Earl G Graves Award for Leadership.

American Airlines employees Lynette John-Finn, Training Instructor at the Southeastern Reservations Office in Cary, NC, Mike Navarro, Director of Employee Safety in Miami, FL and Bruce Sickler, Reservation Representative at the Southern Reservations Office in Fort Worth, TX were awarded the third annual Earl G. Graves Award for Leadership to recognize their work in advancing diversity and inclusion within the company and in their communities in a ceremony at American's C.R. Smith Museum.

The award was established in honor of Earl G. Graves, Sr., founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, who influenced many of American's diversity initiatives during his 13 years on AMR's Board of Directors. Graves helped American establish its practical, business-minded approach to diversity and worked to demonstrate that American's diversity efforts are integral to its business goals. Graves also chaired the AMR Board Diversity Committee from 2002 until his retirement in 2008.

American Airlines Chairman Gerard Arpey and AMR Board Diversity Committee Chairman Roger Staubach personally recognized the honorees along with a number of American Airlines and American Eagle leaders and colleagues in attendance. These employees "are recognized for their leadership in diversity by their peers modeling the philanthropy of the award's namesake," said CEO Gerard Arpey.

"This award is dependent on each one of us recognizing what leadership in Diversity and Inclusion looks like and choosing to tell others." said Lauri Curtis, Vice President-Diversity and Leadership Strategies.

Award candidates are nominated by their fellow employees. Honorees are then chosen by a selection committee made up of senior management and members of the company's Diversity Advisory Council based upon three primary selection criteria:

• Long-term commitment to leadership
• Demonstrated passion and commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Legacy of leadership in diversity by having a lasting impact on the company

John-Finn, Navarro and Sickler were selected from an impressive list of nominees for their continuous commitment to the company's diversity mission and for their ability to incorporate diversity into American's daily operations through their personal sphere's of influence.

John-Finn, has been a pioneer for Diversity and Inclusion throughout her career at American Airlines. She has been a constant advocate for positive change. Lynette embarked on her rewarding journey at American Airlines 16 years ago at the South Eastern Reservations Office (SERO) in Cary, North Carolina. Lynette gained valuable experience working in several reservations departments including: Domestic Sales, International Sales, Promotions and International AAdvantage. She is a 2006 recipient of the High Flyer Award which recognizes excellence in Reservations. Lynette is currently an SERO Instructor and her position allows her to educate employees about the many company initiatives including being a good place to work for good people. Lynette was also selected to train new hires in Dublin, Ireland and share the Diversity and Inclusion message with our global AMR family. Lynette has also made significant contributions by serving on various committees for many ERGs including the African American ERG, Christian ERG, and Veteran Military Employee Resource Groups and she has served on the Diversity Advisory Council on 2 separate occasions.

Navarro, a 38-year veteran of American Airlines, began his career with the company as a ticket and operations agent in St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands. And his career path has included Cargo in St. Croix, Freight Loss & Damage for the Caribbean, General Manager in St. Thomas and St. Croix, Virgin Islands, International Operations at the Miami Hub and Security & Environment. Mike has served with a coalition of business partners in Miami-Dade's Welfare to Work Initiative, served as United Way Coordinator for the AA Miami Hub and coordinated participation of AA volunteers on the annual "Hands on Miami" initiative. American Airlines has recognized Mike over the years for his dedication and commitment to its customers and community, including Miami's Management Excellence Award. And for several years he has served as a Manager Advisor to the African American Employee Resource Group, Christian Employee Resource Group, and local Recreation Committee. He continues to promote Diversity and Inclusion at AMR, and inspires Miami employees to volunteer in the Community.

Sickler, joined American Airlines in 2000 at the Dallas Texas Reservations Office (DTRO) and later relocated to the Southern Reservation Office (SRO) in Fort Worth, TX, where he now works as a reservations sales agent in AA.Com and serves as the Co-chair for the SRO's Employee Advisory Council. Bruce was invited to serve the Diversity Advisory Council representing the Abilities Resource Group (formally the Employees with Disabilities Resource Group) in 2007. Shortly after, when a business trip challenged his experience as a disabled traveler, he promptly recognized the opportunity to take a negative situation and turn it into a positive and significant one and proposed an initiative to enhance our customer service for people with disabilities. Today, this initiative is known as "Operation Mobility". Bruce not only engaged the DAC, but began collaboration with Joint Leadership Teams and Airport Services. After researching and gathering data on the disabilities segment of our population, Bruce has begun to share how important this population is to American Airlines. Largely due to Bruce's efforts, the first Disability Resolution Customer Experience Leadership committee was formed in MIA, focusing on finding ways to help enhance service to the disabled and minimize damage to assistive devices. In early 2011, the Assistive Device Only Cart (ADOC) was unveiled in MIA which will helps with maintaining both the safety of these special devices and the safety of our employees.