twice, in fact, once in 2007 and again in 2017.

The chart-topping vocalist with a contralto vocal range that spans two and a half octaves says it clearly in an exclusive interview with Quad Citie Business News. “I fell in love with Prescott the first time I was here – the climate, the environment, the various social and cultural activities – but most of all, the people. The locals are genuine, friendly and, most of all, much like family to me. Prescott is a special place. After I moved to Florida in 2015, where I worked with my niece, Caroline St. Clair, to write my memoir, I decided last August to return to Prescott. It is my home, and I live right where I want to be, just a few minutes from the center of town and the lovely Courthouse Square.”

When Cathryn Antoinette “Toni” Tennille came to Prescott the first time, it didn’t take long for her to become involved with several local musical organizations. Those included performing groups at Yavapai College Performing Arts Center and the Prescott POPS Symphony Orchestra, directed at that time by her friend and now retired founder Paul Manz. Manz now lives in North Carolina, but the POPS continues.

Tennille performed several songs during the last POPS concert Aug. 29. She received several standing ovations. POPS Musical Director Joe Place said of her during intermission, “She is one of the most wonderful, gracious and supremely talented persons I’ve ever met.”

What many do not know about Tennille is that when she moved here the first time, she and her dog, Smoky, volunteered as a therapy team at Yavapai Regional Medical Center and other sites. “I just loved seeing people’s faces light up when Smoky would snuggle up to them and wag. It was as good for me as it was them. I confess: I just love pets.”

Tennille no longer has Smoky, but she has two Australian Shepherds, Bebop and Lula.

She also has become an ambassador for the newly-formed AZ Philharmonic Orchestra. “When I lived in Reno, we had a top philharmonic orchestra of professional musicians. You could hand them a score and they would play it almost perfectly the first time through. I want to see the same thing in Prescott and in Central Arizona. This community deserves a professional level orchestra that will attract major performers and raise the musical profile of the region.” (See story about AZ Philharmonic Orchestra on p. 37.)

Five Decades of Performing

Tennille, who began singing in the late 1950s, plans to continue performing. She has returned to studying classical vocal music with Darrell Rowader, director of the Master Chorale at Yavapai College. She explained, “As a child in Montgomery, Alabama, I was trained as a classical pianist. My father had been a singer with Bob Crosby’s Bob-Cats. My mother hosted a local TV show. I attended Auburn University, where I continued my study of classical music. But when I moved to California, I moved more into popular music, jazz, rock and romantic ballads. That’s how I met Daryl. In 1969, when I was composing the music for a Broadway musical called “Mother Earth,” I hired Daryl to be the pianist. In 1973, we formed ‘The Captain and Tennille.’”

“The Captain and Tennille” soon became a top-performing musical success in the 1970s and 80s. They sold six million selling singles and several gold and platinum albums. Their most popular record, “Love Will Keep Us Together,” won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Record of the Year.

In 1980, Toni had her own syndicated talk show, “The Toni Tennille Show.”

Her success continued. In 1998-1999, she performed the lead role in the national tour of the musical play “Victor Victoria.”

She and then-husband Daryl later moved to Reno, where they lived until 2007. They moved from Reno to Prescott, where they built a showcase home just north of the city limits in Williamson Valley. They lived in that subdivision until they divorced in 2014. Toni moved to Florida in 2015.

But now she is back in Prescott. “And this is where I want to be,” she said with a smile.

What is your favorite kind of music?

“My favorite kind of music — pop, ballads, jazz, rock — I love them all. But I really want to take on the challenge of some traditional classical music, which is why I am studying at Yavapai College. I really hope through getting some training in classical music that I can find notes and ranges in my voice that I haven’t used for years. I really want to expand my vocal horizons — find notes I never knew I had.”

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

“The best advice I ever received probably came from my dear friend Eydie Gorme. We were talking one day. I said, ‘I wish I could sing the same kind of music as Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald.’ Edie looked at me and said, ‘There’s only one Sara and one Ella. You just sing and BE YOURSELF.’”

What would you want your next fortune cookie to say?

“Live long, prosper and have a healthy life.”

What is the one thing you cannot live without?

“The one thing I would not go on a vacation without is my own pillow.”

What is your hope for Prescott?

“I am hopeful that Prescott and the area can become a musical and cultural leader in Arizona. We have so much dedicated talent in our greater community. We need to share it with everyone.” QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

Her book, “Toni Tennille:  A Memoir,” is available at Amazon.