The Federal Executive Association of Connecticut singled out TSA at Bradley International Airport (BDL) with three special honors during its annual Excellence in Government Awards luncheon.
A group of four TSA officers received the Unsung Hero of the Year Award – supervisory officers Rebecca Derosier and Cheryl Heins and officers Karen Isakon and Richard Tullo. The officers administered immediate first aid when a passenger went into medical distress at the BDL checkpoint. The passenger was accompanied by her deaf daughter who only spoke in sign language. The officers established a phone bridge with a supervisor who was fluent in sign language but was on her day off. This enabled the daughter to explain her mother’s medical condition and help paramedics save her mom’s life.
Michael Beauchemin, a TSA program specialist, was honored as the Administrative Professional/Employee of the Year. During the 35-day partial government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, he was able to continue managing the property management, budget and employee engagement programs efficiently and effectively with positive results.
“I have always believed that the true strength of an agency can best be measured by the dedication, character and perseverance of its people,” said Connecticut Federal Security Director William Csontos. “I am very happy to see the TSA workforce being rewarded for the outstanding service that they provide to protect the traveling public and support the homeland security enterprise.”
The Federal Executive Association honored TSA’s COBRA (Connecticut Operation by Response Agencies) team and its participating agencies with the Outstanding Law Enforcement Team Award. The COBRA team is actively patrolling surface transportation venues in Connecticut and New York including rail and port locations. Over 80 agents from 16 agencies participated in simultaneous operations at four high volume ferry terminals and two rail stations. Assistant Federal Security Director-Law Enforcement Steve Blindbury, Transportation Security Inspector Burke Doria (BDL) for Connecticut and Supervisory Transportation Security Inspector Larry King (JFK) for New York coordinated these deployments.