Milwaukee TSA celebrates 20 years of federalization, thanks lifelong employees
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It has been 20 years since the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) was federalized in Milwaukee, and lifelong employees celebrated the milestone anniversary on Tuesday.
The TSA was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
"The bad guys are still trying to do harm, they're still trying to figure out how to defeat us," Assistant Federal Security Director Christopher Marks said. "We've got dedicated people. Not just people taking shampoo, they're looking for the threat.”
Currently, at Mitchell International Airport, 47 of their TSA employees were there on day one.
"That means over one in four people who work here started in '02. This place is doing something right," TSA Security Training Officer Glenn Monson said.
Those celebrating from five to 20 years of service with the agency were honored with a certificate on Tuesday during the celebration. One of the speakers, 20-year employee Mary Dresen, spoke about the first years at the agency during the event.
"All of you who've been here for a long time remember gate screening. It's when we would screen people right after they got screened," Dresen chuckled.
She tells CBS 58 she never expected to dedicate two decades of her life to the TSA.
"Well, the plan all along was no," she said. "In all honesty, I didn't even know I was going to be picked to be with TSA."
Despite what she calls "growing pains," Dresen said the agency grew on her. Also, knowing they are the ones who have kept the number of terrorist attacks on planes to zero since 2001 means everything.
"No planes went down; no bodies were lost. It really does matter because we're doing our job. We're committing to the agency; we're committing to the traveling public," Dresen said.
Along with celebrating 20 years of TSA, the airport also received a quality service award for the first time. Airport Director Brian Dranzik said it is an international honor given to airports based on customer service responses.