OXFORD, Miss. – When Ole Miss fans boarded a plane in Jackson bound for the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, they were in for a surprise – and so were the flight attendants.
Rebel fans were welcomed by letters in their seats penned by Southwest Airlines flight attendant Shun Harvey.
In it, she thanked the fans of all ages for allowing the flight crew to be part of their journey in the College Football Playoff and encouraged them to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
“Writing letters to customers – it’s just something that I do,” Harvey said. “It’s just me being me.”
She enjoys customer service.
“I love providing the best service I can, and when I found out that Southwest was doing a direct flight to Phoenix, of course I wanted to jump onto one because I’m from Mississippi,” she said.
In fact, two Mississippi residents served on Wednesday’s flight: Shun, from Brandon, and her cousin Katlynn Harvey, from Pearl. Both made sure the University of Mississippi contingent’s journey to the Fiesta Bowl was a success.
“We thought it would be great since we’re from Mississippi to take Mississippi fans out there,” Shun said. “It was by far my best flight ever.”
She has a knack of making customers comfortable and trips memorable. In October she served on the flight crew when fans of her alma mater, Jackson State University, were traveling to Las Vegas for the P&G Las Vegas HBCU Classic to face Grambling State University. She wrote them letters, too.
“I like to see the faces and reactions once people read the letters,” she said. “It makes them feel special and included, and that’s what Southwest is about.”
Ole Miss fans certainly felt special.
Jackson television station WLBT posted a photo of her letter on social media, and comments flooded in, so much so that her phone was blowing up.
The most popular response to the post was, of course: “Hotty Toddy!”
The cheer even flooded the flight several times, especially when Harvey was told (with a wink) to ask “ARE YOU READY?” over the plane’s sound system.
But Hotty Toddy is more than a cheer, and Harvey learned that.
“It means all the things Ole Miss, and the chant was just the highlight,” she said.
She discovered fans’ energy and love.
“They treated us like family,” she said. “You couldn’t tell me I was not an Ole Miss Rebel yesterday.”