Southwest Airlines and the North Texas Food Bank partnered to bring relief to the Hurricane Ike-ravaged Houston area. The airline, which was flying more than 100 employees to relieve workers at Hobby Airport, also transport ed 345 emergency food boxes, totaling over 10, 500 pounds, for the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) on the plane as well. The special flight departed from Love Field on Tues. Sept. 16 at 6:30 am. The food boxes were taken to the Houston Food Bank for distribution to families in need as they recover from Hurricane Ike. If you would like to help the North Texas Food Bank, which is providing the majority of the food being delivered into the hurricane-ravaged area, go to NTFB.org to make a donation.

Southwest Airlines partnered with the Texas Rangers and Salvation Army to serve lunch to 140 children staying in the Dallas Convention Center because of Hurricane Ike. The Texas Rangers players help serve lunch and visited with families and they put on an entertaining program for the children. Southwest Employees who volunteered found it very fulfilling to play a small part in an important effort to uplift the spirits of those who have lost so much.

Southwest's second annual Volunteers of LUV event was held recently at Headquarters celebrated Employees who Share the Spirit by volunteering their time to make a positive difference in our communities. The following deserving Employees were honored with a permanent plaque on our Volunteers of LUV wall at Headquarters.

Pictured: TPA Ramp Agent Alex Artiaga, Fuel Management Distribution Specialist Kim Bader, Technology Sr. System Engineer Kelly Brown, PHX CSA Tamara Buono, ABQ CSA Ruth Bustamante, DMX Production Controller Robert Champagne, DMX Sup Aircraft Field Service Robert Cordts, LIT Ops Agent Richard ‘Pablo' Cruse, BWI Flight Attendant Madeline Davis, MX Tech Publications Specialist Tami Holliman, ORC Team Leader Cari Hood, TPA Ramp Sup Kristie Jinks, Internal Audit Sr. Auditor Darien Morrison, AMA CSA Laronda Oppel, MDW Flight Attendant Christopher Roser, MCO Flight Attendant Kerry Stauffacher, MCO Flight Attendant Cindy Stone, Finance Sr. Tax Accountant Melissa Stredwick, OAK Flight Attendant Wayne Toups, ABQ CSA Bernadine Trudeau, MDW Captain Roy White, MCO Flight Ops Crew Base Coordinator Sallie Zayac, and SAN Ops Agent Sarith Zouvas.

As a part of its Share the Spirit initiative, Southwest partnered with the USO and its OPERATION PHONE HOME program to provide phone cards for the troops. Through the USO website, Southwest Employees donated more than $50,000, which translates into a million units of call time for the troops!

Also, hundreds of Southwest Airlines Employees lined the runway gate near Southwest’s headquarters in a send-off for a U.S. Navy Cargo truck carrying the LUV Rations goodie bags for more than 1,000 U.S. troops overseas on August 3rd. This is the final step of a month long program to raise support for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The goodie bags contained much-needed items donated by Southwest Employees as part of a companywide Share the Spirit supply drive. For the past month, Southwest Employees donated goods such as toiletries, socks, sunscreen, candy, and powdered drink mix at each of its 63 locations across the nation. The donated items were packaged into individual goodie bags with handwritten postcards inside for the soldiers. Since many of Southwest’s Employees have served, or are currently serving in the military, this project is close to home.

Southwest Airlines has raised more than $100,000 for the annual Parkland Burn Camp during the past 12 years, making it possible for hundreds of children to interact with others who have been burned, and to know they are not alone in their struggles. Parkland Burn Camp is sponsored by Parkland Memorial Hospital and is titled Camp I-Thonka-Chi, which is Choctaw for "a place that makes one strong or fearless, not afraid to face life." Camp I-Thonka-Chi began in 1993 as a mentor program for pediatric burn victims between the ages of 7-17. Its goal is to provide a safe-haven where children can be amongst their peers, helping each other heal physically as well as mentally. The camp gives children the opportunity to be surrounded by people who know exactly what they are going through and attempts to build their self-esteem through confidence-building activities. Adult burn victims serve as volunteer counselors to assist the Parkland Burn Center staff.

Each year, 50 Southwest Employees volunteer to help check in the children for camp as if they were boarding a plane. The Employees then go to the camp later in the week to host a party filled with food and games for the campers. The weeklong camp costs more than $85,000, and Southwest Employees raise a portion of that through donations and Employee raffles.

When "the Airline that LUV built" adopted "the house that Love Built" in 1985 as its primary corporate charity, the Employees of Southwest fell in LUV. Southwest’s dedication to the Ronald McDonald House has grown as rapidly as the airline itself as Employees coast to coast regularly host dinners at the houses, and twice a year, in June and November, the airline sponsors dinners at houses in every city Southwest serves. The airline even has two golf tournaments, one in Phoenix and one in Dallas, which benefit the Ronald McDonald Houses.

Southwest Airlines has even dedicated a signature aircraft, “The Spirit of Hope,” in honor of the 30th birthday of the first Ronald McDonald House several years ago. The special Southwest jet features original overhead bin artwork created by children from Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) of Western Washington. The overhead bin doors inside the aircraft’s cabin are uniquely embossed with brightly-colored crayon drawings of happy hearts, brilliant rainbows, oversized flowers, and smiling faces.
Southwest’s interest in the Ronald McDonald House program was initiated in 1983 by one of the Company’s pilots, Dick East. Following the loss of his daughter to leukemia, East began volunteering at houses in cities to which he flew. East recruited his coworkers to join him and introduced Southwest Airlines’ leadership to the organization, and a relationship blossomed.

The annual Dallas LUV Classic golf tournament held each October is the second largest charity golf tournament in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. It originated as a fund-raiser for a popular Dallas club owner, Joe Miller, who was battling cancer. When Miller donated excess funds to the Dallas Ronald McDonald House, Southwest followed his lead. Proceeds from the tournament now are donated to select Ronald McDonald Houses across Southwest's system. In 2000, the tournament was expanded to include a Phoenix event each May. Over the tournament's 22-year history, more than $9.7 million has been donated to Ronald McDonald Houses across the country, with $3.1 million going directly to the Dallas Ronald McDonald House.

2008 Dallas LUV Classic & Party

• Location:
  Bear Creek Golf Club
  (972) 456-3200

• Accommodations:
  Hyatt – DFW Airport
  www.hyatt.com
  (800) 233-1234

• Date:
  Friday, October 10, 2008

• Time:
  6:00 a.m. Sign-in
  7:00 a.m. Shotgun Start
  11:30 p.m. Sign-in
  1:00 p.m. Shotgun Start
  6:00 p.m. Party

For additional information, please contact the LUV Classic Team at: luvclassic@wnco.com

Sponsorships:

If you are interested in sponsorship information, complete the LUV Classic sponsorship form.

Return to Lori Skinner via:

• Fax: 214-792-6711
• E-mail: Lori.Skinner@wnco.com or Donna.Haster@wnco.com
• Mail: 2702 Love Field Drive, Dallas, TX 75235 - HDQ 1LC