Happy Boxing Day.  Serioulsy, this New Year's post from Linda Rutherford  will be our last new post until January 5.  We will still be moderating and posting your comments, so keep 'em coming.

 

 

When my son was a toddler, we began a fun (well, we think it is) family tradition for New Year's Eve. We aren't big "let's go out and dance the night away" people, so we always opted for the low-key family gatherings. One New Year's Eve, when Matt was a little more than two, we introduced him to the whole New Year's concept. You see, son, this is when the year changes number, you make a New Year's wish, you kiss at midnight, and you "toast" someone with a drink and say "cheers!"
 
I went whole hog. I bought New Year's hats, noisemakers, horns, plastic champagne glasses, and sparkling grape juice. We paraded around the kitchen, blowing our horns, and saying "Happy New Year" over and over. Then, I poured the sparkling grape juice into the glasses and we said, "now, let's have a toast to the New Year!" We looked expectantly at Matt, all smiles like we were the coolest parents ever to be introducing this new tradition to him. He looked befuddled. "Where's the toast?" he said softly. I told him the "clink" of the glasses WAS the toast. "No, I want toast" he said a little louder. "But..." I said trying to give a two-year-old a logical explanation of my actions. "NO, MOM, I SAID I WANT TOAST!!!!!" Then, it hit us. He wanted the slice of bread that magically appears from the toaster, ready to eat. He wanted ACTUAL toast. So, we toasted the boy some white bread and fed it to him. He was happy.
 
Fast forward. We have done our parade every year since. His sister, now 9, has joined in the fun. And, yes, every year, we end the festivities with what all normal people do on New Year's Eve, with a piece of toast (and not too much butter, Mommy).
 
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you will share any New Year's traditions that you have here.
 

We asked our Bloggers to send you some of their Holiday thoughts, and what better time to do that than Christmas Eve.  Merry Christmas from all of us at Nuts About Southwest.

Having the Freedom to Fly gives my husband and me the Freedom to make many special memories.  We have had the opportunity to go so many wonderful places throughout my tenure at Southwest.  We have travelled from coast to coast in the United States and as far away as The Czech Republic and Japan.  At each destination, we are sure to purchase an ornament that captures a memory from the trip.  Now keep in mind, we aren’t looking for the prettiest ornament or the most popular, but the ornament that will make us remember the highlights of our vacation.  So, we have everything from a cowbell from Switzerland to a miniature Cruise Ship from our honeymoon.  Our tradition continues with decorating the tree.  Each year, as we sip on hot chocolate and listen to Holiday music, we adorn our Christmas tree with one ornament at time remembering the fun, and often hilarious, memories from that particular trip.  Our memories are a gift that we continue to give each year during the Holidays,

Beverly Behrens

 To all Mommys and Daddys: How do you make your child's first Christmas special?! James is only four months old, so he's not old enough to understand or remember the holiday this year.

My hubby suggested giving him a super sized bottle of milk in his stocking! Mommy and Daddy hope that Santa brings some extra SLEEP.  We were too tired to deal with decorating a tree and bought a small Charlie Brown tree that's sitting on our kitchen table. We attempted to see Santa three times; each time we arrived at the mall, Santa was on a break! The third time was the charm, and we got the priceless dear-in-the- headlights picture to show James' first girlfriend.

Despite the fact that we're clueless parents, we're very blessed to have our son to celebrate this special time of year together. Oh, by the way, I can't stand Will Ferrell, but I have to admit, Elf is a cute movie!

Happy HoHoHo to you and yours!

 

Kim Delevett and son James

 

My friend Juls was dressed in a Santa outfit while working Christmas Day.  She was standing outside the aircraft door when a small boy came around the corner with his parents.  A look of delight crossed the child's face as he ran and threw his arms around Juls' legs.  "Oh Santa, thank you so much for all my toys!"  There's something special about "being" Santa! 

While working Christmas Day, I asked a little boy if Santa had come to see him.  He matter-of-factly said, "No."  What do you say to that?  His parents may simply not celebrate Christmas, but I give toys to Toys for Tots, donate to Salvation Army, and chose an angel from the Angel Tree.

Carole Adams

Miss Dorothy Jean Siegrest (she prefers to go by "Jean being from Kansas") and Mr. Charles Leroy Novak wed on December 24, 1948 in Haddam, Kansas in a tiny courthouse during the middle of an intense midwestern snowstorm. It wasn’t a very ceremonial affair like people have today. It was just a simple, small ceremony with a judge and a few friends as witnesses. She wore a fancy corsage and her nicest dress to signify the occasion. Granny says that the fact that it was Christmas Eve made it a magical evening affair.

From that night on, my Granny became known to my Pops as “my little woman”. He says her nickname with a fondness that only exists between a woman and man who have been married for 60 years. Granny loves to talk about that night, and instead of reading the Christmas Story every Christmas Eve, we get the pleasure of hearing Granny speak about her marriage ceremony as she serves her famous pecan pie. Her face lights up and her mind drifts back to the past as she shares their beautiful love story.

So this Christmas Eve will certainly be a momentous occasion. Not only will my family exchange Christmas presents under the glow of the Christmas tree but we will more importantly get to celebrate a 60-year marriage filled with the kind of love that all of us have tried to emulate in our own relationships. Happy Anniversary Granny and Pops and thank you for showing us how to simply love.

Jim Herring (aka Jimmy da Fish) opened the door for a discussion of Christmas movies in his earlier post, so I am walking through that door to throw in my two-cents.  First, though, are you wondering where all the good Christmas moves are on television this year?  I have hundreds of satellite channels of nothing, but I haven’t found all my favorites yet.

So, what are those favorites?  Well, this is my list, your mileage may vary, but I will try to justify my thoughts.  Let’s start with a Thanksgiving movie that helps set up the Christmas season.  Planes, Trains, and Automobiles has a special meaning to airline employees who try to travel standby during the holidays.  You have to expect disruptions and delay, while trying to remain flexible.  However, I have yet to hear of anyone of whom I know who has driven a torched K-car down Illinois Interstates.  The officer asks John Candy if he thinks the car is safe to drive, and I eagerly await the response.  Wait for it…”Yes, Officer, Yes, I do!”

This sweet and funny movie leads us up to the big enchilada, the mega-holiday, the one that keeps kids of all ages awake for days in anticipation of finding a Red Ryder BB gun under the tree.  My favorite “serious” Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life.  Filmed immediately after World War II, Frank Capra and his outstanding cast really define the Christmas Spirit.  What could easily come off as corny and overblown is sincere and touching in Capra’s hand, and the ending probably fits the desire of returning vets to put the evil out of their lives and to get on with living.  I think the move frustrates a modern audience seeking “closure.”  For that, you have to view the “sequel” that Saturday Night Live did of the Frank Bailey’s friends and his brother Harry going over to “take care” of Old Man Potter.

Scrooged with Bill Murray is possibly the best movie version of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.  It replaces the hard, emotionless accountant, Ebenezer Scrooge, with a cold heartless television network executive, Frank Cross, played by Murray.  Carol Kane, as the Ghost of Christmas Present always leaves me laughing (“Sometimes you have to *slap* them in the face just to get their attention!”), and besides Kane and Murray, the cast includes Robert Goulet (as himself), Robert Mitchum, Jamie Farr, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Alfre Woodard, and Michael j. Pollard, just to name a few.

If the lesson of Scrooged is to appreciate the blessings around us, the morals of the next movie is don’t count your eggs before they hatch and don’t dump the toilets of your RV directly into a storm drain.  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation reunites the Griswolds with Cousin Eddie.  This is one movie that gets funnier every year, whether it’s going overboard on the house decorations, driving the snooty neighbors crazy, or Cousin Eddie dumping the RV toilet down the storm drain while wearing pajamas, a robe, smoking a cigar, and drinking a beer.

The Home Alone movies are classics, and the second one, which is set in New York has some great Big Apple winter scenes.  In spite of Kevin’s antics, I always feel a little melancholy after watching either of these two movies, and just this morning, I read that Macaulay Culkins’ sister was killed in a tragic car wreck.  Life just isn’t fair sometimes.

In spite of all of these great movies, my absolute favorite is A Christmas Story.  Set in northern Indiana during 1940, its message is spot on.  Jean Shepherd, the screenwriter has a gift for dialogue, and he includes all those details of our own childhood that we normally would forget.  Ralphie and I shared similar circumstances and, I remember my own fear of Santa.  Unfortunately, at about the same age, I shouted the most inappropriate comment at the worst time on a full playground, and my sweet dear mother had a reaction equal to Ralphie’s mom.  Unlike Ralphie, I never got one of the gifts I wanted the most, in my case a toy fire truck.  And while I never stuck my tongue to a poll, I did have my own Scut Farkus affair.  I would venture that as many people can cite dialogue from this movie as they can from Airplane.  "it'll put your eye out, kid!" Rest assured, I will watch it at least once during TNT’s marathon on Christmas Eve.

As I sat in the lobby of the Southwest Airlines Headquarters I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous, I mean, who wouldn’t on their first day of work?  Would I like the work?  Would I like the people I worked with?  All legitimate concerns when starting a new job.  I couldn’t help but look around at all the history that adorns the walls of the building.  To see where Southwest came from, to see where it is now, and to know that I was going to be a part of this somehow…I think this is something I want to be a part of.

I have to mention the welcome that awaited me at my new desk.  “Welcome Aboard, Caleb” along with Inflatable Boeing 737s and balloons.  I was definitely impressed.  I felt special enough that someone took the time to decorate my desk.

You hear that Southwest is one of the best companies to work for but you really never realize until you are inside and it hits you.  You know that usually everywhere you work there is that one person who you want to avoid at all cost, I mean, the person that not seeing makes your day better, sort of like Dwight from "The Office"; I have yet to find that individual at Southwest, and I don’t think I will.  Everyone I talk to is one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I especially love the hugs that I get from people I have known a week.  I think this is something I want to be a part of.

Well, my first week really flew by.  Out of the first five days I was here, I have two T-shirts to add to my collection.  I guess it is time to start changing out the wardrobe.  I was able to go to my first event.  Kidd’s Kids in Hanger 5.  What an incredible event to see these kids get to do something so cool with their families.  I must say this is the best first week of my life.  You know what…I think this is something I want to be a part of.

Picture: Millie Richter handing me my first T-shirt here at Southwest at my new desk.  The shirt highlights the best University in the world.

One tradition at Southwest Airlines is that all of the Inflight classes host what we call a “Liquor Mockup.” It has been done as long as I have been around and a lot longer than that.  I went to the liquor mockup for Flight Attendant class 246 to meet some of my new Coworkers and to try to find out when this tradition started and why.

I interview one lady who got back from her honeymoon and started training the next day (pictured right) and during class met singer Richie McDonald from the band Lone Star.

I was determined to find out about the first liquor mockup, did I find the answer from a 28-year Employee? Maybe it was the 30-year Employee? Listen to Red Belly Radio to find out and while you are there, learn about how the koala, the red panda, and the Internet are connected.

What’s that, Flight Attendants not your cup of tea? I can't imagine that, but we now have the opportunity for you to phone in your show ideas. Call our new Red Belly Radio hotline 214 792 4300 and leave me a message. Your voice might be on a future show. Or you can always email me at redbellyradio@wnco.com. 

I'm about to celebrate my two week anniversary here at Southwest (cupcakes, anyone?) and have had some time to reflect on being the new kid on the block. My first day began with a Wild Turkey Call Contest at lunch--a rite of passage I think everyone should go through. The next day I was treated to a Thanksgiving feast that put my Grammy's down-home affair to shame (sorry, Grammy.) As I'm settling in, I realize the rumors are true. Everyone is incredibly sweet and helpful, a sense of family is prevalent anywhere you go, and there are always snacks in the break room. I look forward to gaining my Southwest Freshman 15. Oh, and I get to go on field trips to faraway, exotic lands: like Studios 21 in Fort Worth, TX for an official Live Chat.

Okay, so it wasn’t necessarily live, but it was a “bright lights, big studio” situation. I had the pleasure and privilege of being a studio audience member on Tuesday, December 1st. Patrick Lencioni, president of the Table Group, sat down with our own Colleen Barrett to get her words of wisdom on the secret of Southwest’s success.

Turns out, there are no secrets. And in the beginning, there was no master plan. In fact, Colleen’s reply to Patrick’s question about retaining their underdog status was surprising. She said if it hadn’t been for bigger and wealthier airlines picking on us, Southwest could have failed within the first year. As it was, our legal battles and early challenges gave birth to one of our Core Values: the Warrior Spirit. Turns out constantly being pushed to search for innovative solutions to early start-up problems was actually a blessing in disguise. So when life gives you lemons, make…Wild Turkey on the rocks? 

As many of you may know, living the Southwest way has called for embracing three Core Values: the Warrior Spirit, a Servant’s Heart, and a Fun-LUVing attitude. But it turns out Colleen was against putting these intangible attitudes into writing for a long time.

“I fought with them eight or nine months,” she said concerning the effort. She felt (and for good reason) that trying to define a company’s spirit in just a few words would limit them. Another anecdote I loved had to do with Herb Kelleher, Colleen, and a bunch of consultants trying to come up with the Company’s mission statement. After hours of frustration, Herb politely asked the consultants to go: “We’ll pay you your money, but just leave. We’ll write it ourselves.”

It’s that can-do, stubborn, entrepreneurial spirit that lives on at Southwest today. And it was a trait Patrick couldn’t get enough of. He praised Southwest’s uniqueness and humility, while emphasizing that he was not on the company payroll! As the president of The Table Group, a consulting firm focused on building healthy organizations, Patrick’s admiration of Southwest was heartfelt. “It’s an outstanding company, but it’s also messy. There are no ‘Stepford Wives’ types there.” As he went on to describe Southwest as “the one family on the block with toys and tricycles in the front yard, and always-open doors,” I felt extremely lucky to have found my way into this “messy” family—tricycles or not.
 
If you happen to have access to the SkillSoft’s Leadership Development Channel, I highly recommend you check this Live Chat out. You can find more information at http://www.skillsoft.com/products/LDC/ I'll be the one waving in the back.

 

 

This episode of Red Belly Radio actually began back on October 2 with a telethon to raise funds to send a number of families with special needs kids to the Disney parks in Orlando Florida. Listeners of the Kidd Kraddick syndicated morning radio show pitched in and called a phone bank where volunteers took donations.

Southwest Airlines manned that call center and later flew the families of these special-need kids to Orlando for four days of fun at the Disney theme parks. Before the flight, we hosted the families in one of our hangars where they were treated to food and drink.

This marks the 17 year for the Kidds Kids charity and the third year that Southwest Airlines has been involved. More information can be found at kiddskids.com.

Pictures from top down: the special decal aircraft that flew the families to Orlando and back; Kidd Kraddick with one of the Kids; Spirit and Spirit Jr. with one of the Kidds Kids;

I've talked before about my role on the Board of National Safe Place. I recently had the pleasure of hosting the first HEROES Awards ceremony in Louisville, Ky. This was an event to celebrate heroes who have worked tirelessly to make this world a better, safer place for children. In conjunction with the 25-year Anniversary of the Safe Place program, National Safe Place (NSP) established a recognition program to honor up to ten individuals who have made extraordinary contributions nationally to the services for at-risk youth. This year's award winners, which I was honored to introduce, will comprise the initial "Hall of Fame" class, and one individual will be recognized annually from now on.
 
What the HEROES Award stands for:
H  Hear the voices of at-risk youth
E  Engage in the discussion
R  Respond to the call
O  Observe the need for change and take action
E   Educate and Encourage key stakeholders to make a positive difference
S   Significantly change the lives of at-risk youth for the better

The 2008 winners of the HEROES Awards were:
*Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund
*Dr. Gary W. Harper, decorated scholar who has dedicated his research to examining HIV risk and protective factors among homeless and inner-city ethnic-minority youth
*Trudee Able-Peterson, author who developed the first outreach project to homeless youth in New York City's Times Square, The Streetwork Project.
*Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the  National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
*Larry Wooldridge, Founder, Safe Place
 
Here is a link to the video that was shown at the event: http://nationalsafeplace.org/heroes/

 
And above is a photo of me (third from left) with the honorees:  The lives and work of these individuals provide an opportunity to learn about both the important strides that have been made in serving at-risk youth and the challenges still inherent in the field. It also serves as a celebration, as each of the honorees will have worked toward NSP's anniversary theme of "Building A Safety Net For Youth."

Be sure and listen to this week's Red Belly Radio episode this week that features some of our Reservations folks, along with CEO Gary Kelly and his wife Carole as they cook Thanksgiving Dinner at the Ronald McDonald House.

 

My family and in-laws are all local, so our gathering is usually quite large. We always manage to "adopt" several single friends and other folks whose kids are scattered to the corners of our country. One of my favorite memories of our gatherings is the first time my son was old enough to offer the Thanksgiving thought, a tradition we started many years ago. He'd written something in class and was both proud and scared to deliver his "Thanksgiving address." We all gathered in the kitchen (well, as much as 24 people can actually gather in a kitchen) to hear Matthew give the blessing. He carefully pulled a step stool into the middle of the crowd, grabbed his paper, and began his profound remarks. Tears were in my eyes as he mentioned love of family, blessings of freedom, and the sacrifices our military were making so we could share a holiday like Thanksgiving together. I looked around. Not a dry eye. Then, to break the somber mood, another family member shouted, "Hey I've got my own blessing. Look out teeth, watch out gums, bless this food 'cause here it comes! Can we eat now?" Yeah, families. Never a dull moment. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. My wish for you is that you are able to spend the time with those who mean the most to you.

I enjoy remembering Thanksgivings past with my mother and father, grandparents and siblings, spouse and two young children.  Those were the best of times with nothing but hope for the future and gratitude for home and family--nowhere to go but up!  There's still a picture somewhere of a turkey cake that took me three days to make and an hour for everyone to eat!  My sister mentions it every year so its memory lives on.  There was no thought at the time but that this would all go on forever. 

As I sit thinking about this next Thanksgiving, life has changed and gratitude focuses on things for which I never expected to feel grateful.  Who among us is not grateful we have secure jobs?  I am grateful I have a home  that is paid for--no threat of foreclosure.  I now see my children in their own children's excitement over their homemade pilgrim hats and turkey pictures with colored paper tails.  I will admit I am thankful to simply show up for Thanksgiving dinner, in full makeup, bearing one pie.  I am thankful for women who still like to create Thanksgiving dinner.  I feel sadness for my loved ones who have passed, but such joy in friends who have become like family and who offer their help when needed.  

There are problems and concerns, but answers will be found--I simply Google them!  (Another thing I'm thankful for.)  Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you all.   

As Thanksgiving approaches, I ask myself what I am most thankful for.  I am most thankful for working for this amazing Company.  Southwest Airlines has given me so many opportunities in my life and will continue to provide that for me.  After reflecting further, I realize that none of this would be possible without YOU!  Our Passengers are the ones that pay each and every one of us, and I am most thankful for YOU!  I wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving.  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday since it involves family, food, and football--all ranked in order of importance.  But Thanksgiving has been a bit different for me as of late since I no longer have any living parents.  So the dynamics have changed, but certainly not the meaning or significance, and I’m thankful for the many loving memories of Turkey Days of the past.  This will be my second year missing out on my mother’s turkey, and my wife and I were lucky enough last year to have my sister (an exceptional cook) step in and cook Thanksgiving dinner for us. 

Now my sister is in college on the East Coast, and my wife and I are left to cook the turkey for ourselves for the very first time and start memories of our own.  This should be an interesting experiment.  I wanted to take the manly-man approach and fry the turkey, but my wife is more of a traditionalist (and even though she won’t admit it, she fears I’ll set the house on fire).  This all lead to another first - I visited Butterball.com.  It appears we are all set and have a pretty good turkey cooking battle plan laid out.  This will be good practice before we actually have kids and people over for future Thanksgivings.

In case the turkey burns our turns out like rubber, our backup plan includes frozen pizza.

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house; my parents are driving up from China, Texas; my sister and brother who live locally will be joining us along with their families; and we are having a few friends over as well. Over the years, I have noticed that our Thanksgiving meals started to become real elaborate, and we started having a lot of fancy casseroles and dishes that I could not pronounce.  So, I decided to go back to my roots with the Thanksgiving meal “China Style”:  Traditional baked turkey, deep fried turkey, Cajun dirty rice, cornbread dressing, and other side dishes and desserts that I grew up with.

 

When my wife sent out the electronic invitation, we got back some great responses, and everyone was excited about what we decided to do. So it’s going to be very nice to have Thanksgiving with my family like old times. And the other tradition in the Guillory house hold on Thanksgiving Day is watching the Dallas Cowboys; that’s one thing that has never changed no matter how fancy the meal gets.

 

Hope you all have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving.

No matter what your current situation is, you can always find someone and/or something that brings a smile to your face and inspires you to give thanks.  If you were to make a list of all the people and things in your life for which you are grateful, how long would it be?  As Thanksgiving approaches, I've been reflecting on my own "Thanksgiving List," and if I were to reveal all the people and things in my life that bring me joy and happiness, this blog post would go on for hours.  So for today, I'll just say that I'm thankful for health, loving family and friends, and the opportunity to work for the greatest airline on the planet.  What’s on your Thanksgiving List?

We continue our special Thanksgiving week posts with more thoughts on the holiday from our Blog Team. 

 

I admit that, in the past, I have taken Thanksgiving for granted, but not since 1991.  Here’s why.  For the month of November 1991, I had the incredible opportunity to work in Paris (France—not Texas!).  My former employer, Delta Air Lines, had just purchased most of Pan Am’s European routes, and they needed experienced Employees to work alongside the former Pan Am folks.  I had always wanted to work for an airline, so I put my name in the hat and was assigned Paris.  My time at Orly Airport was incredible, and I got to walk the ramp among so many airlines that I had only read about like Air Algerie, Royal Air Maroc, Middle East Airlines (MEA), and Iran Air (they had a Concorde model in Iran Air livery in their ramp office).  For the airplane geeks out there, I saw some rare aircraft including some charter Caravelles, MEA’s Boeing 707s on the Paris-Beirut route, and a DC-10 leased by Cubana, but the rarest of all were the Dassault Mercures of Air Inter (the domestic French airline) running out their last few weeks of service.  Only ten Mercures were built (even fewer than Concorde), and its nickname was the “French 737.”

Since it was November, it meant I would be spending Thanksgiving away from home, and it was just another work day in France.  Even though my French Coworkers treated me fantastically, I think that was the most homesick I felt during the month I was away.  Thanksgiving is the holiday that expresses the ideals that makes America great and unique, and you don’t realize that until you are away from her shores.  After that Thanksgiving, I made a vow to never be away from home on that date, and for 16 straight years, I have kept that vow, even when I had to fly home standby during a strike by American Airlines.  It took a creative routing, but I made it home.

I left Paris on a grey day in early December, and a flood of emotions washed over me as the big L-1011 lifted off from Orly’s runway.  I guess my feelings were pretty evident because as I cleared Customs in the Atlanta Airport, the inspector handed my passport back and gave me a heartfelt, “Welcome home!”  That is the only time I have had a Customs Inspector tell me that, and it took me back a second.  I recovered quickly and said:  “Thank you!  It is good to be home.”

To me, Thanksgiving is unlike our other holidays--and that's why it's my favorite of the year.  On the fourth Thursday in November we're not celebrating anyone's birthday, nor a group of fellow Americans, nor a change on the calendar.  On Thanksgiving, we simply celebrate thankfulness--being grateful for those we love, for those that love us, those that enrich our lives, those whom we have lost, and all of the blessings (yes, and accomplishments!) that have made our lives better during the previous year.  No gifts--only a few parades--just quality time with our family and our friends.
 
Of course, another reason Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year is that it is a major food event.  This shouldn't be terribly surprising to anyone, as those that know me (and know how I was raised!) realize that in my family, food is a great complement to love.  It never replaces it--but food can certainly strike delicious notes of harmony to the wonderful melody of abiding, loving thankfulness we all are treated to every November. 
 
Happy Thanksgiving, all--be thankful--be loving--and be HUNGRY!

 

The Employees of Southwest Airlines have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Holiday.

We give thanks for our freedom to fly home for the holidays.  We are thankful that during these turbulent times we have job security and a Leader we can trust.  We are also thankful for YOU, our Employees and Customers!  Without our loyal Customers, our Red-Bellied beauties would not be in the sky.

Across the system, Employees of Southwest Airlines are excited to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with our Customers.  During the week of Thanksgiving, Southwest gates will display exactly who we are thankful for; our Family, our freedom, our Employees, our troops, and our Customers. 

For our Customers traveling November 27, you will be given a thankful kiss from our Flight Crew (Not really!).  Southwest has teamed up with Hersey’s chocolate to provide a Hersey Kiss for our Customers on each of our originating flights.  Our Customers of legal drinking age will also receive their first beverage of choice on the aircraft for free!  Will you make that a Wild Turkey? 
 

At Southwest Airlines, we make traveling on the holidays FUN for our Customers and Employees.  Thank you for spending the holiday with us!  And be sure and watch the blog next week to share the Thanksgiving Spirit with our Blog Team.

Three things I never wanted to see at work: Hannibal Lector reminding me of the time he had a friend for dinner…with some fava beans and a nice Chianti!; Jason from the Friday the 13th movies swinging his machete at me when I walked by; and Gary Kelly’s Executive Assistant, Gillian Kelley (no relation) wearing a full beard.

Well thanks to our amazing holiday partnership with Spirit Halloween Superstores this year, I got to see all that and so much more!  And honestly, seeing all those things just made one of SWA’s favorite holidays more spectacular than ever before.

You may have seen the decorations at the Southwest Ticket Counters in all 64 of our cities; or maybe you played some Halloween trivia with our Flight Attendants during your travels Halloween day and won a squishy pumpkin, a pen, or some Spirit Halloween sticky notes.  We’re hoping that everyone—Customers and SWA Employees-- put their 20% discount coupons to good use; judging by some of the costumes, wigs, and props I saw around here on Halloween, I’m guessing everyone did!

You couldn’t help but get in to the Halloween “Spirit” (pun intended!) if you dropped by Southwest Airlines Headquarters the week of Halloween—the lobby decorations that Spirit provided, as spooky as they were, were amazing! There was a haunted castle flanked by a grim reaper, a spooky American Gothic-esque farmer and his wife, a cranky witch that stirred up her bubbling cauldron when you made noise, black crows hanging out on the balcony, and, of course, those darn scary movie characters that taunted you when they sensed even the slightest bit of motion.  It was the first Halloween that the lobby had ever been decorated, but I am positive it will not be the last--the decorations were a huge hit.

Of course the most important part of our Halloween collaboration wasn’t to scare our Employees and visitors, it was to make sure Gary Kelly’s 2008 Halloween costume was top notch—and boy did Spirit Halloween deliver!  Check out A Sharp Dressed Man and Southwest Airlines Halloween 2008 to see Gary and his crew (Gillian Kelley, his Executive Assistant; and Nan Barry, his Chief of Staff) in all their ZZ Top glory!  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the actual band was roaming our halls!

Although it seems like Halloween just happened and we won’t need to worry about it for another year, I guarantee that the wheels are turning at SWA as well as at Spirit Halloween Superstores to make next year’s Halloween events even bigger and better. So in 2009 when you start thinking about your costume, your skit theme, or how you want to decorate your house, remember the LUV we were all shown by the folks at Spirit Halloween in 2008.

 

You’d have to go all the way back to last week to read my blog about why Thanksgiving rocks, but this blog is dedicated to the food. On this episode, I talked with three co-workers. Bill Owen, Whitney Eichinger, and Olga Romero to learn what their favorite dishes are on this, my favorite holiday. If you listen to this episode of Red Belly Radio, you will hear references to our favorite dishes. In fact, when you get four foodies talking, we racked up at least 20 dishes that I want to highlight here.

This just in: I learned of a contest-winning recipe that our own Chairman, President and CEO made last Thanksgiving. OK it wasn’t the Pillsbury Bake Off, but I understand the competition within his family is fierce! That is listed first and the rest are listed in show order. There is a link to a PDF of all of the recipies at the bottom of this blog. Enjoy!

Crawfish-Cornbread Dressing
Gary’s award winning dish from Southern Living. recipe

Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish
The NPR perennial favorite that looks like Pepto-Bismol but I am told is excellent. recipe

Sweet Potatoes With Pecan Topping and No Marshmallows
I found this recipe that seems to cover Whitney’s strict requirements on sweet potatoes. recipe

Sweet Potato-Pecan Pie With Chantilly Cream
I have made this pie for a number of years and I have never thrown any away. The Chantilly Cream is really just a fancy whipped cream, but it is fantastic. It calls for Grand Marnier and brandy, but I have used only off-brand orange liqueur and it is still good. recipe

Homemade Rolls With Room Temperature Butter
Here is a link for some homemade yeast rolls like Whitney spoke of. Her recipe for room temperature butter is easy. Take butter out of your refrigerator and place on the counter until its temperature becomes ambient with the rest of the room. If the butter if frozen, it will take longer. recipe

Greenberg Smoked Turkey From Tyler, Texas.
I have only had this one time but was very memorable. If you check out their web site, you might note there is no place to put in your credit card number. That is because, sometime after they ship you the turkey, they send you a bill. Yes, this is 2008. gobblegobble.com

Bill’s Leftover Mashed Potato Casserole
Bill describes this in the podcast and it sounded good there. I saw the recipe and heard angles singing. You know, the traditional Thanksgiving Angles of Tastiness? The recipe for this tasty dish can be found under the link at the bottom of this post called "Red Belly Radio Recipies and Links."

Alton Brown Turkey and Brining
Even if you don’t follow this recipe, I highly recommend brining. It’s a science thing about the cell wall of the turkey meat. It makes for moist, delicious meat that is forgiving should you over cook the bird a little—however you decide to cook it. Be thinking of a container to brine in. A cooler, very large zip-lock bags, dish pans all work. If you live in a cold place, you may not need to ice it down—just put it in your garage if you can’t make room in the fridge.

What goes in to a brine solution is really pretty debatable. The only truly necessary items are salt and water. One cup of salt per gallon of water will work, but you will probably want some sugar to balance the flavors and while you’re at it, throw in some pepper corns or allspice berries. Since you will need heat to get the salt/sugar to saturate the water, don’t make the full amount with water, add ice to the hot mixture so that you finish with cool brine.

All about brining | A bunch of brining recipes

Bill’s Beer Brined Turkey
Did you see the recipe for his Leftover Mashed Potato Casserole? Did you try his homemade bannana pudding? This guy knows food. I trust him with my gastronomic life and will be trying this brine. The recipe for this tasty dish can be found under the link at the bottom of this post called "Red Belly Radio Recipies and Links."

Olga’s Rum and Orange Juice Brine
Olga doesn’t so much follow a recipe on this one as a guideline. Add rum and OJ to a basic brine. Then add Rum and OJ to a glass with ice and drink. It’s hard to go wrong and if it does, you won’t care.

Mofongo
I so badly want to try eating this, I just don’t know if I am up to attempt cooking it. Either way it is fun to say—I don’t care who you are. recipe

Turkey Ballotine
This shows the procedure in illustration. link

This next link is a video and it is very good to about the 5:18 point. That is where I would stuff and then tie the turkey back around whatever I stuffed it with. Keep in mind that a turkey has a lot more tendons and sinew in the legs than a chicken—I just cut them off, along with the wings and make turkey stock with all of the parts. video

Turducken
A portmanteau of the words TURkey, DUCK, and hEN—a deboned hen, inside a deboned duck, inside a deboned turkey. For those of you in England, it is also referred to as a multi-bird roast. This might sound odd, but it is a practice dates back at least to the early 19th century with the zenith, a 17 bird roast in France.

Sweet Potato Tamales
These sound good. Since I am trying a sweet potato tamale turkey ballotine, this is what I will make to go inside by turkey breast. Yes, I am only using the breast—after a rather bad knuckle slash last month, I am going easy on the knife requirements this year. recipe

Cajeta
I mentioned a dessert tamale with cajeta in the podcast. Cajeta is my favorite caramel ever (I am trying to think of a caramel I didn't like.) The homemade version is best but there are pretty good grocery store versions—probably in the Mexican food isle. recipe

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Who knows, maybe Gary and Ina Garten are on to something? recipe

Grandy’s Rolls
The easy way out if you live near a Grandy’s.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Bill casually mentions this dish so I found this recipe.

New Texas Cuisine by Stephan Pyles
This Texas chef defines food for us chichi Texans. about 

Spicy-Whipped Sweet Potatoes
My must-bring to all good dinner parties and department events. Serve it in a black bowl, the color contrast is fantastic. Also, be sure to tell people it has a kick—especially older people who may be wondering where the mini marshmallows are. Go easy on the cayenne—you can always add more, you can't take it out. recipe

Mojo Sauce
I talk about a mojo sauce in this episode, but wasn't sure about it. Then I found this version. Cranberry Mojo Sauce

Cranberry Chipotle Sauce
Another possibility for a sauce is my adaptation of Stephan Pyles cranberry chipotle sauce. The recipe for this tasty dish can be found under the link at the bottom of this post called "Red Belly Radio Recipies and Links."

Whether you make everything from scratch or just go to your freezer for a TV dinner, I hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful.  And for the comments regarding my last blog, I hope you get your fill of football, too! Certainly a Thanksgiving tradition.

This link contains all of the recipes and links to those that are on web sites.

To me, there are two definitively American holidays—July fourth and Thanksgiving. No other country can claim our nation’s birthday and even though fall harvests have been celebrated around the world for millennia, no one does Thanksgiving like we do.

Food aside for the moment, I love Thanksgiving because it crosses every boundary I can think of. Geographic, racial, economic…It is like Christmas lights, but that’s a different blog post. It doesn’t matter if you are first generation or if you are a descendent of Squanto, (the Native American who resided with the Wampanoag tribe and helped the Puritans adapt and survive in the land that would become the United States.) On Thanksgiving Day, you will probably slow down for at least a few hours and enjoy a meal with someone you love (or are connected to genetically or by marriage.)

Ok the food got into that at the end. I’ll just say it. The other reason I love Thanksgiving is the food! Duh!

I guess you could say I am a foodie. I don’t much care for that term, but it is better than gourmet (expert cook) or gourmand (expert eater).

Thanksgiving differs regionally around the country. On the east coast, oyster stuffing is traditional, a throwback to colonial days when the mollusks were cheap and plentiful.  Southern cooks typically prefer cornbread stuffing. A throwback to...well it is just good—and if anyone says it is too dry, that’s what gravy is for!  I suppose there is someone out there touting oyster-cornbread stuffing but living in land-locked Dallas, those thoughts don’t even cross my mind.

I have never eaten Thanksgiving in New Mexico, but I’ll be there are some green and red chiles incorporated. You get the idea; people use what is available and regionalize the traditional with their local or their own epicurean traditions. I feel it is this aspect that makes Thanksgiving so great.

Listen to Red Belly Radio to learn more about what Thanksgiving means to four Southwest Airlines Employees. On this episode, I sit down to talk with three co-workers. Bill Owen, Whitney Eichinger, and I discuss some of our traditions and why we love the holiday and Olga Romero chimes in with some traditions of her homeland, Puerto Rico. Can you guess which one of the four is going to make mofongo?

We also discuss the history of this holiday. Did you know that Florida and Texas can lay claim to Thanksgivings decades before the “First Thanksgiving” in Plymouth? Or that after decades of Thanksgiving being held on the last Thursday of November was moved to the fourth Thursday as a financial stimulus?

For you “Foodies” out there, be sure to read my blog and to tune in to Red Belly Radio next week, when the discussion moves to the food and recipes! You’ll eat it up!

Photo: Balloon Pilgrims from one of the Communications Thanksgiving feasts!

At the11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns of the “war to end all wars,” World War I, were stilled.  The US, the French, and the British and their allies have honored that day for the past 90 years, even though the war to end all wars in turn begat, World War II, the Berlin Airlift, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, Beirut, Panama, Grenada, the First Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, the war in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq.

The French, British, Canadians, Australians, and other Commonwealth Countries honor the day as Remembrance Day.  I’ve seen the French Tricolors circling the Arc de Triomphe and lining the Champs-Elysees.  Citizens of the UK and countries like Canada wear paper red poppies to signify the poppies in Flanders Field, a site of horrific bloodshed during World War I.  In the U.S., we honor the date as Veteran’s Day to salute all veterans living and past who have worn the uniform of our country from battlefields, to the frozen arctic, to alert ready rooms at air bases around the world.

Our Blog Team wants to recognize the gallantry and sacrifice of these men and women, some of whom are family members, Coworkers, or friends, and we are proud to share their thoughts with you on this, the 90th Anniversary of the World War I armistice!

Veterans Day is a day to remember that freedom is not free. It is a day to recognize the brave men and women who gave their lives for our great nation. It is a day that reminds me that I should have a grateful heart everyday and not take the life I live for granted.  Ashley Butler, Nashville Marketing Representative

Having been an Air Force wife during the Vietnam War, I relate to the pride and strength of parents, spouses, and significant others waiting at home.  "They also serve who sit and wait."  Carole Adams, Dallas Flight Attendant

Americans call it Veterans Day; Brits and Canadians refer to it as Remembrance Day.  Truth is, it doesn't matter what we call this special day in November as long as we find a way to recognize the courageous men and women (past and present) who willingly serve their country and let them know how much we appreciate their selfless answer to the call of duty.  Our country owes an immeasurable debt to every individual who has donned a uniform; so today, let’s express our gratitude for their service and our praise for their bravery.  Have you thanked a veteran today?  Jim Herring, Senior Writing Representative Culture Services

On Veterans’ Day, I always find myself thinking about what the men and women who have served our country have really been through.  Sadly, we all seem to “get used to” our Coworkers and friends that have served, and it just becomes “something they did”, so I am thankful for days like Veterans’ Day that help remind me what a huge deal it really is. There are no small jobs in the military—and EVERYONE has to go through boot camp--and I think we forget that sometimes.  Mallory Messina, Culture Services Representative

The words of the Billy Ray Cyrus song always seem to come to mind on Veteran's Day- "Think of all your liberties and recall, all gave some and some gave all" these are "the reasons we are free" and never ever "forget those who died".  Thank you Vets.   David Evans, Dallas Captain

Veterans Day to me, means that we can live day to day with some sense of comfort knowing that the men and women of our armed forces are protecting us the same way that so many veterans before them have done, so that we may enjoy this day that was named to honor them.  Gordon Guillory, Dallas Structural Mechanic

Veteran's Day is a time to remember our men and women, living and dead, that stood up and defended our nation for over 200 years.  God bless you all for your strength and courage.  Kristen Francis, Online Marketing Specialist

I am grateful to our Armed Forces--those currently serving and those who bravely served (some giving the ultimate sacrifice)--for giving me and my family a cradle of security and freedoms that we all too often take for granted. This Veteran's Day, I pledge to visit with my children about the significance of the day and how lucky we are to have Heroes keeping us safe and secure EVERY DAY.  Linda Rutherford, Vice President Communications and Strategic Outreach

Take Jim’s and Linda’s suggestions to heart, and thank a Veteran.  Make sure our younger generation never forgets.  Veterans not only are a part of our daily lives, they make those daily lives possible. 

(Be sure and read Berri's post below.) 

Before we get too far away from Halloween, we wanted to share this guest post submitted by our Dallas-area Customer, Kristen Garrison.

Hello Southwest! My name is Kristen Garrison, and the dog in the costume is the soon-to-be two-year-old Boston Terrier, Kolby, whom I share with my boyfriend of six years, Kyle Neukom.  Kyle and I love  traveling, but Kyle has this Rainman-like knowledge and love of all things airplanes and all things Southwest. He also wants to be a Pilot.

In February, we took a trip to Washington, D.C. and had a layover in St. Louis en route to and from the Baltimore/Washington Airport. On the way home, during that layover, Kyle and I peeked into the cockpit and struck up a conversation with the Pilots about flight school and being a Pilot. Much to our surprise, they invited Kyle inside to sit in the seat and started showing him everything. Kyle even got to push the “ding” button. I can safely say that that is one of his favorite moments in his life.

On that trip home to Dallas, we were talking about how much we missed Kolby. Scrolling through the pictures in my camera, I came across a few of him in is Halloween costume – an uninspired, store bought alligator/dragon/dinosaur looking thing. I asked what we should do for the next Halloween (yes, a full eight months early).  Kyle, still in awe of sitting in the cockpit, said he wanted to be a Pilot, which prompted the idea of a “family” theme – he’d be the Pilot, I’d be the Flight Attendant, and Kolby would be the airplane.

It was honestly something that we didn’t even think of again until Easter. Sure the idea sounded cute, but Halloween was so far away.  I wasn’t sure if I could actually do it. Then, thanks to the Dallas Pet Parade we saw a picture of a bull dog dressed up as a SWA “Classic” airplane, and I knew that I could do a better job.

 

Kolby goes to daycare, and when his daycare announced that they would have a pet Halloween costume contest, I knew that we had to enter him as an airplane. The contest was for those who attended any one of the three Pappy’s Pet Lodge Doggy Daycare and Grooming facilities in Plano and Richardson. Out of the 40 plus dogs in the contest, Kolby won first place, and if I can say so myself, the competition wasn’t even close. We are also hoping to enter him in the 2009 PetSmart Howl-o-ween Pet Costume Contest. 

I hope you all LUV his costume as much as we LUV Southwest.

I was recently traveling to Raleigh Durham when I noticed my flight had four Flight Attendants. One more than our normal three, I noticed the fourth had a name tag and realized she must be going through the Inflight training program. I asked one of the Flight Attendants if it would be alright to interview her for Red Belly Radio and he didn’t see any problem.

I knew I liked Jaimy from the minute I met her as she (wisely) questioned my authenticity and asked to see my Employee ID.  At this stage, she was dealing with some ribbing and practical joking from the three Flight Attendants so—like I said, wise to question me. Of course if the prank these guys pulled on Jaimy was to put a sign on her back that read “Tell me I’m Cute” I guess the worst thing is that someone might actually tell her she is cute. BTW—she totally is!

She had never heard of Red Belly Radio (I will be talking to Inflight Training about that) and was of course concerned about saying something that might get her fired—or at that point not hired.

Since I interviewed her, I decided to go see what the Inflight class 245 graduation was all about. I have only been to one other and that was years ago. I got to see Jaimy get her wings and seemed happy to see me again. I presented her with a photo of the prank the Flight Crew played on her and she totally loved it.

The graduation ceremony is a rather large event. Family members attend and if the new Flight Attendant wishes, he/she can select someone to present his/her wings and I did catch and interview a father/daughter pilot/new Flight Attendant couple who will probably both soon be referring their friends to apply.

This podcast has a lot. Manager Inflight Training John Zenici hosted the event; Director of Inflight Training Steve Banegas shared an inspirational poem; Vice President Fuel Management Rob Myrben teaches us the origin of the word "travel;" and Senior Director Inflight Standards and Training David Curry talks about future classes.

The training is lengthy—four weeks—and there are a lot of tests. It is not easy to get picked to go through training and once there, it is not easy to graduate. Congratulations to Jaimy and all of Inflight Class 245!

Just in from SWA Universe Headquarters.  Our sharp dressed CEO, Gary Kelly, is spotted wandering the halls with guitar in hand.  This year's pop culture sensation is Gary as Billy Gibbons of the legendary Texas band, ZZ Top.  On theleft is his Executive Assistant, Gillian Kelley (no relation), and on the right is his Chief of Staff, Nan Barry.

 

 

You can almost slice and eat the excitement here at SWA Universe Headquarters as everyone is wondering, "Who will Gary be this year?"  Shortly, I will be going undercover to make a recon run down the hall to the Executive Office to see if I can scoop all those celebrity blogger judges who Paula has been wining and dining.  Better yet, I hope to have you a pic early this morning.

In the meantime, you might be interested in the results of a poll of our Employees about their favorite Gary Halloween persona.  Gene Simmons from KISS is the overwhelming favorite, with Edna running second.  (Is there a common thread here like makeup?)

So, stay tuned to see what Pop Culture star Gary portrays this year and make Nuts About Southwest your source for reliable SWA Halloween information.

 

What do you get when you mix 6,000 Southwest Airlines Employees and guests, food and drink, a famous Texas Swing band, a crisp, clear autumn night, and two legends of the airline industry?  You get the Smokin’ Spirit Party held at our Dallas Maintenance Base Monday night (October 27).  Be sure and listen to Steve Heaser’s Red Belly Radio podcast from the event, and you can find it in the little box down there to the right on the main page

This year has been a landmark year for Southwest Airlines as Colleen Barrett and Herb Kelleher gave up their Officer positions, and we wanted to celebrate their overwhelming contributions to our careers and lives in a huge Texas-kind of way.  Instead of our usual spring and fall spirit parties, we planned one gigantic one, and it was quite a night.

Of course, food and drink were provided, along with vendor’s booths, photo stations, and roping experts in western attire, and Employees took the opportunity to catch up with old friends. 

 

Approximately 6,000 people eventually showed up, and even before the main event, the crowd is getting thicker.  

The guests of the hour, Herb and Colleen, looked like they had just stepped off a buckboard wagon, and they received several surprises during the night. 

 

The first surprise came from Gary Kelly who announced that we are giving a $50,000 scholarship to Herb’s high school, Haddon Heights High School, in New Jersey.  Colleen’s college alma mater, Becker College, will also receive a similar scholarship. 

Senior Vice President of Communications and Culture, Ginger Hardage, (on the right) and fellow blogger, Sunny Abercrombie, presented Herb and Colleen with trunks full of scrapbooks containing the best wishes of thousands of Employees. 

After Tim McClure of our advertising agency, GSD&M, presented our duo with an artist’s conception of what a combined Herb One/Colleen One might look like, the folks from Incredible Productions performed several songs in Herb and Colleen’s honor.

The Employees were really getting into the spirit of the Spirit Party, with waving the “heads” of Colleen and Herb.

Since Herb and Colleen are legends, the main entertainment needed to be a legend too, and Asleep at the Wheel performed their unique brand of Texas Swing.

Balloons cascading down from the hangar ceiling capped off the band’s performance, and it is time to start planning the next Spirit Party.  However, any future parties have their work cut out to top this one!

Before I began my Internship at Southwest Airlines, I had a preconceived notion that I would be fine-tuning my filing skills, perfecting my ability to make a good cup of coffee and mastering the art of ordering lunch by phone.

Boy, was I wrong.

Since the first day I stepped foot into the Public Relations Department, I’ve been involved arms and elbows in major projects such as Media Day and the Pigskin Plane Pull, and I’m currently working on my third story for Southwest Airline’s inflight magazine Spirit.

Every last drop of my creative juices has been squeezed out of me and any given time of a work day I’m working on five or more tasks--and I’m loving every minute of it. The PR Department has created the perfect learning environment that hones my current skills, challenges me to learn new skills, and gives me a chance to work independently.

Two weeks in as an Intern, Public Relations Manager Brandy King gave me the opportunity to actually create my own PR event. Talk about pressure. From an Intern’s perspective, being given the responsibility to create a corporate PR event from start to finish is a rare chance to really show what we are capable of, and I really didn’t want to disappoint those who I’ve come to think of as my mentors in fear of being stapled and Xerox-ed to death. (Disclaimer: No Interns were harmed in the designing of the event or writing of this blog.)

The goal of the event was to acknowledge one of our Customers who has a very unique hobby--he visits college campuses. Steve Lake, a Las Vegas pit boss at Caesar’s Palace and PR firm owner, began a quest in 1984 to visit 500 universities and colleges nationally and internationally. He said he started this journey because he felt he never fully experienced the “college life,” being that he went to a college in Montreal in a small building rather than a sprawling campus. Twenty four years later, he was about to finally make that goal and visit his 500th college at San Antonio’s Our Lady of the Lake University. Because Southwest Airlines has flown him to many of these colleges, we wanted to congratulate him somehow for his achievement.

I decided to throw him a graduation-themed gate party for when he arrived in San Antonio to fit in with the college motif. Luckily for me, Brandy’s wisdom and guidance was available to tap into, which I did liberally. A few weeks of planning, a couple of nights of sweating, and just a moment or two of crying later, October 11 (the date of the event) rolled around, and it was time to make it happen.

  

I created a “staff” made up of Internal Customer Care Intern Abby Olmscheid and Dispatch Intern Brent Bowen to help wrangle the crowd, hand out peanuts and inflatables, keep a Monster drink in my hand at all times, and slap me occasionally when I freaked out. Thankfully, the freak-outs didn’t happen often. But having a Team made entirely up of Interns made this event even more special for me. Our Supervisors were letting go of our hands to see if we could take a few steps on our own without falling over. They respected and trusted us enough to create an important memory for one of our Customers without supervision. If that’s not flattering, I don’t know what is.     

We flew to San Antonio, set everything up, and waited for Steve to arrive. The actual event went without a hitch.  I greeted Steve and his wife at the door of the plane and escorted him to the gate where he was greeted by a cheering crowd, hundreds of balloons, a large congratulatory banner, and a mariachi band. Southwest Airlines has a knack for going over the top, and I tried to make the event fit the Culture.   He didn’t know what was in store for him.

After he got over the shock, I congratulated him on his achievement, dressed him in a graduate’s cap and gown and gave him a “Final Exam” that consisted of very simple, but funny, questions. Once he passed (the test was rigged – I didn’t want to embarrass him with difficult questions), I gave him a diploma and two Southwest Airlines tickets and let him soak in the praise and glory of those present.

In an instant, the event was over. It had lasted for about an hour, but only felt like five minutes. However, I learned a lot about the PR and airline world before and during the party – priceless experience to take with me as I begin my path into the professional world.

The next week, I received an e-mail from Steve, thanking me for the “spectacular” gate party and wishing me luck in my future. Even though I threw the event, I have my own thank-you’s to give out:

Thank you to the PR Department for welcoming me with open arms, laughs, and an awesome work ethic. Thank you to Brandy for giving me my very first PR event to stage. Thank you to my “staff,” Abby and Brent, for supporting me and helping make the event happen successfully--I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to the Graphics team for designing the fabulous banner. Thank you to Nancy Heinz for being the glue and Jacque Mallard for being the Scotch tape of the event. And thank you to Southwest Airlines for giving me the opportunity to participate in the most amazing Internship program in the country.