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Recognizing Employees: Southwest's Winning Spirit Award

vcurry
Explorer C

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 Hospitality or heroic efforts, this amazing group of Employees’ actions represent the Heart of our great Company. winning spirit
  • 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.  
1 Comment
Kathy_McKinstry
Explorer C

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.