Thomas Vergo
Age: 31
Assistant Superintendent – Airport Operations
Tallahassee International Airport
- Alma Mater: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach
- Something people may not know about me: I have a fraternal twin sister
- Favorite book: Unbroken
- Favorite TV show: Law & Order
- Favorite movie: Air Force One
- Favorite hobby(s): Jetskiing, hiking fishing camping
A conversation with his parents in high school changed the trajectory of Thomas Vergo’s career. “When I was in high school, my mom and dad asked me what I wanted to do, and I said be a veterinarian. I had already been accepted into college for that,” he said.
But Vergo’s parents pointed out that all of his school projects were aviation related, and asked if he was sure he didn’t want to do that as a career. “I called a friend whose dad was a pilot and he let me fly his plane,” he recalled.
He was hooked and started flying lessons right before starting his senior year in high school. By the July before he started college, he had completed his private pilot’s license, his single/multi-engine instrument rating and his single/multi-engine commercial pilot’s license. And he did all this while volunteering at Marco Island Executive Airport, taking his high school senior classes and working for Gulf Coast Little League as the concession stand manager.
Vergo’s original plan was to become a professional pilot after graduation. “Unfortunately, it was in 2007, when the economy went haywire. So I moved back home and starting working in the airport that I worked back in college,” he said. “I did a little bit of everything, including catering and towing aircraft.”
One rainy day, Vergo was directing airport staff on a project. “The airport’s interim director watched me, brought me to the office and asked if I wanted to be the manager of a nearby airport,” he said. “I was only 24. I told her I’d take the job and the rest is history.”
He loves that every day is a different day and that all airports are unique. “You know the common phrase -- if you’ve seen one airport, you’ve seen one airport -- and it’s true,” he said. “I also like the camaraderie, knowing that if I have a question, other people in the industry will talk to you. Problems that could take weeks and months can be done in mere days because industry people are so approachable.”
Vergo also loves people and their travels when it comes to aviation. “People come to the airport because they are going somewhere for work, pleasure or last-minute emergencies,” he said. “And I’m part of the solution to connect people from Point A to Point B. Aviation touches everyone, even if you don’t fly.”
