DFW International Airport Announces New Board Leadership

DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, (March 13, 2006) – A Dallas resident, business owner and accomplished pilot has been elected the 21st chair of the DFW International Airport Board. On March 2, J. Jan Collmer, owner of Collmer Components, presided over his first Board meeting immediately after being elected chairman. Also elected to lead the Airport Board was Fort Worth hospital administrator Lillie Biggins as vice chair and Dallas attorney Robert Hsueh as secretary. 

Collmer’s aviation experience began in 1956 at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi where he earned his wings flying for the U.S. Navy. Collmer currently serves as President of the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, and is a trustee for the University of Dallas and the Jesuit College Preparatory School Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Southwest Securities. He is the former chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce. 

“Jan Collmer brings more experience to the job of chair of the DFW International Airport Board than anyone in recent memory,” said Dallas Mayor Laura Miller. “He served on the board with distinction from 1987 to 1991 and from 1994 to 1998 and I was happy to support his reappoint to the board in November 2004. In this period of transition for DFW, I think Jan will be a thoughtful and seasoned leader.” 

Collmer is an accomplished air-show pilot and has flown air shows all across the country, including the only air show performance ever held at DFW International Airport in 1996. 

Biggins will serve as vice chair of the Board and is a 30-year veteran of health care. She has served as the Vice President of Operations at Harris Methodist Fort Worth since 1997. She has responsibility for enhancing the performance of Harris Methodist Fort Worth with regard to cost effectiveness, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Biggins oversees major departments such as Emergency Services, Trauma Services and Restorative Services. 

“We’re fortunate and honored to have Lillie M. Biggins seated as the Vice Chair for the DFW Board of Directors,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief. “Ms. Biggins is an exceptional leader who is tremendously devoted to serving the residents of Fort Worth. Her business and professional expertise lend additional strength to her valuable advocacy for our entire region.” 

Biggins is a graduate of the John Peter Smith School of Nursing. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Masters of Science from Texas Woman's University in Denton. Biggins held an appointment of Assistant Clinical Professor in Hospital Administration from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas for six years and is currently Adjunct Faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington.  

Biggins also serves on the Board of the American Heart Association, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County Board, the American Cancer Society Board, The North Texas BOLD Initiative Advisory Board and the University of Texas at Arlington Nursing Advisory Board. 

Biggins’ unrelenting service and devotion to the community has earned her numerous awards, including the Dallas/Fort Worth's Great 100 Nurses Award, Board Member of the Year by the American Heart Association, Nurse of the Year from the Brooks and Gray Sorority, Partnership Award from the American Cancer Society, Humanitarian Award from the Wildcat Club, the Renaissance Cultural Center 2004 Living Legend Award, and the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce Eagle Award. 

Hsueh, a Dallas resident, was elected to serve as the Board secretary. Hsueh is the managing partner of the Law Offices Robert W. Hsueh, P.C. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, School of Law, Hsueh is very active in the international business community and is currently an Arbitrator, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, member of American Immigration Lawyers Association, and member of State Bar of Texas. 

Hsueh also is on the Board of Directors for KERA, JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA, TXU Electric & Gas, Dallas Museum of Art, World Affairs Council of Greater Dallas, and is Chairman of The Dallas-China Partnership and was the founding chairman of The Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce. 

“As trade relations between China and Dallas-Fort Worth experience unprecedented growth, Board Secretary Robert Hsueh’s leadership appointment comes at a pivotal time,” said Miller. “In his first year as a board member Hsueh traveled to Asia to retain a critical cargo tenant at the airport – the type of mission that Dallas political leaders have turned to Hsueh to execute for two decades now. Our region’s goal to be the preeminent air cargo distribution center in the country will be more easily realized with Mr. Hsueh’s help.” 

The DFW International Airport Board of Directors is composed of 12 members. The Dallas and Fort Worth Mayors each serve on the Board in addition to a single nonvoting member which is rotated annually between the cities of Euless, Grapevine, Irving and Coppell.