The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board of Directors elected two new officers and reappointed two members for 2014 during the group’s meeting Feb. 6. Vice Chairman Lillie Biggins, president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, was elected chairman, marking the second time she has served in that position. Biggins has served on the board since 2005. Board Secretary Sam Coats of Dallas was elected as vice chairman, and Fort Worth attorney Francisco Hernandez Jr., former board chairman, was elected as the new secretary, also for a second time. All three assumed their new roles at the meeting.
Board members honored the achievements and memory of the late Board Chairman Robert Hsueh who passed away Feb. 2, and recognized the service of board member Jeff Wentworth, whose term had expired. Wentworth had served on the board since 2004. Joining the board for 2014 are William (Bill) Meadows of Fort Worth and William Tsao of Dallas. Meadows joined the board for his first meeting, while Tsao will begin his term at a later date to be determined by the Dallas City Council. The Dallas City Council also re-appointed Sam Coats and Bernice Washington to additional two-year terms on the board. Biggins is a 30-year veteran of the health care industry. She joined Texas Health Fort Worth in 1997 as vice president of operations, overseeing major departments such as Emergency Services, Trauma Services and Restorative Services. Coats has extensive aviation experience, serving as president of Muse Air Corp. and in senior management positions with Continental Airlines Inc., Southern Cross Airlines Holdings in Australia, Southwest Airlines Co., Braniff Airways Inc. and Texas International Airlines Inc. Coats also has practiced law with the firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist in Dallas and has served as a member of the Texas legislature. Coats has served on the airport board since 2012.
Hernandez is a criminal law specialist and an authority in international relations and politics. In addition to running his law firm, Hernandez has served as an associate municipal judge and as chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission. Hernandez joined the airport board in May 2006. Meadows most recently served on the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees statewide activities of the Texas Department of Transportation. He previously served as vice chairman of the North Texas Tollway Authority, as an appointee to the Texas Water Development Board and as a city council member and mayor pro-tempore for the city of Fort Worth. Tsao currently serves on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board where he chairs the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Committee. He is president of Pinnacle Facility Engineering in Dallas, and has served as a consulting engineer on numerous regional projects. The D/FW International Airport Board is comprised of 12 members, with the Dallas and Fort Worth mayors each holding a permanent seat on the board. The Dallas City Council appoints six members, and the Fort Worth City Council appoints three members. A single non-voting member is appointed by one of the four host cities of D/FW Airport, rotating annually between the cities of Euless, Grapevine, Irving and Coppell. The current non-voting member is Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne. Additional members of the board are Regina Montoya, Curtis Ransom and Forrest Smith. –Betty Dillard
