Director of Marketing and Business Development
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019
14 AIRPORT VOICE, APRIL 2019
Loves Working With People
BY JESSICA MILITELLO
What started as a part time summer job working
for Delta turned into a career that has spanned
32 years for Ann Cronin, the director of
marketing and business development
for Pax Assist.
In Cronin’s role, she finds business
within the airline company, handles
the existing business relationships Pax
Assist has with 32 carriers, prepares
presentations, and handles airline relations,
just to name a few tasks throughout
her day-to-day operations. From the
first job she took in the airline industry,
Cronin realized she truly enjoyed the
environment, explaining, “it just gets in
your blood and you love it.”
For Cronin, who has spent an entire career in the
aviation industry, one of the most important parts
of her job is making sure her employees are taken
care of.
“If you like working with people, it’s a wonderful
place to be,” said Cronin. “Coming in as a station
manager, if I took care of my employees, they took
care of the customer, so I always make sure I have
an open-door policy because they were
always part of the solution.”
Cronin’s connection to her employees
may also be tied to her upbringing
in Long Island, NY. Cronin grew up
in a community where several of her
neighbors worked in the airline industry.
One of her neighbors worked as a
station manager for Delta and helped
her earn a position that was initially
intended to be a part time summer job
while she went to school to earn her degree
in business management. After
becoming exposed to the environment and the people
she worked with, there was no turning back for
Cronin.
After 32 years and several promotions later, Cronin
still loves what she does and has encouraging
advice for anyone who may be looking to a new career,
WOMEN of ACHIEVEMENT
OCCUPATION /POSITION: Director of Marketing
and Business Development
EMPLOYER: Pax Assist
HOMETOWN: Long Island, NY
HOBBY-exercise, tennis, golf, bowling, traveling
FAVORITE BOOKS: Building a Story Brand by
Donald miller
FAVORITE MOVIES: Crazy Rich Asian
HAPPY PLACE: Scottsdale, Arizona
Favorite quote or motto: do it right or don’t it
at all
in aviation or elsewhere.
“It’s tough, it takes time and patience,” said Cronin.
“I would say pay your dues and come in at an entry
level position. You have to be patient, aviation is
a great industry, but you have to be ready for change
and be opened minded to get things done.”
Motivation and Hard Work Are Keys
to Success for Project Manager
BY JESSICA MILITELLO
As the project contracts
and controls manager of
VRH construction for over 18
years, Jackie Bethea’s positive
attitude and unrelenting
work ethic have been an
inspiration to her peers and
played an important role in
her own success at the aviation
construction specialist
company.
Bethea has worked in the
construction industry for 25
years, from her first role as
a secretary to her current
role in leadership as a member
of the management team.
Throughout her career she
continued to earn more responsibilities
and welcomed
challenges in order to grow
from them. Bethea is involved
with the entire process from
preconstruction through construction,
and her hunger to
learn as much as she can has
been instrumental throughout
her career.
For someone like Bethea
who has started from an entry
level position to a role
with many responsibilities,
her ability to take negativity
and use it to her advantage
has been a key trait.
“I had to learn to take
negative feedback and make
it work to my benefit,” said
Bethea. “A lot of the negative
feedback I received was that
I don’t have a college degree,
but I had so much experience
in all stages of construction
and reconstruction. But that
experience allowed me to
grow and put more under my
belt and it really helped.”
Bethea began her career
as a secretary for a commercial
real estate office before
going into service and maintenance
for a contractor, and
an engineer and marketing
assistant for a company that
worked with perimeter intrusion
detection systems. Because
Bethea did not have a
degree in engineering, which
can provide more opportunities
in the construction industry,
her willingness to
learn in all stages and gradually
move up through each
level of her industry gave her
a competitive edge.
WOMEN
of ACHIEVEMENT
OCCUPATION /POSITION:
Project Contracts &
Controls Manager (SIM &
M/WBE Mgr.)
EMPLOYER: VRH Construction
HOMETOWN: Bronx Native,
lives in NJ
MENTOR: Magdy Allam –
Project Executive at VRH
HOBBY: Baking, Crafting
FAVORITE BOOKS: Jane
Eyre and Wuthering
Heights
FAVORITE MOVIES: A
Bronx Tale, Crouching Tiger,
Salt
HAPPY PLACE: Lounging
on a powdery beach in the
Caribbean
FAVORITE QUOTE OR
MOTTO: “I did my best
and God did the rest”.
When Bethea began
working for VRH construction
in 2001 she used her
strong mentality as well as
the teachings of her mentors
to help her to get where she
is today.
“I looked at problems as
opportunities to create solutions,”
said Bethea. “If you’re
going to grow, you have to go
higher and do better. “