Still going STRONG at TeledyneBrown

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

By GINA HANNAH

Times Business Writer gina.hannah@htimes.com

Anita Hand has experiencedmany changes in her 50 years

When Anita Hand began her career with Teledyne Brown Engineering, her office was in a small building at the corner of Fifth Avenue (now Governors Drive) and what is now Memorial Parkway. The company was called Brown Engineering Co. and was mainly a tool and die shop. Nearby, Drake Avenue was a dirt road.

Fifty years later, much has changed around Huntsville, but one thing hasn't: Hand still works for the company that hired her in a supervisory job during a time when few women held such positions.

Hand was recently honored by Teledyne Brown for her service, which has included administrative management, math and statistical analysis, software configuration and technical writing and editing. She is a member of the Fire Control and Communications team on the ground-based midcourse defense contract with Boeing, working at the aerospace giant's complex in Jetplex Industrial Park.

"Anita has been recognized by Boeing for her timeliness, thoroughness and completeness of quantifiable accomplishments," Hand's supervisor, Suzanna Clymer, said in a program honoring Hand. "She has set new standards for the areas she supports."

She's been setting standards since she launched her career more than half a century ago.

In 1957, armed with a bachelor's degree in math from David Lipscomb University and a master's in math from Vanderbilt, Hand assumed she would become a school teacher, following in the footsteps of several relatives.

But after spending a couple of summers working in data reduction for the Arnold Engineering Development Center's propulsion wind tunnel in Tullahoma, Tenn., she found she liked the work. A friend told her that Huntsville had math and science jobs.

Her first day working for Brown was Oct. 7, 1957, three days after the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite.

The contract under which she was hired was the firm's first "nonmanufacturing" work, performing calculations for trajectory analysis, or the path of projectiles - work that is these days performed by computers. She supervised nine women.

The space race was on, and Hand was to witness many firsts over the years: The launch of Explorer I. The formation of NASA. The evolution of computers. The growing role her employer would play in the aerospace industry.

She rubbed elbows with Dr. Wernher von Braun and Milton Cummings, one of Cummings Research Park's founders.

She recalls what happened when Explorer was launched, Jan. 31, 1958.

"Everybody gathered at the courthouse square and celebrated," she said.

She also remembers von Braun pushing for the construction of Memorial Parkway as a bypass through the center of town.

"Most people were against it," she said. "They didn't think we'd ever have that much traffic."

At 73, Hand has no plans to retire.

"I've always been an active person, that's why I don't want to retire," Hand said. "I'd like to keep working as long as I'm physically able to.

"I feel so fortunate. I have experienced so many firsts," Hand said. "When it's happening, you don't think about it."

Hand has also been active in the community. She was a charter member of the Women's Business Council and was named Business Woman of the Year in 1960.

"I don't think we were aware of how few women were in the work world," she said. "It was definitely a man's world, but I always felt I was treated equally."

As a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club, she was instrumental in the formation of Broadway Theatre League in 1959.

Hand has been a role model not only to colleagues but to her three daughters. All have advanced degrees and hold professional positions: Wilhelmina Cowie of Madison is a licensed counselor and a nurse; Katherine Dietzen owns a pharmaceutical communications firm in New York City; Louise Dietzen is an attorney in Atlanta.

"I'm very proud of them," Hand said. "I think they all felt like they should be able to take care of themselves."

The work world has changed, she said, with many more women in management positions than when she began her career, but "mother's guilt" remains the same for women who work. Hand said she was able to juggle motherhood and a career because she had good help, especially during several years when she was a single mother.

"I was fortunate enough that I had a professional job with a good salary," she said. "I paid a baby-sitter so I didn't have to use day care."

Also crucial to the juggle is realizing that you can't do everything perfectly.

"You can't have perfection," she said. "But what you can do is your best in both areas."



Still going STRONG at TeledyneBrown Wednesday, January 23, 2008 By GINA HANNAH Times Business Writer gina.hannah@htimes.com Anita Hand has experiencedmany changes in her 50 years When Anita Hand began her career with Teledyne Brown Engineering, her office was in a small building at the corner of Fifth Avenue (now Governors Drive) and what is now Memorial Parkway. The company was called Brown Engineering Co. and was mainly a tool and die shop. Nearby, Drake Avenue was a dirt road. Fifty years later, much has changed around Huntsville, but one thing hasn't: Hand still works for the company that hired her in a supervisory job during a time when few women held such positions. Hand was recently honored by Teledyne Brown for her service, which has included administrative management, math and statistical analysis, software configuration and technical writing and editing. She is a member of the Fire Control and Communications team on the ground-based midcourse defense contract with Boeing, working at the aerospace giant's complex in Jetplex Industrial Park. "Anita has been recognized by Boeing for her timeliness, thoroughness and completeness of quantifiable accomplishments," Hand's supervisor, Suzanna Clymer, said in a program honoring Hand. "She has set new standards for the areas she supports." She's been setting standards since she launched her career more than half a century ago. In 1957, armed with a bachelor's degree in math from David Lipscomb University and a master's in math from Vanderbilt, Hand assumed she would become a school teacher, following in the footsteps of several relatives. But after spending a couple of summers working in data reduction for the Arnold Engineering Development Center's propulsion wind tunnel in Tullahoma, Tenn., she found she liked the work. A friend told her that Huntsville had math and science jobs. Her first day working for Brown was Oct. 7, 1957, three days after the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite. The contract under which she was hired was the firm's first "nonmanufacturing" work, performing calculations for trajectory analysis, or the path of projectiles - work that is these days performed by computers. She supervised nine women. The space race was on, and Hand was to witness many firsts over the years: The launch of Explorer I. The formation of NASA. The evolution of computers. The growing role her employer would play in the aerospace industry. She rubbed elbows with Dr. Wernher von Braun and Milton Cummings, one of Cummings Research Park's founders. She recalls what happened when Explorer was launched, Jan. 31, 1958. "Everybody gathered at the courthouse square and celebrated," she said. She also remembers von Braun pushing for the construction of Memorial Parkway as a bypass through the center of town. "Most people were against it," she said. "They didn't think we'd ever have that much traffic." At 73, Hand has no plans to retire. "I've always been an active person, that's why I don't want to retire," Hand said. "I'd like to keep working as long as I'm physically able to. "I feel so fortunate. I have experienced so many firsts," Hand said. "When it's happening, you don't think about it." Hand has also been active in the community. She was a charter member of the Women's Business Council and was named Business Woman of the Year in 1960. "I don't think we were aware of how few women were in the work world," she said. "It was definitely a man's world, but I always felt I was treated equally." As a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club, she was instrumental in the formation of Broadway Theatre League in 1959. Hand has been a role model not only to colleagues but to her three daughters. All have advanced degrees and hold professional positions: Wilhelmina Cowie of Madison is a licensed counselor and a nurse; Katherine Dietzen owns a pharmaceutical communications firm in New York City; Louise Dietzen is an attorney in Atlanta. "I'm very proud of them," Hand said. "I think they all felt like they should be able to take care of themselves." The work world has changed, she said, with many more women in management positions than when she began her career, but "mother's guilt" remains the same for women who work. Hand said she was able to juggle motherhood and a career because she had good help, especially during several years when she was a single mother. "I was fortunate enough that I had a professional job with a good salary," she said. "I paid a baby-sitter so I didn't have to use day care." Also crucial to the juggle is realizing that you can't do everything perfectly. "You can't have perfection," she said. "But what you can do is your best in both areas." © 2008 The Huntsville Times © 2008 al.com All Rights Reserved.