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Airport Customer Service Hero winners announced

The first ever winners of the Airport Customer Service Hero award were announced at May's Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) board meeting.

This award is open to all employees and volunteers at the MAC's seven airports (including MSP) and honors individuals who provide outstanding customer service. The award includes a trophy, public recognition in MSP's mall and a check for $1,000.

Congratulations to this year's recipients:

Laura Jean Herrmann
Volunteer, Flying Cloud Airport

Laura Herrmann defines what it means to be an Airport Customer Service Hero by generously giving an abundance of her own time to support the local aviation community.

During an average week, Laura spends 20-30 hours volunteering in addition to working full-time as a nurse anesthetist. She is extremely passionate about aviation and volunteers regularly at Flying Cloud Airport. As a part of her volunteer efforts, Laura spends 10 to 12 hours each week planning, acquiring speakers and facilitating weekly seminars to educate local pilots on a variety of topics. These seminars are extremely well attended with 60-120 participats each week. During the week of the Super Bowl 52, Laura volunteered a total of 52 hours at Flying Cloud and also assisted with training sessions for volunteers about identifying and preventing cold weather injuries. 

In addition to her service at Flying Cloud, Laura also supports the Metropolitan Airports Commission in other ways. She invites the organization's noise office to present at her weekly pilot seminars and is also a member of the MSP Airport Watch program – a group of community members that serve as the airport's "eyes and ears" to ensure travelers' safety.

Laura also frequently volunteers for other aviation-related organizations. Through her work with Pilots N Paws – an organization that works with pilots to transport rescue animals to new homes – she's relocated roughly 200 rescue dogs (and two goats). In addition to helping pets find their forever homes, Laura also engages and educates youth in aviation through her work with the Aviation Explorer Post, and in the past, Laura transported blood for the Red Cross.

Matt Michalski
Sun Country Airlines

Matt Michalski is a wheel chair assistant with Sun Country Airlines who goes above and beyond for every passenger he encounters. His positive attitude and drive for providing superior customer service is infectious and motivates others to be their bests. Matt is truly passionate about each passenger's experience and goes out of his way to chat with travelers about their trips, putting them at ease in what can be a high-stress environment. He's received several customer compliments, including the following, which highlights his commitment to MSP's passengers:

"I'm writing on behalf of my mother who took a flight back home to NYC. She'd been diagnosed with liver cancer in August 2017, and by October she was so sick she was like a breathing skeleton. We wanted to take her to the hospital instead of the airport that night, as she couldn't even stand up, but with the last of her strength she insisted on flying home. At the airport, I ran up to the Sun Country booth with tears in my eyes asking for a wheelchair.

"The employee who appeared was incredible. He helped her into the wheelchair and took over navigation. In the elevator, he even looked up some Korean words on his phone and tried to reassure her. She was too weak to respond or even look at him, which was heartbreaking because even a month ago, she would have been chatting and asking about his family, having been friendly and outgoing all her life. His manner was gentle and protective, slowing down over rough ground so she never even felt a bump. He told me he would take care of her as if she were his own parent. I watched through the glass as he took her through security, smoothing her way and managing everything for her, and through my anxiety I felt so grateful that I could trust him with her care.

"Mom passed away a couple of weeks afterward, on Nov. 8, 2017. So many things have happened since then, but I always meant to go back and find that employee and thank him. His kind, gentle assistance and understanding were incredibly comforting to me during that awful time. I am grateful with all my heart and will never forget how he helped make Mom's last flight comfortable and easy. Thank you so much."