FedEx Express honored three Memphis-area employees Wednesday night at the company's annual Purple Promise and Humanitarian Awards banquet.
Harold (Hal) Smith, a courier, was credited by doctors with likely saving the life of a fellow courier by calling 911 and administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation when the co-worker had trouble breathing.
Smith was one of nine Humanitarian Award recipients during the event at the Hilton Memphis Hotel.
The company also presented 16 Purple Promise awards, which recognize on-the-job excellence. Memphis winners were benefits adviser Pamela Martin and human resources strategist Todd Treible.
The Purple Promise is the company's commitment to make every FedEx experience outstanding.
Martin works on obtaining employee discounts for products and services. She was responsible for getting Toyota to participate in the discount program and increase its shipping business with FedEx.
Treible coordinated a rush shipment of 1,500 new identification badges from Continental Airlines headquarters in Houston to airline employees across the country.
Chantal Picard, a Montreal area resident, was a Humanitarian Award winner for going above and beyond her duties as a customer service representative at the St. Laurent, Quebec call center.
Picard, 33, who speaks English and French, got a call from a fellow Quebec resident who was visiting Paris and was distraught because a medication shipment had gotten stuck in customs for the weekend. Picard contacted the woman's family in Quebec and kept the woman on the telephone until help arrived at her hotel room.
FedEx flew Picard and her husband to Memphis, where they toured Beale Street, Graceland and the FedEx Express world hub.
Picard said getting to know other award winners was "pretty amazing."
"I didn't expect it. I was very excited, because I never go anywhere. I was looking at the other past winners, people who did so many amazing things. I didn't think what I did was a big deal."
Other Purple Promise winners: Shawn Christensen, Denver; Ryan Custodio, Sunnyvale, Calif.; John Furr, Truckee, Calif.; Jorge Gonzalez, East Boston; Scott Heidrich, Columbus, Ga.; Frank Johnson, Kahului, Hawaii; Shawna McCartney, Helena, Mont.; Steven Mills, Bedford Park, Ill.; Erik Nelson, Belgrade, Mont.; Lawrence Orellana, Newark, N.J.; Lisa Phillips, East Boston; Aaron Presley, Boise, Idaho; Antoine Saliba, Indianapolis; and Joe Sanders, Stillwater, Okla.
Other Humanitarian Award winners: James Avila, San Diego; Douglas Darby, Newark, N.J.; John Gray, Houston; Joseph Jones, Brunswick, Ga.; Chris Krueger, San Antonio; Randy Leggett, Yuba City, Calif.; and Todd Lewer, Aiken, S.C.
