The Wings Club Foundation Announces 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award Winner | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.13.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.14.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Sun, Apr 09, 2017

The Wings Club Foundation Announces 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award Winner

Gary C. Kelly To Be Honored At The 75th Awards Gala In October

The Wings Club Foundation, Inc. will honor Southwest Airlines' Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Kelly (pictured) with the 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award. Acknowledging outstanding accomplishments in the field of aviation, The Wings Club Foundation will present this award on October 20, 2017, at the 75th Annual Awards Gala to be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City.

Under Gary Kelly's leadership, Southwest Airlines has grown to become the nation's largest airline in terms of originating domestic passengers carried and is a mainstay on Fortune magazine's list of the most admired companies in the world, ranking eighth in 2017.

As a Southwest veteran, Kelly began his career 31 years ago as Controller, moving up to Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Finance, then Executive Vice President and CFO, before being promoted to CEO and Vice Chairman in July 2004. Gary assumed the roles of Chairman and President in 2008. Prior to joining Southwest Airlines in 1986, Gary was a CPA for Arthur Young & Company in Dallas and Controller for Systems Center, Inc.

His biggest source of pride is the fact that Southwest Airlines has never had a single furlough in the airline's 46-year history. He has pioneered the airline's transformation through several key initiatives, including the acquisition of AirTran Airways, the repeal of the Wright Amendment, and the launch of international destinations for the first time in Southwest's history; all while staying true to the Company's core values and people-centric culture.

Throughout his career, Kelly has received numerous awards and recognitions, most recently as a 2016 inductee into the Texas Business Hall of Fame, and recipient of the prestigious 2016 Tony Jannus Award. He was named to Fortune magazine's Top 20 People in Business in 2014; was twice named D CEO Magazine's CEO of the Year; one of the best CEOs in America by Institutional Investor magazine three times; and selected as Dallas Business Journal's CEO of the Year for 2011. In 2010, Kelly was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas at Austin, and in 2013, he was inducted into the McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he received the 2013 Father of the Year Award; and was the recipient of the 2013 McLane Leadership in Business Award at Texas A&M University. Kelly is a current member of the Business Council and the Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees.

The Wings Club's Distinguished Achievement Award has been presented annually since 1975. Notable past recipients include Neil Armstrong, Senator John Glenn, President George H. W. Bush, Brigadier General Charles E. Yeager, Frederick Smith, Steven Udvar-Hazy, T. Allan McArtor, and W. James McNerney, Jr., as well as 13 present and former airline CEO's including, Robert Crandall, Herbert Kelleher, Gordon Bethune, Sir Colin Marshall, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Sir Richard Branson, and Dave Barger.

(Source: Wings Club media release)

FMI: www.wingsclub.org

Advertisement

More News

Bolen Gives Congress a Rare Thumbs-Up

Aviation Governance Secured...At Least For a While The National Business Aviation Association similarly applauded the passage of the FAA's recent reauthorization, contentedly recou>[...]

The SportPlane Resource Guide RETURNS!!!!

Emphasis On Growing The Future of Aviation Through Concentration on 'AFFORDABLE FLYERS' It's been a number of years since the Latest Edition of Jim Campbell's HUGE SportPlane Resou>[...]

Buying Sprees Continue: Textron eAviation Takes On Amazilia Aerospace

Amazilia Aerospace GmbH, Develops Digital Flight Control, Flight Guidance And Vehicle Management Systems Textron eAviation has acquired substantially all the assets of Amazilia Aer>[...]

Hawker 4000 Bizjets Gain Nav System, Data Link STC

Honeywell's Primus Brings New Tools and Niceties for Hawker Operators Hawker 4000 business jet operators have a new installation on the table, now that the FAA has granted an STC f>[...]

Echodyne Gets BVLOS Waiver for AiRanger Aircraft

Company Celebrates Niche-but-Important Advancement in Industry Standards Echodyne has announced full integration of its proprietary 'EchoFlight' radar into the e American Aerospace>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC