Airport Customer Service Hero

Do you know someone who goes above and beyond for our airport’s customers? Nominate that person for an Airport Customer Service Hero award!

Send your nominations to hero@mspmac.org by Dec. 31. To ensure a nomination is complete, please provide the following information:   

• The person’s full name
• Which airport they are located, see list of airports below*
• Their organization/company within the airport community
• The full story of why they should be selected (this is VERY important)

Simply write the nomination into an email. 

Then copy & paste the below email address to send the submission to Hero@mspmac.org. 

This award is open to all employees and volunteers at the MAC’s seven airports. The award includes a trophy, public recognition within MSP Airport and a check for $1,000.

*Eligible airports include: Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport (MSP), Anoka County Airport, Airlake Airport, Crystal Airport, Flying Cloud Airport, Lake Elmo Airport, and St. Paul Downtown Airport. 

2023 Airport Customer Service Hero award winners 

Mary Wolfe 
Transportation Security Administration 

Officer Mary Wolfe has been with the TSA since 2002 and has continued to be an important part of the TSA Cares program as a Passenger Support Specialist Officer for the last eight years. 

In this role, Mary reliably and effectively assists travelers who require special accommodations, helping these passengers with grace and professionalism. 

Mary is a favorite of the local Make-a-Wish program and often finds out about their travels before the TSA Contact Center does. Make-a-Wish families love working with her as she goes out of her way to make the security process as easy and efficient as possible, keeping it fun for the kids and less stressful for the parents. With Mary's empathetic approach, all passengers and traveling companions are treated with the utmost respect. 

Not only does Mary work for and promote the TSA Cares program, but she also plays a big part in educating passengers about the Sunflower program. Anything she can do to make travel and TSA Screening more pleasant, more accessible and less stressful - Mary will do it. 

Mehr Aslani 
Airport Foundation MSP Volunteer

Mehr has been a volunteer with Travelers Assistance since March of 2017 and is passionate about helping anyone that needs support. He also volunteers with the Navigating MSP program. 

Every month, Mehr attends the Saturday morning "Navigating MSP" sessions and assists families. If the family will be flying, he always offers to assist them on the day of their travel - many times, the families accept his help. 

One family that came through the Navigating program had a young child with autism, and they were worried about how he might respond to a loud and busy airport. Mehr was assigned as their volunteer and guided them around the terminal and onto the plane, holding the child's hand as they went and keeping the process calm and stress-free. 

After the family experienced the process, they booked tickets to fly to Disney. Mehr was there the day they left and again guided them through the airport. The family sent pictures of their big vacation, which was a success due largely to Mehr's dedication to going above and beyond to help. 

Mehr also volunteers to lead all school transition tours for students learning independent living skills, guiding the students through the air travel process. He explains how to navigate the terminal and security, where to ask for assistance, and how to find seats on the plane. 

Mehr also spreads cheer through the terminals by suiting up as Santa at MSP. For the last four holiday seasons, he has taken pictures with anyone that would like one - from babies to adults. 

Mehr is generous with his time and is a cheerful team player who demonstrates compassion, knowledge and patience to everyone he meets. 

Meron Taddese 
Airport Retail Group 

Meron started with Airport Retail Group as a part-time cashier and has worked her way up to Human Resources manager. Her warm spirit allows her to make friends wherever she goes, and she leaves a positive mark on everyone. 

After more than 20 years at MSP, Meron has become a pillar of the airport community, showing humility, compassion and a helping hand to everyone that she meets. Meron is a resource to both the Ethiopian community around MSP and the airport community as a whole. 

Her phone is constantly ringing, and it's a never-ending stream of requests for help with immigration questions, medical questions, translator requests, job seekers and more. Meron never turns anyone away - if she can't help directly, she'll find someone who can!

There are simply too many stories of Meron going out of her way to assist passengers. Whenever someone needs help in the airport, Meron appears and assists wherever she can. She never seeks recognition and never boasts. 

MSP is lucky to have Meron as an airport ambassador within the community.