Southwest Airlines has the best Employees in the airline industry (yes, I might be a bit biased) and we LUV to recognize them for all the wonderful things they do. The Winning Spirit Award recognizes Employees who go out of their way to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. On October 6, CEO Gary Kelly and COO Mike Van de Ven proudly honored 34 outstanding Employees by sharing their wonderful stories and thanking them for their contribution. Whether receiving the Winning Spirit Award for their above and beyond Hospitalityor heroic efforts, this amazing group of Employees’ actions represent the Heart of our great Company.
Andre Coleman, MDW Skycap
Angel Lopez, PHX Operations Agent
Bill Merda, Cargo Customer Service Manager
Brad Monda, DAL First Officer
Brandi Wallace, MAF Freight Agent
Brooke Rolston, BNA Customer Service Agent
Cindy Sharp Broughton, DAL Flight Attendant
Coleen McKeague, MDW Customer Service Supervisor
Connie Dugan, MDW Customer Service Supervisor
Danny Gonner, DMX Maintenance Controller
Darlene Harris, ATL Customer Service Agent
David Reynolds, DEN Captain
Irwin Daugherty, PHX Provisioning Supervisor
Jacki Cannon, PHX Flight Attendant
Jay Munn, BWI Manager Line Maintenance
Jeff Heeg, PHX Provisioning Agent
Jerico Nazareno, LAS Ramp Agent
Jill Deno, MDW Flight Attendant
John Garofalo, DEN Captain
Kimberly Trigg, DAL Customer Service Supervisor
Michael Gaitan, DEN Flight Attendant
Pablo Andrade, CLE Customer Service Agent
Rebecca Herbst, ATL Customer Service Agent
Reginald Newell, ATL Operations Supervisor
Robert Brown, PHX Provisioning Agent
Sam Diaz, DAL Flight Attendant
Sean Moody, Cargo Customer Service Manager
Shadia Jarad, MDW Customer Service Supervisor
Sharon White, MDW Customer Service Supervisor
Shelley Taylor, DAL Flight Attendant
Susan Lytle, ATL Flight Attendant
Terri Swift, AC Customer Representative
Tobin Miklas, DMX Maintenance Controller
Will Rankin, MCI Provisioning Agent
Every Southwest Employee has the power to make a positive difference and to be the bright spot in someone’s day. LAS Ramp Agent Jerico Nazareno knows this to be true, and that’s why he wakes up each day and chooses to be happy and to make others smile. Here's a video of him in action.
Tonight, I was an hour too late. Not because of anything that your employees did or didn't do. In fact, one reservationist went out of her way to get me to Detroit from my vacation in Seattle. My 63-year-old brother was dying of cancer, which he's been dealing with for over two years. I had just seen him in April, so before the hospice lady described his condition to me, I thought I had plenty of time. After all, my only sister had also died of cancer at 55 in 2014 and she took many weeks to transition, as the hospice people put it. So, I thought I was safe to attend my sister's only son's wedding in the San Juan Islands on August 18. But if I got on that island, I knew it would take days to get back and I struggled with whether I should go to the wedding and represent my sister or to see my brother. My sister-in-law helped me make the decision this morning by putting the hospice lady on the phone with me. Once the decision was made, my first call was to Southwest. I had already booked a return flight from Portland to Phoenix where we lived for August 25 and a flight from Phoenix to Detroit to see my brother on Sept 2 with Southwest. It seemed like I had plenty of time, and I had several doctor and dentist appts to make. So the Southwest reservationist had to change all those flights and get me on a flight today to Detroit. She was able to do that and not charge me all the exorbitant fees that I was overwhelmed by when I looked at the website. I was so worried about the cost that I considered putting it off, but she handled everything for me and was most gracious. I wish I had her name because she eased my burden during a very trying time. I arrived at midnight and my nephew picked me up at the airport. We went directly to the hospital where they had a family room we could stay at. When we got there, we stopped by my brother's room, but my sister-in-law said he had just passed. I missed him by an hour. My only brother was gone but I'll not forget the kindness of your reservationist and how she took care of everything. I'm very grateful to Southwest.
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