Anniversaries Birthdays and Special Occasions

Jason and his stunning wife would like to welcome their beautiful twin girls .....just in time for the New Year !!

Fiona - 5lbs 13 oz. Jaiden - 4lbs 11 oz. Both born 12.23.16. Favorite past time activities , eating ,sleeping, and making poopoo 😅😅

Wow...aren't they beautiful!

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

• October 4th - Amanda Levy
• October 28th Kediesha
• October 13th Thelma

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

• November 2nd Jacqueline Gordon
• November 6th Jackie DeSouza

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS

• December 5th Melissa Machuca
• December 6th Ariel Anderson
• December 22nd Rory Wojtusiak
• December 13th Christina Davila
• December 28th Marie Beniot

ANNIVERSARIES

October 19th 7 YEARS!

• Ryan Marlatt
• Jacqueline Gordon
• John Buckhalter
• Steve Lankarge
• Linda Romaniello
• Judy Stillman
• Amanda Levy

Congratulations Ariel, your WOW card has been drawn as our December 2016 Values Winner. You were nominated for "Helping out at gate." Thanks for all that you do!

Other nominations include:

Regina - Her pleasant demeanor with guest & teammates no matter how stressful it may get. For always willing to cover shifts; assist where needed. Always a pleasure to work with.

Danielle - Always helping in times of need no matter what! (RON Shift, then stayed to help AM shift).

Keddy - Always being a power house at the gate & getting those flights out on time.

Dina - Always keeping your cool & handling a manual night so smoothly.

Judy - Offering to help with a crazy BSO night. It definitely made a difference. Thank you soooo much.

Jason - Delivering guest bag to hotel. Guest was leaving on a cruise. Talk about team player!! Thanks Jason!!

Amanda - Doing an excellent job on the 321 cancellation.

Jason - Going over & beyond in personally delivering a bag to a guest leaving on a cruise. Moreover the bag contained the guest's insulin dosage.

Greg - For the most awesome moments at the holiday party.

Judy - Setting me up in ops!

Danielle - Being a good best friend & getting me set up in ops.

Marie - Sharing her slice of cheese with Kedeisha! (True Story!)

Tracey - Giving the homeless something to smile on Christmas Day.

Marie - Always making me laugh and telling the best jokes.

Great work by all, including those who aren't listed. During the month of December we faced many challenges. We had network issues causing manual check-in and boarding (some teammates first experience at this), we had cancelled flights (one while we were still experiencing network issues and had to do manual reaccommodation), we had lengthy delays, challenges in BSO, etc. All new experiences for our newest teammates! With December being so busy, you still took the time to recognize your fellow teammates, which is great to see!

I'm looking forward to seeing the teamwork in action in 2017 and the continued nominations!

Great job!

Ryan

YOUR BEST DESTINATION IDEAS

Ok all you world travelers and writers! We need your destination pics, advice and experiences. We wanna feature your pictures and experiences on "Winging It"

Please submit all your pics to Regina Santoyo or Ian Santos

DRINK AND FOOD CREATIONS

Pomegranate-Champagne Punch

Every good party needs a Champagne punch recipe. Pomegranate juice adds a sweet-tart note—not to mention, a festive color.

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

2 750-ml bottles chilled brut Champagne

1 1/2 cups white rum

1 1/4 cups pomegranate juice

1 large lemon, thinly sliced

Pomegranate seeds

Fresh mint leaves

1 ice block

Preparation

Bring 1/2 cup water and sugar to boil in small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Cool syrup completely.

Combine Champagne, rum, and pomegranate juice in punch bowl. Add enough syrup to sweeten to taste. Mix in lemon slices, pomegranate seeds, and mint leaves. Add ice block to bowl.

SPAGHETTI SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz spaghetti noodles, cooked per instructions, drained

Handful of grape tomatoes, sliced

1/2 red, yellow and green bell pepper, diced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 black olives, sliced

1 cup cubed cheese

1 5oz Bottle of SALAD SUPREME ( can be found in the seasoning section)

1/2 cup of Vegetable oil or Italian Salad dressing

Parmesan To taste

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare Fran’s Vinaigrette – click link up above for recipe. Set aside to allow flavors to mingle.

Prepare the spaghetti in salted water per instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place the drained spaghetti in a large serving bowl. Add the vinaigrette, to taste and toss to coat evenly. Place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, tossing to evenly coat every 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, red onion, olives, and extra sharp cheddar cheese to the spaghetti. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Toss to coat evenly and place back into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, tossing to evenly coat every 10 minutes.

Please send comments, concerns, ideas to: Regina.santoyo@virginamerica.com