CONGRATULATIONS LARENA ON YOUR RETIREMENT!

We want to thank Larena Beal, SIA Vice President and SLC based Flight Attendant for her dedicated work for and support of the SkyWest Flight Attendants for the past 13 years! We asked Larena to leave us with some thoughts on her memorable moments and to touch on her contributions to SIA. Again, thank you Larena and have fun in your retirement!

“It seems when we hit milestones and are asked if we have anything we want to say or share there are recurring topics, memorable moments, regrets and accomplishments.

Memorable moments – after 25 years, 11 months and 8 days there are so many memorable moments that this could get out of hand! So to sum it up briefly, I would have to say the most memorable moments are simply the laughter, belly splitting laughter. Laughing with my fellow crewmembers, with InFlight and SkyWest leaders, with other members of SIA and with my passengers. This job is hard, life is hard, laughter will get you through.

Regrets – I like to think I own my shortcomings which helps minimize the regrets you may have about life’s not so great decisions. But I do have one true regret that stands out. That regret, is because of my job, I deviated from a routine that I had always kept with my oldest son. On Saturdays I always visited with him and his family, sometimes short visits sometime long, but they always ended with an “I love you” and a huge smile and a bear hug. When I was scheduled for training, I decided I needed to do just that little bit of extra cramming (you know, gotta get it right on the first try) so I didn’t show for the visit, and I didn’t call either. When the phone rang the next morning, the news was that my son was gone, he had passed away. I am never going to get that last “I love you”, huge smile or bear hug back. I don’t tell you this to get your sympathy, but to drive home the point that there is nothing and I mean nothing, more important than your families and loved ones, plain and simple. This is a great job and company, but never put it before the people you love or your real life, it is just a job.

Accomplishments/contributions – Probably the only individual thing I’ve accomplished in almost 26 years as a flight attendant, is to not get fired…J. But for SIA… what have I done while in SIA? I pondered this, I went to my little office and the attic (I might be a SIA hoarder) and dug out all of the SIA stuff; notebooks, meeting agendas, meeting notes, policy proposals, policy manuals, 4 pay package notes, everything. It became very clear that there were countless contributions and accomplishments. It was also very clear that I did not do a single thing by myself while in SIA. For almost 13 years in SIA I have worked alongside some of the hardest working, dedicated and caring individuals in this company. I would like to sincerely thank ALL of them for putting up with me! And when you see that orange glow in the night sky over Utah County, don’t panic, it’s just me and my grandkids roasting marshmallows over a SIA bonfire!"