Division Spotlight
HEATHER DUMAS
Q: When did you start originally and how long were you here at Airways?
A: I met the Airways group back in 1992 when we were all young and good looking. I was waiting tables at a sports bar and thought it would be interesting to try a desk job. I came on board as a receptionist. I later moved to the back to work in Domestic. I stayed for a couple of years then went off to try other things. I came back a second time, I think it was 2009. I started off at the same desk doing the same reception job I had decades earlier. It was a real déjà vu feeling. Again, I stayed there a few months and eventually moved to the Customs Brokerage division. I had no idea what customs was or what they did, so of course I volunteered. It has been an interesting trip ever since.
Q: What was the deciding factor in you coming back to Airways?
A: They asked. Simple as that. Airways had always opened new doors for me in the past. I am excited to see what doors open this time.
Q: What is it that you do exactly?
A: Tedious book work. I push a lot of paper and read a lot of regulations. I work as a liaison between someone importing products into the United States and government agencies responsible for regulating product compliance. Basically, I look at a product, then tell you what is required in order to get it into the country. Then I push the paperwork through and coordinate its movement with logistic providers.
Q: What all went into you obtaining your broker license?
A: Hours and years of hard study. Learning the data entry part of customs brokerage was and is easy. Understanding it is a completely different game. To get a license you have to take a four-hour test. It is open book, but it’s a huge book! I studied two hours every night after work, for about a year. I took dozens of practice tests. The ability to plow through huge amounts of information in a short amount of time was essential.
Q: What have you been doing since leaving Airways?
A: I started my own company, HD Customs Brokers, Inc. I took the knowledge I learned at Airways and expanded on it to create an International trade consulting firm. We specialize in two things.
1. Help small businesses grow by improving their import and export supply chains.
2. Prepare and assist foreign companies to do business in the United States. It has been an interesting and challenging adventure. I have enjoyed every minute of it. Even the painful and hard lessons learned along the way.
Q: What kind of business goals do you have for the 2021 year?
A: We’re combining the best parts of HD and Airways and setting off on a new adventure.
Primary focus will be developing ecommerce. Then going after new international business.
It should be an interesting year.
