On the occasion of the creation of the AA JFK AA "In Memoriam" tab, The Committee is taking this opportunity to recognize and thank the person who was the absolute inspiration for the creation of the AA JFK Alumni Association:

VERA HOLOWCZYK

Vera spent her career with American Airlines working at JFK in the Facilities Maintenance Department for 42 years working her way up from a Secretarial position to the department's Manager of Administration and Budgets.  No one knew JFK and its people better than Vera.  As the Chairperson for the JFK Recreation Committee for 36 years she was the driving force behind all JFK Employee Recreational activities. A few of those activities included The Annual Children's Christmas parties, the Annual Employee Picnics, The "Harvest Moon" and "Spring Fling" Dinner Dances, Company Sports Teams, The Company Store, the "Welcome Home" parties for our Veterans returning from combat operations in the Middle East, and charity events to numerous to mention.

Vera was truly the "Matriarch" of the JFK Employee Family.  To know her was to love her!  Sadly, Vera passed away on December 30, 2010, but left a legacy of accomplishments and dedication to the spirit of the American Airlines JFK Family.

It was exactly that "Spirit" that was the inspiration behind the creation of the JFK Alumni Association. Our goal is to be able to bring both Alumni and Retired JFK Employees together at Reunions and other social events. We know she would have wanted us to accomplish this!

Therefore, to our Friend and Colleague, VERA HOLOWCZYK, we dedicate this "Thank You" to her memory and, place in honor, her name among those listed in the "In Memoriam" dedication page.

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. A "Special Thank You" to Mr. Leo Rodriquez, for lending his expertise and talent in the video production and sound used to produce the multiple videos for our 2013 Reunion and this website.  Leo is a MIA based Operations Agent and Cuban Operations Service Coordinator as well as a long time personal friend of Jim Timmerman, and we really appreciate the time, effort, and creativity he put forth to help the Committee create a memorable Retiree/Alumni Reunion Event that was held on October 17, 2013, at the Floral Terrace, Floral Park, NY.

* Please note that Leo is standing in front of the former AA JFK Terminal Murals at Miami International Airport Concourse "J". See the entire video showing the story & moving of the Murals from JFK to Miami, by going to the "Video Albums Tab".

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.To Don C. Smith and Jim Smith, sons of Don P Smith, for their help and expertise with computer technology that permitted the "Old Guy" to learn how to upload "stuff" into this website.

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.A second "Special Thanks" goes out to Joanne Occhipiniti, for her creative expertise in creating a great Poem reflecting the spirit of past days of the AA JFK Employee family that she recited at our October 17, 2013 gala reunion. We have reproduced her poem and it is located under the tab "2013 Reunion Poem"