Ethel Dolores "D.D." Cotton was born in Columbus, Ohio on April 15. 1935. Raised in New York City, Cotton arrived in Las Vegas as a dancer in Cab Calloway's traveling production "The Cotton Club." During a period of strained race relations, she stood for equal rights as the first black cocktail waitress on the Strip and one of the first black dealers.

Beginning in clerical work at the Nevada Test Site, Daniel rose to become the Assistant Hotel Manager at Union Plaza Hotel and Casino. She established the Hotel Managers Association and the Professional Black Women's Alliance. After leaving the gaming industry, Daniel returned to school to train for a career in education. She worked closely with the Displaced Homemaker Program at the Community College of Southern Nevada and later with Help Centers of Southern Nevada.

Florence J. Murphy was a pilot and developer of commercial aviation in Nevada. She was born on December 13, 1911 in Fernley, Nevada as Colanthe Jones, but later changed her name to Florence after her favorite aunt. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno before marrying John Murphy. They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1936 where Murphy began working as a legal secretary and had her first experience piloting an airplane. She later took piloting lessons, and received a piloting and instructor's license by 1941.