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    1. GSE

    Ground Support Spotlight: Johnnie Telford

    Sept. 21, 2023
    Ahead of Girls in Aviation Day, on Sept. 23, Telford shares her experience in the ground support space and offers advice to the next generation of aviation professionals.
    RJ Design
    Johnnie Telford
    Johnnie Telford

    Johnnie Telford has always worked for the airlines and airport industry.  She has refurbished passenger loading bridges, and her company RJ Design, LLC has two patents on equipment which improve safety on the airport – the first patent is a Side Shifting Cab and the second is a Conveyor Baggage Chute.

    As Women in Aviation International prepares to celebrate Girls in Aviation Day, Sept. 23, 2023, Telford spoke with Ground Support Worldwide to share her experience in the ground support industry and offer advice to the next generation of aviation professionals.

    Name: Johnnie Telford

    Job Title: Owner/President

    Company: RJ Design, LLC

    Location: Hammond, LA

    Years of experience in ground support industry: Approximately 50 years

    Years with current company: 35 years

    Ground Support Worldwide: What attracted you to a career in the ground support industry?

    Johnnie Telford: I wanted to make it safer to board and off-board the airplane.

    GSW: What has kept you engaged in the industry?

    JT: The fact that I stand behind my equipment and that my equipment is much safer. I also love traveling.

    GSW: What’s the best advice you’ve been given while working in this field?

    JT: Always stand with your equipment.

    GSW: How have you seen the ground support industry change the most during your career? 

    JT: There’s not as much work out there because the airlines are not doing as much business. This could be due to the poor condition the economy is in.

    GSW: What would you say to encourage someone, particularly girls and young women, looking to join the ground support industry?  

    JT: As a woman in an industry which started with mostly men, I would encourage young girls and women to get out and do what you believe in and what makes you happy. At times you will get frustrated. But if I can do it, so can you. I am happy and enjoy what I do.

    GSW: Any additional comments?

    JT: I still love what I am doing, I still stand behind the reputation of my equipment.  I am still here for the customer and airport industry.  I believe in making it safer for passengers and ground personnel.

    From the Archives

    Johnnie Telford was previously featured in Ground Support Worldwide, encouraging women to engage with the ground support industry.

    An excerpt from the article is below. Click here to read the article in its entirety.

    “I have loved it from the minute I got into it,” Johnnie Telford says.

    Telford entered into the GSE industry when she and her husband formed JohnRich Corporation and Telford Designs in the early 1990s. The company designs equipment for passenger loading bridges, along with performing installs, refurbishments and maintenance of passenger loading bridges.

    Telford brought innovation to the industry through her prior experience as an adjuster for workers’ compensation claims. She brought her knowledge of workplace injuries to the patents of a sideshift cab and conveyor bag chute. “That’s how I came up with the idea of the patents, because after we started my company I saw how many people got hurt lifting luggage and other items. Shoulder and back injuries were and still are the most common injury,” she says.

    The patents have gained momentum in the industry — they have been installed in 175 locations in the last year and a half, Telford says.

    From inspecting the bridges to selling the equipment, Telford has engaged in all aspects of the business. But such an aggressive and somewhat perfectionist attitude has proven challenging at times. “That’s my problem; I can’t seem to delegate, because if the quality is not to the customer’s and my standards, the problem falls back on me and my company. So in most cases, it’s easier for me just to do it,” she says.Telford says the industry has continually presented itself anew. “It’s exciting,” she says. “It’s never the same thing. You get to meet different people; you get to deal with different people all the time at different levels.”

    Telford revels in the fact that she is one of few women in the industry. “I like it because I’m a woman and you don’t run into many women in the airline business,” she says. “It’s kind of being an exception to the rule.”