We believe that our employees are the most important resource that we have available to support us daily in the fulfillment of the “aviation” mission for the State of Texas. They are, as team members, our winning hand. We will continue to showcase employees in Wingtips, so that you can get to know them, their responsibilities and their interests.
Suetta Murray
By Marie C. Peinado
Aviation Division
It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Suetta Murray, administrative assistant to Dave Fulton, our Aviation Division director. A talented lady endowed with professional skills and who manages crises with exceptional calm and composure as they occur in our busy and complex office. Additionally, Suetta is our liaison person who exhibits great rapport with professionals in different types of settings- governmental agencies and the private sector. To say Suetta is missed whenever she is away from the office is like locking yourself out of the car-you can’t go anywhere!
You have heard of Atlantis, haven’t you? … the mythical island that fell into the sea quite a few thousand years ago. Well, Suetta hails from Mt. Olympus … in southern Indiana, that is, AND which is no longer on the map! This is what happens when Suetta leaves a place-the operation ceases to exist or it comes to a stop!
Seriously, Suetta came to Aviation in 1989, when we were the old Texas Aeronautics Commission or better known as TAC, and just before being incorporated into the Texas Department of Transportation. Suetta; her husband, Bill, an engineer; and their daughters-Kelley and Heather-had just returned to the states from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia after working five and a half years with the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO).
World travelers, Suetta’s family have enjoyed different cultures and viewed exotic places through their great travel opportunities. In 1994, Suetta and Bill traveled to China by invitation to consult and speak to the Chinese government about building the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River. After a whirlwind of activity-sightseeing and shopping-Suetta returned home refreshed and enthused about their next excursion to Kenya, Africa in the year 2000. They will be celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary then.
There are too many stories about Suetta, printable and unprintable, that we often remember with great fondness. One is, of course, her “magic purse” syndrome. She believes that if you hold your purse out in front of yourself at arm’s length, you are protected from getting hit by cars … hence you will always see women if hurrying somewhere, like crossing the street holding their purses out front as they scurry along . . . BUT it only works for the one holding the purse! Or the story about the “sissy hamburgers” . . . our group almost always goes out to lunch together and everyone has different tastes, phobias, and whatever; and to save time, we elected Suetta to place the order ahead as we instructed her. Well, when we got our hamburgers forget about, “hold the mayo; or no onions, please; or no tomatoes, light on the lettuce; or sourdough bread, please” … the shock took us some time to recover … to discover we got basically bread and meat, thus our “sissy hamburgers.” No problem with Suetta, she handled the situation with aplomb as always. Or what about our famous ladies’ lunches, one special Halloween comes to mind … and that young, good looking male, dressed in a rather revealing, tight black outfit and that strategically placed serving tray … OOPS, the unprintable one! … just teasing. You guessed it, we have the most fun in Aviation!
You see, we are very fond of Suetta, and have always had a marvelous time with her, especially when socializing. We are holding our breath because Suetta and Bill have bought 40 acres of property in Colorado’s beautiful mountains for their retirement home to be built within the next two years. We wish them well!
Sherry Lynn Gilbert
By Karon Wiedemann
Aviation Division
The Aviation Division is delighted to welcome Sherry Lynn Gilbert to the Grant Management Section. Sherry Lynn will be responsible for the financial aspects of the planning and airport development grants and division purchasing, operating budget and fiscal matters. What that all boils down to in plain old English is that she will make sure we have the grants paid out of the right place, that we have sufficient money to cover your grant costs and that we have collected all local funds as and when needed. She is obviously someone you will want to know and work with closely!
Sherry Lynn brings with her nearly 20 years of experience in state government. Previously, she worked for the Texas Military Commission where she was responsible for all the contracts for design, construction and federal cooperative agreements required for the development of the state’s military facilities. She worked closely with the Adjutant General’s Department, which oversees the National Guard.
A Harlingen, Texas native, Sherry Lynn comes from an Air Force military family, well-travelled, with stays in metropolitan cities such as Chicago, Seattle and Denver. After his military assignment, her father was a pilot for United Airlines and eventually, settled at Lake Buchanan where the entire family partakes of Central Texas’ wonderful climate and hospitality.
A central Texas resident, Sherry Lynn graduated from New Braunfels High School and attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
In addition to all the state experience, Sherry Lynn is an experienced mother of two beautiful daughters, Jillian and Olivia who attend middle and elementary school in south Austin. A singleparent, Sherry and her daughters enjoy a multitude of school activities, as well as learning how to sew-a quilt is under construction- and learning how to bake cookies, and make homemade ice cream!
Please join us in welcoming Sherry Lynn to Aviation, as an important member of our “A-Team.”
