At a young age, Andrew started with Airways (16 years ago to be somewhat exact), and like many, his initial job was on the night operations crew. With only one work reference under his belt, having worked five years in grocery retail, he remembers the days of scanning coupons and stocking dog food – a job he apparently didn’t find very interesting. So when the Airways opportunity came along, he took it.  Having lived his entire life in Northwest Arkansas, the world of freight forwarding appealed to him, and soon Andrew showed an interest in the specialized market of trade shows. Today he leads the entire group of trade show operators as the division manager under the direction of Hal Poole (the VP of trade shows) who frequently travels. Andrew says, “I really enjoy the people I work with,” but it’s a mutual respect on behalf of those that work with him that makes Andrew an effective leader.

Airways asked Andrew to say a little about himself and his interests, and he came back with some standard answers we hear from a lot of college sports fans around here.  “I like watching college football and spending time with the family.”  But what about other interests?

Well when we asked Andrew to tell us something most people don’t know about him, he said “I’m sarcastic.”  Uhhh…sorry Andrew, we already knew that one!  But then he just nonchalantly throws out there that he’s a big Metal fan.  Huh? Now take a look at that picture above and tell us this

looks like a heavy metal aficionado.  Are you seeing it?  Neither do we.  But apparently it’s true because tops on Andrew’s bucket list is to attend the annual Wacken Open Air concert.  Think 4-day scream fest for 85,000 metal heads out in the middle of nowhere Germany. Bands with names like Orange Goblin and Napalm Death will be there to regale their fans with ultimate loudness in 2017 – possibly with Andrew (The Crusher) Brown in attendance.

“Unfortunately” Andrew says, “I burned my *10-year trip on my family.”

There’s that sarcasm again Andrew.

Ironically, says Hollis, despite his multi-XL size, he was regarded by his family as somewhat diminutive as compared to his identical twin brother, who is two inches taller than Hollis. This left Hollis with the unlikely nickname “Pee-Wee”, which was given to him affectionately by his mother because he was the so-called “runt of the litter.” Without a doubt though, his fellow workers consider Hollis a giant of a man in more ways than one.

Showing an immediate aptitude for operations and a team-player attitude put Hollis immediately in line for opportunity at Airways.  Moving from night operations to a position as an Ocean Account Manager on the day shift gave Hollis a strong base and broadened his skill set. When the Night Operations Supervisor spot became available, Hollis was at the top of the list of candidates and was promoted to the position in May of this year. As Night Supervisor, Hollis is responsible for mentoring a large number of our most inexperienced operations staff – a job that can literally set the tone for the future of Airways.  Fortunately, Hollis Hatch, in addition to being knowledgeable, is also a self proclaimed “people person.”  Hollis says, “I really enjoy the people (at Airways). I love dealing with the Agents and the customers, and I happen to be working with an excellent crew!”

Perhaps his ability to connect with others was nurtured at an early age by growing up in a military family.  Hollis’ father was a government contractor, which allowed he and his family to live and visit places all over the world. A little known, and interesting fact about Hollis is that he actually graduated High School while living in Cairo, Egypt, making him one of a very few Americans that can say they attended their high school graduation while standing in front of the Pyramids of Giza.

While Hollis lists his favorite things in the category of outdoor interests such as grilling, fishing, camping or just mowing the lawn, he still yearns for travel.  One of the top spots on the Hollis Hatch bucket list is occupied by a desire to someday make a return visit to Europe with his wife.

Anyone who follows Airways on Social Media or visits our website knows how proud we are of the average tenure of our corporate staff here in Fayetteville. We seem to have an abundance of people that have chosen to make Airways their last career stop.

At the very top of the pinnacle is Dave Hood, the longest serving employee of Airways, having started his first day with the company back on June 15, 1981 – just one year after Airways was formed. Over the years, Dave has been tasked with numerous responsibilities, which include Operations Manager, VP of Domestic Operations, and now as Vice President, Compliance Officer and Vendor Relations. We would like to wish Dave well as he continues his career at Airways into the future.