I arrived in Dallas at 7am and enjoyed the airport atmosphere for a few hours, since I wasn't expected at the Southwest Airlines Headquarters until 11am. While sitting at a charging station, charging my Blackberry, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant noticed my poster and complimented me on it. We chatted for a few minutes. Her name was Angela and she just finished a SAT (San Antonio) turn. She was from Louisiana and a very friendly lady.
I still had some time left so I found a quiet corner of the Dallas Love Field terminal and reconfigured my bags so that I would have what I needed in the next few hours most handy. While waiting for the SWA HDQ shuttle, I met a Mr. Quarles who was very friendly and helped me with my luggage.
When I arrived at SWA HDQ, I had about 15 minutes with which to take pictures after I had checked in with Security. My camera and I took in everything there was to see- on the ceiling, on the walls, on the doors, on the tables- in the lobby.
Paul arrived just before 11am as expected and began escorting me to The Landing. As we passed the elevator, he gestured toward it, "That's Colleen Barrett". I was able to wave and say hello as she disappeared into the elevator. Colleen Barrett is one of the living legends of Southwest Airlines. She is currently President Emeritus of Southwest Airlines, and most recently I had heard that one of the newest classes of Southwest employees had the privilege of hearing her speak.
I was overwhelmed with the amount of choices for lunch. I ended up choosing a fish sandwich, I think it was catfish and I watched it ~slowly~ grill before me, while precious time of conversing with my new friends was wasting away. I listed everyone that I got to meet on the previous post.
I "presented" the poster to my twitter friends from Southwest Airlines. Christi told me that a proper place would be found to display it. Scott presented me with a Southwest Airlines insulated lunchbox packed with all kinds of Southwest Airlines' brand goodies. Paul told him to put an inflatable airplane in there, but they were out. I did get a plush T.J. Luv, and yellow Southwest Airlines cap, a drawstring bag that actually can contain my laptop, a SWA luggage handle wrap, and I can go on and on! In return I held a drawing for some College Park Aviation Museum tumbler cups, since there weren't enough to go around.
The Landing was a great place to eat and had a nice view. But the best view of all was on The Deck. When lunch was over, Christi gave me a tour of the building. She took me onto The Deck where I was able to watch a few Southwest 737's take off and land.
I can't even begin to describe everything I saw on the walls and in the hallways! A large section was dedicated to pictures of employees' families. Some of the things that stood out to me were the pictures representing the activities and projects surrounding the opening of stations such as Denver and Philadelphia. I especially enjoyed the pictures from Southwest Airlines' earliest years. Another wall displayed cartoon caricatures of several leaders of the company. If I were to take a wild guess right now, I would say there were at least 100 to look at. I noticed Colleen's image quite early and Christi pointed out a few more for me and named their role with the company. The Five Symbols of Freedom wall adjacent to one of the elevators and the Giant T-shirt were some other of my favorite sights in the halls.
When Christi showed me the Giant T-shirt area and told me the story behind it and the several dozen t-shirts on the walls, I was so fascinated. When she asked if I wanted a t-shirt, my already sky-high level of excitement soared even higher. When the tour was finished, she presented me with a DING t-shirt that represented one of Southwest Airlines' most recent endeavors, designing an airplane's interior from scratch using more environmentally friendly and lighter weight materials. The shirt features a Southwest symbol blended with a recycling symbol and says "You are free to be green". She also gave me a copy of a poster entitled "We Are Southwest Airlines" that was a collage of many tiny pictures of employees and events that formed a bigger picture. It stood out at me as we walked down the halls. Finally I was given a copy of "Nuts! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success"
The adventure didn't stop there. I had the opportunity to visit Christi's department and meet Paula and Brandy. While in Brandy's office I saw one of those large magnets that allowed you to sculpt small metal pieces into a 3D shape. The small metal pieces were tiny airplanes. When I realized this, I exclaimed, "My heart!" before realizing that the magnet was heart-shaped and had the Southwest Airlines' logo on it. Brandy offered it to me, saying that she was trying to de-clutter her office, to which I graciously (I hope) received it.
Following the visit to Christi's department, Christi gave me a tour of Operations and Dispatch, where her dad works. It was then she told me about "My Old Man in Maintenance" a video series geared to educate people about basic SWA 737 maintenance.
Thank you so much to all who made this visit to Southwest Airlines' Headquarter such a magical experience! I hope to pay forward all the kindness and support I received from you all and make a difference for others as you have done for me!
