"At age 69, her career is just taking off"

Monday, March 14, 2005

At age 69, her career is just taking off 
BY MONIFA THOMAS
The Chicago (IL) Sun-Times


Approaching her 70th birthday, Sanny Sue Holland-Hoffman is embarking on a
new career that, not too many years back, forced women into retirement when
they reached their early 30s.

Holland-Hoffman, a spunky woman with a deep Texas twang, recently became a
flight attendant -- a testament to how much the profession, and perceptions
about age, have evolved.

"All of my friends are retiring and settling down, but that's just not for
me," said Holland-Hoffman, who is on her third career and recently remarried
after being a widow for more than two decades. "I have a lot of energy and a
Type A personality, so I need to stay busy."

Holland-Hoffman first considered becoming a flight attendant in 2002 when
she met a Chicago-based one from NetJets in Sugarland, Texas. NetJets, based
in New Jersey, is a charter airline partially owned by billionaire investor
Warren Buffett that flies all over, including into the Chicago area.

At the time, Holland-Hoffman owned a private aircraft business with her son,
who is a pilot.

"I was at a point in my life when I wanted to do something exciting again,"
said the mother of three, who remarried on Valentine's Day.

Previously, she was a teacher specializing in early-childhood education --
something that got her involved in the White House committee that in the
1960s helped launch Head Start. She also has been an executive at a private
educational company.

Many compliments

Holland-Hoffman, of Kilgore, Texas, did a little research on the Internet
and applied for a job at NetJets.

Her personality melded with the airline's mission of providing flexible
travel and friendly service. Last fall, she was hired.

"Everyone that has met her has complimented me on how great she is," said
chief flight attendant Mary Ellen Connelly. "She immediately puts people at
ease."

Still, passengers, especially women, seem surprised to learn that
Holland-Hoffman is so new to an industry once known for its strict age,
weight and appearance standards. Similar to supermodels, flight attendants
were forced to retire by age 32, and they weren't allowed to marry or have
children, making the friendly skies anything but for women looking to make a
career out of it.

'I felt like I was a natural'

Much of that changed starting in the 1960s, when unions used the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to challenge discriminatory practices, according to Lori
Bassani, a spokeswoman for the Association of Professional Flight
Attendants, a union representing 25,000 American Airlines employees.

Commercial airlines dropped mandatory age requirements in 1968.

The person closest to Holland-Hoffman in age from her NetJets flight
attendant class is 31, but she said that doesn't make her feel out of place.

"I'm extremely comfortable," she said. "I felt like I was a natural for
this."

As on the major airlines, Holland-Hoffman's job entails getting travelers
drinks and pillows, and relaying safety instructions. Her trips involve
smaller corporate-type jets.

"I'm just beginning a new career, and I have a new husband," Holland-Hoffman
said. "I'm like a lot of young women."


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