2020 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: Ben Wagner, C.M.

Growing up, Ben Wagner found himself drawn to the wonders of flight at an early age.

“I grew up in western Wisconsin and anytime we took a trip to the Twin Cities, I begged my parents to go watch airplanes,” recounts Wagner.

His passions growing from airplanes to airports, Wagner is now an  airport duty manager for the Spokane International Airport and Felts Field. In the role he utilizes his other passion – the outdoors.

“What I enjoy about what I do is that it combines the passion that I had at a young age for aviation and wildlife hazard management. I’m kind of an outdoorsy guy, so you put those two things together and it puts me right in my wheelhouse.”

Wagner has been in the position for 16 years and was awarded the USDA Wildlife Services Group for Excellence in Wildlife Hazard Management, presented to him at the 2019 Washington Airport Management Association Annual Meeting.

Aside from his duties with wildlife management, Wagner handles military operations coordination, recently participating in a large-scale exercise called Mobility Guardian, in which Air Force tanker alert aircraft were stationed at the airport’s facility. Wagner also takes on the sensitive task of coordinating the return of honorable remains of armed forces veterans and assists with Honor Flight, which transports veterans back to Washington, DC to visit the memorials.

Wagner has earned the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Certified Member credential and has also completed the AAAE Airport Certified Employee (ACE) Operations credential.

In addition to all that, Wagner mentors entry level operations staff and dedicates himself to their success. And outside of work, he serves his local communities by volunteering with Blessings Under the Bridge, an organization that assists the homeless.

The diversity his role offers him is just what Wagner said he enjoy most about his work.

“Aviation, it’s different every day, especially when you work at a small hub airport. Each day you come in, you get to take on unique challenges, and with support from other departments, provide a first class product.”