The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Where Are They Now?

by Becky Smith, The Quill

Jane (Lee) Flinn, a 1981 graduate from La Harpe High School, submitted the following story on her current whereabouts.

"After graduating from La Harpe High School in 1981, and Western Illinois University in 1985, I headed West in search of career opportunities.

My father, Robert (Bob) Lee and I, loaded up my small car that I had used in college and headed toward Phoenix, Arizona. Why Phoenix? At the time, my college roommate from Peoria, was student teaching in Phoenix and she encouraged me to come out for a visit.

We also had family friends from La Harpe living in Phoenix; Oliver and Marie McKee. They were just like parents to my father, and they welcomed us with open arms.

Always one to think ahead, my father had the air conditioning unit in my car serviced in preparation for the hot summer months that would lie ahead. As we made our way down from Flagstaff to Phoenix, it was time to turn on the air conditioner and ::.it didn't work. So yes, you can survive a summer in Phoenix without air conditioning. It took me quite some time to save up the money for the repair work.

After working several jobs, I was hired in 1987 at a small airline named America West as a Flight Attendant. Over the years, America West merged with US Airways, which then merged with American Airlines. Throughout all of the mergers, I was able to keep my seniority. Seniority determines your vacation and work schedule.

Today, I am a 31 year Flight Attendant for American Airlines based in Phoenix, AZ. During my career, I served over 14 years as a Union Representative. Most of the time I enjoyed being a liaison between Management and the Flight Attendant workgroup. If you have ever served as a Union Represenative, you will understand when I say it truly is "a thankless job".

I rarely fly the same schedule each week, so each "trip" that I take is different from last weeks' trip. Because I have good seniority, I try to avoid flying into snowy destinations during the winter months. I much prefer flying to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Hawaii as opposed to Newark, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan. I love the summer months in Anchorage, Alaska; museums in Washington, DC and the ability to spend the day walking around New York City and enjoying the restaurants.

A topic that I am frequently asked about is passenger behavior. A typical question would be as follows: "How often to do you have to kick someone off of a flight?" The answer is rarely, very rarely. These situations make for great T.V. coverage, but in reality, they are very infrequent. Basically, there is a zero tolerance policy for misbehavior on an aircraft. We can verbally advise the passenger that his or her behavior will not be tolerated. We can also hand them a legal document published by the FAA stating that if their behavior continues, they will be arrested and prosecuted.

Any offense that occurs on an aircraft is a Federal Offense and the FBI handles all cases. County singer Dierks Bentley (he's from Phoenix, AZ) had a popular song recently titled "Drunk on a Plane". Just because Dierks' sings about it, doesn't make it legal. Being intoxicated on an airplane is a Federal Offense. We have the right to refuse alcohol service to anyone.

If you appear intoxicated during the boarding process, you will be removed from the flight and will be offered a seat on a later flight, assuming you have sobered up! If you appear to be on drugs or illicit narcotics, you are also removed. Once you put the fear of an FBI investigation into the mind of a misbehaving passenger, they usually come to their senses and their actions improve.

I was also asked to write about those who have influenced me the most. My parents, Robert and Irma Lee gave me and my brother an incredible work ethic. A work ethic that I have tried to instill in my 20 year old son, Connor. I guess this has to start at a young age, for trying to tell today's youth that hard work can be rewarding isn't always believable. I repeat the same words to my son that my dad always said to me, basically "don't be surprised at what you might have to do to get by". No job is beneath you.

My son is currently working at an internship at Disneyland as a custodian/customer service representative. He interacts with customers, but he also has to clean up after them. I hope his future wife appreciates the custodian skills that Disney is teaching him.

I wonder if it is too late to sign my husband up for this program! My husband Mike, is a Trust Advisor for Bank of Oklahoma. He spends most of his day on the phone/computer advising financial advisors about trust services that they can provide to their clients. He speaks mostly to the advisor, not the individual client.

Living in a big city, like, Phoenix can be both challenging and rewarding. Traffic at times can be nerve-wracking. I live approximately 6 miles from the airport. In morning rush hour traffic, it can take me almost 30 minutes to drive those 6 miles. Can you imagine driving from La Harpe to Blandinsville, bumper to bumper, three lanes of traffic and taking 30 minutes?

My favorite activity when I return back to Western Illinois is to drive on the country roads, not rushed, and enjoy the peaceful country scenery."