Chicago & Midwest RegionMay 16, 2025 | SHERATON GRAND CHICAGO RIVERWALK

About Colleen Barrett: Her Journey from Secretary to President of Southwest Airlines and the Award that Bears Her Name

The Colleen Barrett Award for Administrative Excellence is the most coveted and prestigious honor bestowed by The Admin Awards and is named after a legend in the administrative profession, a woman who first proved herself indispensable as corporate secretary to former Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher before ascending the ranks to President and COO of the Dallas-based company in 2001. Throughout her five-decade career at Southwest Colleen advanced from Legal Secretary to VP of Administration, to EVP of Customers to President and COO and President of one of the world’s most successful airlines. Since 2008 Colleen has served as President Emeritus of Southwest and is revered for her leadership and decision-making abilities, along with her dedication to ensuring the needs of customers, employees, and all other stakeholders are met. Colleen has won many business and industry awards including one of the most important, historic and visible aerospace awards in the world, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy which reflects a timeline of the most innovative inventors, explorers, industrialists, and public servants in aeronautics and astronautics.  

Colleen Barrett and Herb Kelleher

Colleen is also a fierce advocate for the administrative profession and she understands first-hand the extraordinary impact that high performing Admins have on an organization’s success. The Colleen Barrett Award honors Administrative Professionals who are following in her hallowed footsteps. Barrett has long credited Kelleher with helping her to succeed: “If you have a boss who will let you stretch,” she said, then you have opportunities to learn. With the Colleen Barrett Award, bosses also have an opportunity to show superstar admins how much their dedication to excellence means — and how far they too can potentially rise. The award will be presented by Barrett to an Administrative Professional who best exhibits those traits that helped her have an extraordinary impact in her role as an Admin and include: high proficiency, shares the same values as their organization, is passionately committed to their organization’s purpose, demonstrates a legendary passion for customer service internally and externally, and has a heart for employee advocacy.

Colleen Barrett presents the Colleen Barrett Award at the 2015 Dallas Admin Awards

Contribute A Major Prize and All Eyes will be on your Company at the Gala

The Admin Awards, referred to by many as “The Academy Awards for Admins” is accepting a limited number of Major Prize contributions which will be awarded during “Prize Breaks” throughout the awards ceremony. Past prizes have included all-expenses-paid vacations, electronics, spa packages, gift cards, airline tickets, designer purses and much, much more! Our Prize Breaks have become legendary and represent a potent way to endear your brand to these deserving and connected Administrative Professionals while also enjoying the captive audience of 450-650 executive and administrative attendees during the ceremony (size varies by market).

Here’s how our prize partnership program works:

• 14 companies are showcased during three “Prize Breaks” which happen intermittently in between the nine award presentations to an audience of Administrative Professionals, their executive counterparts and coworkers.
• Minimum prize value is $500, subject to review and approval
• Prize Partners receive prominent display of their logo and giveaway on the big 16’ screens for about one minute while the prize contribution is drawn.
• Every Admin that attends the Gala is automatically entered to win one of the 14 major prizes. An est. 250 – 350 admins attend each Gala.
• Prize Partners are given the contact list of Admins including email addresses for future follow up.
• Prize Partners will receive one ticket to attend the Gala.
• While not all prizes are accepted, those that we believe would delight our community of Administrative Professionals and include a value of over $500 (although many are in the $1,000 – $2,500 range) are what gets us most excited.

There sometimes is a cost to participate in the Major Prize program depending on the prize, est. prize value and other factors. To view more details or to submit your major prize for consideration, click here.