July 2025
90th Anniversary Spotlight: From the Newsroom to PHX!
Phoenix news broadcasting legend Mary Jo West is still informing Arizona residents on a regular basis. She’s doing it now through her role as a Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Guest Services Representative, instead of visiting your living room through the TV!
West’s childhood home was by the runways at the Atlanta airport, so she says airports always have felt like home. After 28 years in TV, including trailblazing as Phoenix’s first female primetime anchor, she retired, volunteered in the community and spent quality time with her grandchildren. When she decided she wanted something else to do, she chose providing customer service to passengers at the airport.
“This place reminds me of a newsroom because of the sounds, because every day is different. It's never boring,” West says. “You never know what question is going to be thrown at you.”
She takes great pride in solving passengers’ problems and pointing them in the right direction.
“There's something about this airport for me personally, and professionally, that feels like a safe harbor,” West says. “We're going to send you off, we're going to do our very, very best to get you there safely, to get you there comfortably, hopefully on time, and then we're going to be back here when you return with open arms to say, ‘welcome home.’"
As PHX celebrates its 90th anniversary this month, a familiar face to generations of Phoenicians continues to inform, befriend and help people stay calm.
“It's hard to explain the power of a smile, and that's my goal is to make sure I smile at everyone, try to make them feel like they're going to be okay,” West says. “I try to take their stress away and answer their questions in the best way that I can. I just feel this place has a special heart and always has.”
See more highlights from our 90th anniversary at https://www.skyharbor.com/90years.
