ATLANTA, Delta Air Lines this week recognized three business partners and four employees for excellence in supplier and sourcing leadership. Officials from Nordstrom's Supplier Diversity Program were at the Hilton San Antonio Airport hotel Wednesday looking for qualified subcontractors for the store, which will begin construction in October.

Delta's Supplier Diversity Star Awards are presented annually by the company's Supply Chain Management organization to recognize outstanding supplier partners in the categories of small business, minority-owned business, and women-owned business. The awards are part of the company's Supplier Diversity Program, which coordinates the certification, introduction and ongoing performance measurement process for these businesses to assure the highest quality products and services provide by the most qualified diverse suppliers.

Jet Parts Engineering was honored as Small Business of the Year for its consistent track record in providing on-time deliveries of aircraft parts and for cost-savings efforts. GAT Airline Ground Support was chosen as Woman-owned Business of the Year for its work servicing aircraft lavatories, overall industry knowledge, innovative staffing solutions, and efforts to remove costs in service to Delta. The Minority-owned Business of the Year award was presented to ACT-1 Personnel Services for excellence in providing information technology staffing support and payroll processing for Delta retirees. ACT-1 was recognized for excellence for the second consecutive year, having been previously honored in the women-owned business category.

"Delta is committed to increasing the diversity of its suppliers by maximizing the opportunities to purchase goods and services from small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses," said Lamar Chesney, Delta's senior vice president - Supply Chain Management. "By tapping into the innovation, creativity, and commitment to excellence demonstrated by these businesses, Delta continues to create a more inclusive corporate environment and strengthen relationships with the broad range of customers and communities we serve."

Star Awards also were presented to two Delta employees who exhibited excellence, innovation and commitment in sourcing to small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Allen Greer was named Sourcing Professional of the Year and Reg Holden was named Manager of the Year for Delta's Supply Chain Management organization. Other Star Award employee nominees included Jason Adams, Jim Green, Charles High, Carl Lauer, Jack Lopez, Bob Newcom, Jim Shavronoch, Mike Turner and Cynthia Villaire.

Delta presented its annual Global Sourcing Award to employees Caroline Norman and James Padilla. Both were recognized for their leadership in the development of sourcing strategies and capabilities that drove collective benefits and created value for Delta and its alliance partners. Additional employee nominees included Mike Firsowicz and Charles Stanley.

The awards were presented by M. Michele Burns, Delta's executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Chesney during a ceremony at Delta's corporate headquarters.

Delta Air Lines is proud to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2004. Delta is the world's second largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 491 destinations in 84 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem frequent flier miles on more than 14,000 flights offered by SkyTeam, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. For more information, please visit delta.com.

Source: Delta Air Lines,Inc.