Bailey Honored as 13^th Purple Eagle at FedEx St. Jude Championship

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 6, 2025 — Eight-year-old Bailey, wearing golf shoes she designed herself, was honored as the 13th Purple Eagle during a plane dedication ceremony at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Wednesday. She is the granddaughter of one of FedEx’s corporate security officers and a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, where she is receiving treatment for sickle cell disease.

Renowned for its efforts in the fight against childhood cancer, St. Jude has also been conducting research on sickle cell disease since it opened in 1962 and now operates one of the largest pediatric sickle cell disease programs in the country. Sickle cell disease causes red blood cells to warp and become rigid, hindering their ability to move through the body and supply major organs with oxygen.

For 13 years, St. Jude and FedEx have teamed up to celebrate a St. Jude patient whose parent or grandparent works for FedEx by naming a plane from the feeder fleet for that child. The program started in 2012 when Bill West, FedEx vice president of airline safety, first had a Cessna Caravan towed and parked at the Southwind golf course. The naming program echoes the FedEx trunk fleet naming program, where the large jets in the fleet are named for children of FedEx employees. But unlike all the trunk fleet jets, there are only 13 named planes in the feeder fleet, all part of the Purple Eagle program.

“We dedicated our first plane on June 6, 2012, for McKaylee, who just graduated from high school and is now 18 years old,” West said. “After the ceremony, we all went into the FedEx cabana for lunch. Our late founder and chairman Fred Smith was there as well. As a lifelong aviator, a plane being at the course caught his eye and when I told him why McKaylee’s name and the St. Jude logo were on the plane, he told me we had started a fine FedEx tradition. I’m honored to continue that tradition and recognize the work of St. Jude in the fight against childhood illnesses.”

The Purple Eagle tradition is one Bailey’s nanna, Grenda, was familiar with. As a 19-year employee in corporate security, she had previously nominated Bailey for the honor. This spring, she was able to break the news of Bailey’s Purple Eagle selection on a Zoom call where Bailey responded by asking if she was going to get to stand by the airplane like Micah, last year’s honoree.

“Today’s FedEx Purple Eagle ceremony symbolizes the special bond between St. Jude families and our friends at FedEx,” said Ike Anand, President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “It’s a relationship that has grown for decades through partnership and unwavering generosity from FedEx, for which we are deeply grateful,” “Thanks to this support, St. Jude can continue advancing research and treatment into catastrophic childhood diseases so we can be a place of hope and healing for children like Bailey and others from around the world.”

Bailey will not only get to stand next to that plane, but tail number N725FX will sport Bailey’s name and the St. Jude logo for the remainder of the plane’s time in service with FedEx.

Purple Eagle is part of the opening schedule of events for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Bailey will also be a part of the end of the schedule of events on Sunday when she serves as an honorary caddie.

13 Years of Purple Eagle Honorees

About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. With annual revenue of $88 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions utilizing its flexible, efficient, and intelligent global network. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 500,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards, and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about.

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80% in the United States, and it won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.