SluggoAAFA!

Grew up in Winchester, VA which is small town about 70 miles west of Washington DC. There is a lot of history in the small town. There is: George Washington's Headquarters, Sheridan's Headquarters, and Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters; Winchester changed hands over 70 times during the Civil War; and Winchester use to be one of the World's leading in Apple Production, still is the sixth in the Nation for production.  Check Winchester's web page and it will give you more details about the town.

 

One of my only interests while attending James Wood High School, was marching band.  Our band at the time was in the middle of a 10-year consecutive run on being a Virginia Honor Band. The Virginia Honor Band recognition and award was the result of a project and survey assigned to Vincent Tornello in the spring of 1979 by incoming VBODA President Daniel Schoemmell, my band director.  The survey was in conjunction with the establishment of a state marching band festival.  As part of the end result of such a festival, the recognition of bands displaying a comprehensive program was the intent of the Virginia Honor Band Award.  Bands achieving superior ratings at the state marching festival and district concert festival were to be recognized with the highest honor that can be bestowed upon bands by the VBODA.

 

I learned about Drum Corps from watching DCI Finals tapes during band camp in 1987.  Finally got to see a live competition in August 1990 at DCI East in Allentown, PA. I saw for the first time the Cadets of Bergen County, Blue Devils, Phantom Regiment, Madison Scouts, Crossmen, Dutch Boy, Boston Crusaders, Freelancers, Magic of Orlando and the Troopers. Everyone I was with were pretty much rooting for the Cadets, but my favorite that year were the Blue Devils. Cadets won that show by .30 of a point. So, after high school, I marched with The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. I marched with them for two years, before joining the Air Force. I was stationed at Grand Forks AFB, ND for four years.  Traveling to Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Marseille-France, and London-England. The day that I separated, was the same day the floods started on April 17, 1997. I moved back to Winchester for the summer. Working at the old Boy Scout Camp I worked at during the summers of High School. Then I found a job being a customer service rep for a software company in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

In the spring of 2000, I decided to be a Flight Attendant with American Airlines.  I've always wanted to fly, and I now realize that I will never go back to a 9-5 type job again. I am currently living in Minneapolis and have enjoyed what the Twin Cities has to offer.  Flying has been such a wonderful experience, flying all over the country and world, meeting many interesting people, including many celebrities.

 

Due to all the occurrences from September 11th 2001, the airline had to lay off more than 5,000 flight attendants.  I got furloughed (laid off) on July 1st 2003.  Fortunately it happened during the summer, so I was able to tour with The Cavaliers.  I helped out driving a support vehicle to different show/practice sites across the Country. Even tried to help out administratively at times.  I had a fun time helping with the corps and getting to know the 2003 Cavalier members.  Luckily for me, I got recalled back to work on December 1st 2003.

 

I was extremely happy to be going back to work, but became upset that I wasn't based back in Chicago, but New York. At first I was angry, but I soon realized how great it was to be based in New York, and how easy and fun it was to fly the trans-con flights from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco.  In June 2005, I became a Purser Flight Attendant.  That means that I work mostly on the wide-body aircraft, and am in charge of everything going on.  Flight Attendants and passengers come to me with any problems during the flight.  In 2011, I decided it was time for me to spread my wings a little, so I transferred to American's Miami base to start International flying. It was very exciting, but after a year and a half, I went back to NYC's JFK International airport.

 

After flying out of JFK a few months, I chose to become an Instructor/Evaluator of Flight Attendants. Offering the best training and employee development in the industry. Helping to create an environment which supports performance excellence. Deliver job related instruction in such a way as to provide the field with competent, confident customer oriented employees who are passionate about the aviation industry. I Served as a role model and demonstrate by what I say/do that I am confident of my ability; competent in the performance of my duties, and passionate in helping others. Make every effort to be an employee worthy of imitation, attitude, action, and commitment to customer service.

 

In 2015, I was awarded a mutual International transfer from JFK to Chicago. Had the chance to feel a bit more 'senior' as I was now able to fly true 'First Class' International trips to London, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, and other areas before the flying started to dwindle. In April 2019, to fly different and more routes, I transferred to Dallas/Ft Worth. That gave me mixed emotions as even at 20 years, I was still 'junior', however was able to fly to Hong Kong, as well as Santiago, as the Purser. In mid 2022, I went back to Chicago, and immediately started flying my London's again...Feels like I'm back home.

 

It's fun to look back over the years of all the jobs that I've held.  I worked for Things Remembered for 3 years.  Worked at Camp Rock Enon, Boy Scouts of America Camp for 4 summers.  Worked at a Children's Development Store, Early Learning Centre for a few months, worked at McDonald's for a few months.  Marched with a Drum and Bugle Corps for 2 summers.  Worked at a Pet Store for 4 years.  Worked for the Air Force for 4 years.  Worked in a Newspaper Software company for 3 years.  Working for the airline for 23 years.