Business and community leaders gathered with employees from Delta's Iron Range Customer Engagement Center Tuesday to celebrate achieving dual safety designations as a Minnesota Star (MNSTAR) program work site and OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star site.

The programs recognize work sites where managers and employees work together to develop safety and health management systems that go beyond basic OSHA compliance. These designations reflect where management provides visibility, communicates safety and health policies, and supports employee involvement at all levels. They further demonstrate that the work site has eliminated all potentially hazardous situations and prevention plans are in place to mitigate other scenarios that may arise.

To meet OSHA's strict VPP and MNSTAR requirements, stations must successfully complete a multi-point safety and health analysis and undergo an intensive on-site inspection by OSHA and Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry staff. There are only 35 companies with VPP Star status in Minnesota.

Leo Malloy, Director – Field Operations, Domestic, joined Carlin Yarbrough, Program Leader – Health and Safety, Carol Henson, Manager – VPP and Iron Range leadership to congratulate the team on its achievements in going above and beyond in safety.

"It's an amazing honor and a testament to all of your hard work and focus around safety," said Tori Forbes-Roberts, V.P. – Reservation Sales and Customer Care. "I am so proud of you."

Ken Peterson, Minnesota's Labor Commissioner, congratulated the group and read a statement from U.S. Sen. David Tomassoni, D-Minn.

"Congratulations to all the employees of the Delta Air Lines Reservations Center in Chisholm on your latest award for workplace safety and health from the MNOSHA," the statement read. "I'm very proud of you, and I'm happy to compliment you on yet another well-deserved award."

Although Iron Range's safety achievements are a team effort, Carlin Yarbrough took a few moments to present a personalized VPP award to three individuals who put forth extra effort on the safety front: Dillon Anderson – GTS, Shelly Sullivan – Operations Desk Coordinator and Ken Ness – Iron Range Operations Manager.

A flag presentation followed the recognition event as employees gathered in a star formation around the Center's flagpole.

The event was also highlighted by television network WDIO-TV on Tuesday.  

The Iron Range joins Minneapolis, Dallas and Cincinnati as the fourth Customer Engagement Center to achieve VPP status. Delta continues to lead the airline industry with 21 VPP Star locations across the U.S.