It’s informally known as the “Delta Oscars,” and Angela Batteh was one of the “stars” at the formal red carpet gala at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre.
Batteh’s award? Her name and signature on a plaque inside a Delta Air Lines 737 jet for a year. The Jacksonville resident also was given two tickets to fly anywhere in the world, and she just returned from Sydney, Australia.
She was a recipient of the Delta Chairman’s Club Award, given to 100 employees out of a company of 80,000.
Batteh has worked in almost every capacity at Delta. The University of North Florida graduate has spent about 19 of her nearly 22 years with Delta in Jacksonville.
“I loved the interaction with customers traveling to foreign countries to adopt children, couples on their honeymoon or families on their yearly vacation,” said Batteh, who is also a community volunteer.
She oversees the Delta Sky Club, works extensively with the Jacksonville Airport Authority and Transportation Security Administration and with Delta’s corporate office on initiatives.
Here’s more good news:
¦ Virginia Barrett Barker, a Mandarin resident for more than 50 years, a writer and charter member of the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society, is the 2012 recipient of the Miss Aggie Award. The award is named for Agnes “Miss Aggie” Jones, proprietor and postmistress of the Old Mandarin Store and Post Office from 1928 to 1984. Barker has been a Mandarin Community Club member for 50 years, served on its board and is in the Mandarin Garden Club. Several of her articles and photographs are in the Mandarin museum’s archives.
¦ Kangaroo Express has given $53,091 to Second Harvest North Florida food bank. Donations were collected in more than 100 Jacksonville-area stores through an in-store promotion with support from Champion Brands and MillerCoors. The money will provide 371,637 meals for needy North Florida residents, said Tom Strother, Second Harvest communications director.
¦ Kings Trail Elementary, 7401 Old Kings Road. S., has a new garden to teach students about healthy eating choices, thanks to the American Heart Association, Danis Construction Co. and Trad’s Garden Center and Pest Control.
¦ Deutsche Bank has transformed an unusable outdoor area into a colorful reading garden for students at Windy Hill Elementary School, 3831 Forest Blvd. A component of the bank’s Professional Development for Senior Analysts Program is to plan and execute a community service project.
¦ Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown called the creation of a Beta Gamma Sigma chapter at Jacksonville University a “vote of confidence that very few universities worldwide receive” when he recently accepted the chapter’s first Honoree Award. The JU graduate was honored for his “significant contributions” to Jacksonville, said William Crosby, interim dean of the Davis College of Business.
¦ Produce for Kids, a monthlong promotional campaign, raised almost $9,000 at local Publix stores for Children’s Miracle Network. The money goes to the Shands Jacksonville pediatric department and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Send items to goodnews@jacksonville.com or fax them to (904) 359-4478.
cindy.holifield@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4295,
sandy.strickland@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4128
