{"id":28059,"date":"2024-03-08T15:30:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T15:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=28059"},"modified":"2024-03-08T15:37:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T15:37:39","slug":"the-women-of-connico-pivotal-to-the-companys-past-present-and-future-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/the-women-of-connico-pivotal-to-the-companys-past-present-and-future-success\/%20","title":{"rendered":"The Women of Connico – Pivotal to the Company’s Past, Present and Future Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo above – Some of the women from Connico include, from left, Janet Terry, Senior Marketing Specialist;  Tere Ayers, Specialist;  Lisa Heckendorn-Blake, Director of Scheduling; Christy Shadowens, Administrative Director; and Deane Gardner; Experience Specialist.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we focus on Women\u2019s History Month, the State Aviation Journal takes a look at a company established in 1990 by the late Connie S. Gowder, who grew Connico into a leading national construction consultancy known for its extraordinary team and commitment to superior client service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s History Month is an opportunity to reflect on what\nwe all need to contribute to move progress forward and how we can leverage our\nstatus as experts in our fields to make lasting change,\u201d said Connico\u2019s\nPresident and CEO, Sri Kumar. \u201cAt Connico, the women on our team are pivotal to\nour past, present and future success. As a woman-founded company, it is because\nof thoughtful and innovate women that we have established ourselves as a leader\nin the aviation industry, and the women currently on our team are vital assets\nto ensuring our work and team create the most well-rounded service for our\nclients now and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three of the Connico women are Veronica Takacs, Christy\nShadowens and Janet Terry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronica Takacs, EIT, Analyst I<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Veronica Takacs<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Veronica Takacs is a certified engineer-in-training and serves\nas an analyst I at Connico. With more than 3 years of experience, she\nofficially joined the Connico team full-time in 2023 after completing two\ninternships with them. \u201cI knew I wanted to be a civil engineer since the fifth\ngrade, but working in the aviation industry was never on my radar. I started my\ndegree with the intention of becoming a structural engineer but quickly\nrealized I had minimal interest in buildings,\u201d said Veronica. \u201cShortly after, I\nmet some of Connico\u2019s representatives at a career fair, and that was my first\nexposure to the aviation industry and the incredibly vast amount of\nopportunities it contains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her role, Veronica assists on many aviation projects,\nfocusing on cost estimating, value integration and system analyses. A few of\nher recent projects include, Passenger Terminal Area Facilities and Financial\nPlanning for Austin\u2013Bergstrom International Airport (AUS); an Airfield Pavement\nCondition Index (PCI) and Study, a Runway 2L-20R Joint Seal Replacement, and a\nMaster Plan Update for Nashville International Airport (BNA); and a Deicing Pad\nand South Cross-field Taxiway for Charlotte-Douglas International Airport\n(CLT). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne large challenge for engineers in this field is the\nbreadth of knowledge needed to fully understand an airport\u2019s inner workings.\nMost engineers focus on one discipline, like storm drainage or pavement design;\nhowever, working in aviation, we need to know how all of the disciplines work\ntogether to form the mini city that is an airport,\u201d said Veronica. \u201cThis\nchallenge, though, is precisely what I find interesting in aviation. I have the\nopportunity to learn about fuel systems, airfield lighting and rental car\nfacilities even though they don\u2019t necessarily fall within the civil engineering\ndiscipline. The nuances of airport infrastructure are what keep me engaged!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about her advice for women entering the workforce\nin her area of expertise, Veronica said she couldn\u2019t think of anything she\u2019d\nsay to women curious about aviation that she wouldn\u2019t say to men. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a\nlong way in this industry, and I think most women are already empowered to\nchoose whatever field excites them most, no questions asked. However, I do\nthink the aviation industry is widely unknown among adolescents and aspiring\nengineers; a hidden gem if you will. Outreach to both young girls and college\nstudents is near and dear to me, as I\u2019ve had the opportunity to participate in\nboth. I\u2019ve found that simply presenting how an airport is designed and built,\nespecially for student organizations and youth outreach programs, is extremely\neffective in peaking interest. After all, nearly everyone has been through an\nairport, but they may not have thought about who created it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vernonica is a recent graduate of the University of\nCincinnati with a degree in civil engineering and works at Connico\u2019s office in\nHebron, KY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christy Shadowens, MBA, Administrative Director<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christy Shadowens<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Christy Shadowens has more than 15 years of experience in\nadministration and accounting for various industries, including aviation, and\nhas been at Connico for nearly 4 years. Serving as the administrative director,\nshe leads process management and development for the team and manages vendor\/client\nrelations for numerous aviation projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One interesting thing that stands out for Christy is how\ndifficult it\u2019s been to recruit employees who have aviation experience. \u201cThe\nindustry is quite small, so there aren\u2019t a ton of people with specific aviation\ndesign\/construction experience, and that creates a very competitive market for\nthose who have a background within the space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of Christy\u2019s additional responsibilities include\npayroll administration, insurance and benefits administration, Disadvantaged\nBusiness Enterprise (DBE) certification maintenance and corporate filings and\ntaxes. She has played an integral role in helping Connico achieve DBE status in\n29 states and counting across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely been a more unique and customized\nexperience,\u201d said Christy. \u201cEach airport authority and client has its own\npreferred method of when and how invoicing should look. Additionally, because\nwe are a DBE firm, we often have to meet added compliance requirements in terms\nof contract dollars spent for our services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christy\u2019s advice for women entering the workforce applies to\nany industry, and that is to do whatever it is you\u2019re responsible for to the\nabsolute best of your ability, without excuse. \u201cOn top of that, I believe you\nreally can do it all; having a healthy work\/life balance is a real thing and is\nsomething everyone should work to make attainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christy is local to the Middle Tennessee area and works at\nConnico\u2019s Mt. Juliet office. She holds a Bachelor of Science in social work\nfrom Austin Peay State University and a Master of Business Administration from\nthe Keller Graduate School of Management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet Terry, Senior Marketing Specialist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Janet Terry<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Janet Terry is an established marketing professional with\nmore than 20 years of progressive experience in the aviation industry. Serving as\nConnico\u2019s senior marketing specialist for 6 years, she provides marketing and\nbusiness development services to the firm\u2019s clients and has had an immeasurable\nimpact on hundreds of aviation projects across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was first introduced to the aviation industry when I\nbegan my role at Connico in 2017. However, I have been involved in marketing\nfor the architecture\/engineering\/construction industry for nearly 20 years!\nAviation is such a fascinating industry to me because the projects that we\ntouch aid the daily lives of so many people across the world,\u201d said Janet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most interesting things that Janet has found from\nworking in aviation is the many different elements and boundaries that cross\nover one another. \u201cSince Connico is often involved in projects from the initial\nplanning to the design and through construction, these different stages make\nmarketing and project steps so much more fascinating,\u201d said Janet. \u201cThe needs\nand requirements usually grow as the project progresses through the different\nstages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of Janet\u2019s additional responsibilities include proposal\npreparation, database maintenance and various other marketing duties, including\nwebsite management, advertising, social media and collateral development. \u201cMarketing\nfor larger projects that allow me to work with multiple teams and partners is\nmy favorite. The qualifications presented, approaches written, and interviews\nare always more intense and gratifying on these large-scale projects. The\nPittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Project is one of my\nfavorites as it has now progressed from the planning and design stage into\nconstruction, and seeing the different pieces come together is so amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on one of the more challenging times in the\nindustry, Janet says that COVID-19 was a \u201creal eye-opener for the aviation\nindustry,\u201d with everyone involved having to take a step back to consider their\nbusiness\u2019s day-to-day operations and how they received and communicated\ninformation with current and potential clients. \u201cInterviews and meetings were\nall made virtual, and the overall outlook for airports changed,\u201d said Janet. \u201cFast\nforward a bit, the FAA funding has come through, and airports are now chasing\ntheir dreams for building, redoing, and planning their next aviation projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice for others – Janet says a key aspect of marketing is\nbuilding relationships, so her best advice is to consistently seek out new\nconnections and look for ways to deepen the connections you already have. \u201cA\ngreat start is to get involved in aviation organizations, like the American\nAssociation of Airport Executives or the Airport Consultants Council,\u201d said\nJanet. \u201cThese organizations have countless opportunities for members to\nconnect, and relationships with key firms in the aviation industry are\npriceless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration\nfrom Creighton University and is located at Connico\u2019s Mt. Juliet office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connico\u2019s purpose is to successfully deliver clients\u2019\nvisions for projects. We embrace the challenges presented to us through a\nvariety of projects in which we are involved. The excitement of construction\nand the ability to see projects through from concept to completion drives us to\nexcellence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo above – Some of the women from Connico include, from left, Janet Terry, Senior Marketing Specialist;  Tere Ayers, Specialist;  Lisa Heckendorn-Blake, Director of Scheduling; Christy Shadowens, Administrative Director; and Deane Gardner; Experience Specialist.   As we focus on Women\u2019s History Month, the State Aviation Journal takes a look at a company established in 1990 by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28059"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28072,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28059\/revisions\/28072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}