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Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/422565
24 airportbusiness November 2014 UNDER Melissa McCoy: Didn't choose aviation, aviation chose her Manager of Public Affairs and Communications Salina Airport Authority Age: 31 Years in Aviation: 10 Director of Air Service Development Houston Airport System Age: 39 Years in Aviation: 16 Melissa McCoy says she didn't choose aviation as a career, rather aviation chose her. She joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2005 as a combat correspondent and her first duty station was MCAS New River, which housed Marine Corps rotorcraft like the Osprey. Today she works as the man- ager of public affairs and communications, where she acts as a liaison between the Salina Airport Authority and its communities to increase the visibility of the Authority's features and resources among industry decision makers, site selectors and the commu- nity at large. McCoy is committed to growing jobs and business at the Salina Airport Authority and is instrumental in attracting new companies to locate at the Salina Airport Industrial Center. She is responsible for publishing a monthly newsletter, conduct- ing airport tours and handling special events for the Authority. She manages media relations through advisories, press releases and news conferences, as well as maintaining open commu- nication with media outlets. McCoy joined the Authority staff after serving four years in the Marine Corps. As a public affairs and media relations non-commissioned officer, she wrote and edited two command newspapers. DID YOU KNOW? MCCOY took her first helicopter ride when she was five years old. DID YOU KNOW? WAITS rode a bicycle from Houston to Austin, not once but twice! Molly Waits: Aviation is in her DNA Molly Waits says aviation is and has been such an important and influential part of her life that she thinks it is actually in her DNA. The seed was planted in her childhood by her mother, father, and stepfather, who were well anchored in the industry having become aviation professionals for several air carriers throughout their own adult careers. Her career flight path, so to speak, has been one that leads upwards and is ever soaring. As Director of Air Service Development for the Houston Airport System (HAS), Waits oversees a team of executives responsible for creating and executing air service devel- opment strategies at Houston's three airports—Ellington Airport, Hobby Airport, and Bush Intercontinental Airport. Waits joined HAS in October 2004, and has focused her energies on improving passenger and cargo traffic and increasing air services provided through Houston's airports. Prior to joining the HAS, Waits worked more than six years with Northwest Airlines in corporate sales. She earned a Masters of Business Administration degree in Global Management from the University of Phoenix in 2003, and a Bachelor of Science degree in International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University in 1997.