I want to make you aware of the extraordinary effort and compassion that was demonstrated by one of your managers at Newark [Liberty] International Airport (EWR) this past week.
I was preparing to travel to EWR to fly to Fort Lauderdale for the funeral of my uncle when I became aware that my other uncle had traveled through Newark Airport earlier that day and in doing so had left behind his wallet. That wallet contained a large amount of cash as well as crucial forms of identification and credit cards. It was critical that Uncle Joe have that wallet for the weekend. Therefore, I went directly to Terminal A at EWR to attempt to retrieve his wallet from the TSA team, with the plan of hand delivering the wallet to him once I met up with him in Florida.
I spoke with a TSA officer at one of the checkpoints who then requested TSA Manager Ana Correa come to help me. To say that Ana was helpful would be a tremendous understatement. She had multiple obstacles to helping me, needing various forms of documentation in order to release the wallet to me, which is understandable. Ana went out of her way, was calm and informative, and was remarkably understanding during the entire episode.
Ultimately, we got Ana everything she needed to release the wallet to me, but by that time I was in serious jeopardy of missing my flight which was departing from Terminal B. With the wallet now in my possession, Ana then escorted me to Terminal B, helped me bypass the long lines at the security checkpoint, and I got to my gate just in time to make my flight.
I landed in Florida, gave the wallet and cash to my Uncle Joe, and we then went about the business of mourning the death of my deceased uncle and celebrating his life as a family. Ana’s actions and thoughtfulness played a critical role in making this weekend possible.
More than once when recapping with my relatives what happened at EWR, it was mentioned that what Ana did for our family showed that there are still genuinely good people in the world, and Ana Correa is certainly one of them. I can’t thank her enough for what she did for us, and the TSA should be proud to have someone of Ana’s character on your team.
Thank you to the TSA for having such trustworthy people that cared for the wallet, and may God bless Ana Correa for her kindness and consideration.
Regards,
Pat Whalen
by Wayne Carey, Strategic Communications and Public Affairs