When Paige Mejia ('02) started her wedding business in 2008, she didn't know it would lead to setting off smoke mines on the weekends. Eighteen years later, she's a lead pyrotechnician and co-owner of Pyrotex, Texas's oldest professional fireworks and pyrotechnic company.

Although the job has meant lots of work on weekends and holidays, it also has given Mejia new leadership skills as the team's chief marketing officer and as the founder of the Texas Live Events Coalition, an organization that helps safeguard smaller businesses. And, of course, it's given her the ability to create unforgettable moments.

"You smell the sulfur, you hear the noise," she says. "You feel that vibration from the show and it's magical."

Snap, Crackle, Pop

As a student, Mejia originally wanted to pursue architecture, then computer science, but finally settled on UNT's then-newly introduced decision sciences major.

The major's combination of business analytics, statistics and computer skills was a favorable fit for her. Mejia spent three years in the corporate world before stepping away to focus on raising her family. During that time, she built a videography company for weddings and events.

"And through that, I started networking. There's a lot of events industry associations here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area."

That was how she met Randy Beckham, who founded Pyrotex in 1979. He started off with concert pyrotechnics, and previously worked with the Bee Gees, David Bowie, Styx and Reba McEntire.

Mejia decided she was ready to return to full-time work and joined Pyrotex as a sales representative. After Beckham's passing in 2017, the company was willed to the corporate office, which by then included Mejia.

Among her favorite fireworks are ghost shells, which explode in a spherical pattern and resemble the Dallas Reunion Tower. She's also fond of a crossette firework that contains a small amount of white sparkle and crackle, reaches 200 feet and branches off as it explodes.

"It was a weird feeling when it first started at my show, almost calling me towards it! All of my clients mentioned how beautiful it was," she says.

The venues range from Independence Day shows and live theater to weddings and cancer remission celebrations. They've worked with Six Flags, and have begun collaborating with drone companies, as they did for the 2026 Independence Day celebrations. They've even done an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, a project which remains a personal favorite.

"I was a huge fan, so when I found out that we were doing a show, I was like, 'I am there with you front and center.'"

Boom, Bust and Back Again

But as with any job in the events industry, burnout is a struggle.

"It's the biggest day of someone's life, and a lot of stress goes into that," she says. "We are basically on call 24/7."

The moment-by-moment nature of the industry is one reason Mejia is president of the board of the Texas Live Events Coalition. She had previously been on the board of seven different Dallas-Fort Worth events industry associations. When COVID-19 hit, Mejia saw many small businesses and entrepreneurs struggling to make ends meet.

"The airlines were being bailed out," she says. "Hotels were being bailed out. But the events industry? We were told, 'Sorry, you've basically lost your job.' We had to sit and wait. And through that, we realized we need a voice."

Mejia and other industry leaders started the group to help wedding planners, performers and other businesses stay afloat amid quarantine. Together, they secured relief payments and supplied many businesses with personal protective equipment.

"I love helping businesses grow through networking — through relationship building," Mejia says. "That's my passion beyond fireworks — helping those companies see their vision and see their possibilities."

In the years since, she says they still help make sure small businesses in the events industry are heard.

"When convention centers are having renovations or when big events like the FIFA World Cup are coming to town — anything that might affect the events industry, we're just keeping an eye on that."

Her real-time knowledge of who's who and what's where has made Mejia one of the go-to sources for insight on the state of the events industry. As such, she's had the opportunity to give presentations and welcome young professionals into the business.

"I've had the privilege to speak at quite a few classes at UNT," she says. "They want to be an event planner or work at a hotel. I keep telling them, 'Y'all, there's so many things.' There's a girl who does cotton candy. There's a guy who does neon signs. There might be something that someone's never even thought of yet that would be the next greatest thing for the events industry."