Northwest Aerospace News December | January Issue No. 12 | Page 64

Northwest Readers
SHARE A STORY
ROBIN TOTH:
An aerospace industry leader paving the
way for Washington companies to succeed
By Robin Toth
I
t was an inauspicious
beginning to an eventual career
in aerospace. As a 15-year-old
traveling alone on my first airline
itinerary, I missed my second
flight in Dallas. Directed by
someone trying to be helpful,
I ended up at the wrong gate,
waiting for what seemed hours
for my next flight. I was rescued
by an airport worker, and taken
to customer service and offered
cigarettes and a drink!
64
NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
I declined both, and was finally on my way home to LAX. I still laugh about that
poor girl who had no idea where she was headed or how to get there.
Fast forward to today. I have been fortunate to work in transportation and
distribution for the first part of my career, with a shift to economic development
serving at Spokane County, the City of Spokane and finally with the Spokane
Economic Development Council (now Greater Spokane Inc.).
In this role, I worked my way up from a special projects role to leading the
business development team in recruiting, retaining, assisting and starting new
businesses. During that period, the team worked on more than 1,500 projects,
which resulted in 100 plus wins and thousands of new jobs for the community,
including many in the aerospace industry.