The Gazette-Enterprise

SEGUIN — Texas Lutheran University’s annual Excellence in Leadership Dinner is getting ready for takeoff.

The dinner, which will honor both a co-founder of Southwest Airlines and a former president of the company, will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Antonio.

The event honors a business, civic, or community leader every year. The Excellence in Leadership dinner was started in 2001.

Past honorees have included former governor Dolph Briscoe and General Robert Herres.

Steve Anderson, senior vice president for university relations says aside from being a scholarship fundraiser, one of the goals of the dinner is to make TLU better known within the business community in the greater San Antonio area.

This year’s honorees are Southwest Airlines emeriti, Herb Kelleher and Colleen Barrett. Kelleher is co-founder of Southwest Airlines, and Barrett was president of Southwest Airlines through 2008.

“It will be very interesting to hear two leaders from one of the most successful businesses in the country,” Anderson said. “It is going to be very fascinating. Kelleher is legendary for certainly his entrepreneurship, but also his wit.”

Kelleher has received numerous awards and honors, including the U. S. Chamber Business Leadership Hall of Fame; CEO of the Year and one of history’s top three CEOs. Barrett was the highest-ranking woman in the airline industry for years, even before she was named president of Southwest Airlines in 2001. She joined the company in 1978.

V.I.P. tables begin at $5,000, which includes a table for 10, a reception with the honorees, and parking. Other tables are from $1,750 to $2,500. Individual tickets are $250. TLU students, faculty and staff only pay half price.

Proceeds from the fundraiser go toward student scholarships. Students who have received the Presidential Award for Leadership and Service can benefit from the scholarships. The award goes to students of any academic major who have exhibited leadership traits.

For more information on the Texas Lutheran University Excellence in Leadership Dinner, contact the TLU development office at 830-372-8030 or visit the Web site at www.tlu.edu .

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