Gary's Greeting

As seen in this month's edition of "Spirit Magazine"

Trick or Treat!

I have to confess, I am one of those adults who really loves Halloween. Even before our daughters were born, my wife and I enjoyed the costumes and parties. Our oldest daughter’s birthday is in late October, so that provided another reason to go all out with our girls in the annual trick-or-treat fest. Then, I joined Southwest Airlines—oh, my!

Halloween at Southwest is a sight to behold—and gawk. My own costumes over the years have probably given others plenty to gawk about. Last year, I was Edna Turnblad from the hit movie Hairspray. But, as a bad-boy rocker wannabe, my most favorite is when I portrayed Gene Simmons from KISS a few years ago. For the last two years, I let the readers of our blog, Nuts About Southwest, decide my persona. Who will they pick? Who knows, but watch the blog for details.

So why would a reasonably sane middleaged (but looks much younger, right?) man and a Fortune 500 Company like Southwest Airlines embrace what is essentially a child’s holiday? Well the short answer is that it is a lot of FUN, and there is nothing wrong (and a whole lot of things right) with FUN in the workplace. Besides FUN, there is a very valid business reason to “invest” in Halloween, and it goes beyond shaving my legs to play Edna. Halloween, Southwest-style, is the ultimate Teambuilding exercise, and it was by accident. Upper management didn’t decide that we would celebrate; it just happened naturally, and now it has a life of its own. Preparing for this FUN day helps us get to know each other as individuals and work as part of a Team in a way that’s different from our everyday Teamwork, as we prepare for skits at Headquarters or decorate gates in our Stations. Oct. 31 and the hours that lead up to it are worth the time investment. Yes, Halloween is a Southwest tradition. While it has nothing to do with actually running an airline, it has everything to do with preserving our Culture, and I can’t wait for this year’s FUN.

Gary Kelly
Chairman and CEO
Southwest Airlines