BY NANCY RIVARD
Bravo to the selfless volunteers who drive the plane of our Children’s Medical Escort Program. The program has been headed by Margaret Whitehead who has worked as a full time volunteer since 1996! She ran a similar program for Eastern Airlines. She lost her husband of 48 years in December 2014 and has two daughters and three grandsons. Here are pictures and bios of Margaret and the coordinating team:
Margaret Whitehead, Director
“There are so many volunteer opportunities out there but to me, none more important than working with children in need. When trips don’t go as planned it does become stressful and frustrating; however, I can think of nothing I would rather do and cannot imagine not being able to work with our absolutely wonderful, kind and compassionate escorts. Not only have you truly helped so many children to have a better life, you are also the ones who have saved me this past year.â€
Background: I was with Eastern Airlines over 25 years. I started in Reservations where I worked in several different cities, then worked as a Gate Agent, then Special Services Team Member in ATL Departure Services for many years. After Eastern shut down, I worked as a leasing agent for a large apartment complex then in 1996 I became Airline Ambassadors Children’s Escort Program Volunteer Coordinator. While at Eastern, I also ran a program for several years that used airline employees to escort orphans primarily from Korea, Thailand, and Ecuador to their adoptive families throughout the US. During this time I co-founded a large inter-country adoption agency that worked in Korea and several Central and South American countries. I have also served on the Board of Directors of Villa Hope, another inter-country adoption agency as well as the National Board of Healing the Children. My volunteerism has always been focused on children in need throughout the world.
Joanne Striker
I started working for AA in 1991 and retired in 2012, working on the Executive Platinum Desk. I began volunteering with Airline Ambassadors in the late 90’s. It all started with a mission trip to Haiti delivering humanitarian aid and now I am one of the coordinators for the Children’s Medical Escort Program. I have learned that you get so much more than you give and since we are all connected, it is only natural to want to help our fellow mankind.
Wayne Lee
My airline career started in 1972 when I joined American Airlines and continued for almost 35 years. I started in the Buffalo Reservations Office and eventually transferred to the reservations office near Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. In 1974 I became a flight attendant. Through the years I was based at DFW, LAX, and ORD, with most of my flying career in the International division. After the 1993 flight attendant strike, I returned to school and obtained my RN degree. I continued to fly and worked in Hospice, College Health, and Pediatrics throughout the remainder of my career with AA. I retired from American in 2007 and retired from nursing in 2011. I now have a fun part time job as a House Manager in a 2500 seat theater in Rochester, NY.
I joined Airline Ambassadors in 2012 as a Medical Escort Coordinator. With my background in Reservations, International Travel and Pediatric Nursing, I felt it was a good fit and an excellent program to help children from around the world receive the needed medical care that is not available in their home countries. I am always in awe at the amount of time that so many active and retired volunteers from American and other airlines donate to Airline Ambassadors Intl. They continually amaze me and I am so grateful to them for all they do!
Connie Lowry
I started with AA in 1989. I started in RES then became an instructor. I first taught SABRE to new hires then I became an instructor at the learning center. There I taught outside companies that brought their classes to AA, like Sprint. I also worked at several city ticket offices. I retired in 1999. That was when I became involved with AAI. It has been a wonderful experience knowing that we are helping to change the lives of so many children.
