Southwest Airlines Adopt-A-Pilot Turns 10!
Hundreds to Celebrate 10th Anniversary of National Educational Mentorship
Program
WHO: Load up your backpacks and grab a juice box ... it's time to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of the nationwide award-winning
Southwest Airlines Adopt-A-Pilot educational mentorship
program. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly and President Colleen Barrett
will lead the event, joined by former NASA Astronaut turned
Southwest Captain Robert "Hoot" Gibson for this mega "school
assembly" style event.
WHAT: Hundreds of Employees and VIPs will "play hooky" and come over
to Southwest's Hangar D for the "class reunion" party featuring
a live band, special guests, and a surprise plane unveiling.
The outdoor event will include a reunion between "adopted"
Pilot Captain Jesus Melian and former student, Chun Mei Yu, who
is now grown and pursuing a nursing degree at University of
Connecticut and a special plaque presentation to the students
who designed the 10th Anniversary commemorative tie now proudly
worn by this year's class of "Adopted" Pilots.
Celebrating its 10th Anniversary year, the Southwest Airlines'
annual Adopt-A-Pilot program is a four-week long mentorship
program where Southwest Pilots volunteer their time in adoptive
classrooms and correspond while on the "road." Each class
charts its "adopted" Pilot's course on a United States map and
completes lessons covering science, math, geography, language
arts, public speaking and more ... all relating back to the
Pilot's monthly flying schedule. The program is reaching more
than 30,000 students nationwide this semester and has involved
more than 140,000 since 1997.
WHEN: Thursday, April 26
2:00 - 2:45 p.m.
WHERE: Southwest Airlines Headquarters, on the tarmac outside Hangar D
2702 Love Field Drive
Media parking available
VISUALS: Special festive unveiling of plane decal commemorating the
Adopt-A-Pilot program.
Comments from Gary Kelly, Colleen Barrett, and "Hoot" Gibson.
Interviews with "adopted" Pilots who have volunteered for 10
years.
Interviews with students and their teachers.
Yellow school bus and Southwest Boeing 737-700 nose-to-nose.
MORE: For more info, visit http://www.southwest.com/adoptapilot and
http://www.adoptapilot.blogs.com.
Please Call: Customers Please Call:
Linda Hochster (800) I FLY SWA or
214-792-4645 work en Espanol (800) VAMONOS
214-578-1071 cell
SOURCE Southwest Airlines
Released April 24, 2007