‘She was the real deal’: Southwest Airlines PR legend Ginger Hardage has died

Hardage is remembered for her Texas style and commitment to culture.

Ginger Hardage, a longtime veteran of Southwest Airlines’ PR department and founder of Unstoppable Cultures, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. She was 70 years old.

“She made a lasting impact on our company and people during a period of profound growth and change,” said Gary Kelly, chairman emeritus of Southwest Airlines, in a statement provided to PR Daily. “Even though she retired from Southwest a decade ago, she leaves behind an amazing legacy of accomplishment, friendship, and leadership. Our hearts go out to her husband, Kelly, and the entire Hardage family.”

Hardage was known for her focus on culture and prowess in PR.

“Her charm, grace, ever-stylish outfits, and her ability to remain calm in any situation were just a few of her enviable traits,” former coworker and friend Linda Rutherford said in an email to PR Daily.

Over the course of her career, Hardage was honored with many of the top industry awards, including induction into the Page Hall of Fame, the Leadership Legacy Award from the Plank Center and one of Texas’ Most Powerful and Influential Women.

Hardage graduated from Texas Tech and began her career with Life Insurance Company of the Southwest before moving on to the company that would eventually be known as Maxus Energy Corporation. She joined Southwest Airlines in 1990 and spent 25 years with the company, eventually rising to the rank of SVP of PR. Hardage oversaw a team of more than 150 and helped keep Southwest’s much-lauded culture strong.

She retired from the airline in 2015 and went on to found consultancy Unstoppable Cultures.

“Ginger used (Southwest’s) commitment to culture and our …care for one another as employees to help weather the transformational changes that the airline was undergoing at the time,” Rutherford told PR Daily.

But she also had a deeply competitive streak and loved to “go to war for the customer” against rival airlines, Rutherford recalled. Rutherford succeeded Hardage as head of PR at Southwest until her retirement earlier this year.

In addition to her professional work, Hardage also volunteered on a number of boards, including as a global chairman of the board of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, a board member at Trinity Park Conservancy and a trustee for the Page Society.

“Her upbringing was small-town West Texas,” Jeff Herrington, a colleague from early in Hardage’s career, recalled. “My memory of Ginger away from work was her in Wranglers and (maybe) cowboy boots. And yet, when she walked into a corporate boardroom and began to discuss whatever issue was before her, she just exuded worldly acumen and business savvy.”

Rutherford said that another coworker eulogized Hardage for having a kind of contagious, internal glow about her. Over the years, Rutherford said people pulled her aside and asked if Hardage was for real.

“How could anybody actually be that friendly and that happy? And you know, she was the real deal.”

Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.

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