Past Award Winners

Chaun Wahlund - Mayo Clinic

***AWARD UPDATE*** - Chaun has also won at the District level of competition which makes him one of four National Finalists.  The final National Winner will be announced at HDI's Support World Live Conference and Expo which will be held in Denver, Co from April 27-May 02.

Background:

Chaun transferred to the Mayo Clinic Help Desk from the Mayo Clinic Patient Account Services team in August 2019. Because of his proven customer service skills, prior technical experience and 3 years of being a Mayo Clinic employee, Chaun made a seamless transition to the Help Desk and the world of IT support as a Help Desk Specialist.  As a Help Desk Specialist, Chaun provides an exceptional customer experience by acting as the initial support contact for problems or other reported issues regarding computers and related technologies from 65,000+ internal staff. Moreover, he possesses excellent interpersonal communication skills to support the delivery of outstanding customer service in a team-based environment. Chaun troubleshoots, resolves, or escalates those problems or incidents correctly, and properly documents not only his work, but the problem from his customers’ perspective as well. Chaun can explain basic concepts or procedures in a clear, concise, easy-to-understand manner for a large and diverse customer base who utilize a wide variety of in-house developed and off-the-shelf applications.  Although Chaun works remotely from home full-time, he will occasionally drive in to provide face to face support for special IT projects. Although not required as part of Chaun's job expectations, Chaun does attend HDI Minnesota Local Chapter events to network with others and learn more about what is happening within our industry.

When asked to explain why they were being nominated, their nominator said:

It was easy for me, as his nominator, to know that Chaun should be recognized for this award.  He exemplifies the greatness and prestige that this award represents, and I am proud to be able to nominate Chaun for this award. 

Below are comments from Chaun’s teammates that also support his nomination:

“Chaun is a very well-rounded and helpful Help Desk employee. He is always willing to lend a hand and will stick with things until he has gotten a proper solution for the caller.”

“Chaun is a great employee that rally embodies the Mayo culture and ways.  He has a great attitude and is always willing to help anyone that needs it.”

“Chaun brings a very polite and social attitude when answering calls for the Help Desk. He is very good at making the customer feel valued and their problems genuinely heard.”

“Chaun has been a great addition to the Help Desk since he started last year. He works hard and shows how much he has learned every day. I look forward to working with Chaun into the future and can’t wait to see what other accomplishments he will achieve.”

Chaun’s commitment is truly commendable.  His actions result in great service and experiences to his customers which allows them to continue supporting Mayo Clinic’s primary value statement: “The needs of the patient come first.” Chaun definitely deserves to be recognized as one of the best of the best in our industry with HDI’s Best Service and Support Analyst Award.

Justin Aughenbaugh - Wolters Kluwer

Background:

Justin serves as a Senior Customer Service Technical Specialist on the Support Line and has been with Wolters Kluwer since February of 2016.  He serves as a second level support agent to help with escalations on various highly complex products that range from banking, lending, insurance, and risk management. He works with large insurance and banking companies to provide production support, manage their environments, and troubleshoot issues with databases, custom code, infrastructure, and API technologies. Additionally, he helps in facilitating high profile customer relationships, managing ongoing meetings to discuss ongoing issues. Justin has lead the charge to bring broader Development Technical Support (DTS) level product expertise to the team, including technical analysis and investigation, liaising with Product Development and Infrastructure teams, and delivery of complex solutions to the US Customer base.

Justin currently reside in Central Minnesota with his wife and three daughters. Two of his daughters are just hitting their teenage years, and he and his family enjoy camping. Justin is also an avid home brewer.

When asked to explain why they were being nominated, their nominator said:

Justin exhibits the skills and talents that make him an elite technical support specialist, including problem ownership and solving and a technical skill-set that helps bring unique solutions to solve our customers' issues. Justin’s has the ability to create excellent rapport with customers. He builds that rapport through his knowledge and ability to relate to the customer, including high profile accounts. This includes great responsibility to maintain healthy relationships with these customers. Justin has earned the trust and respect of his peers as the WK leadership team through his actions and results. He is not afraid to ask the right questions, change processes, make improvements and challenge the status quo to make a better customer experience. Based on the proven track record with Justin's relationships with customers and the respect of internal resources, Justin has all of the skills and talents that make him an ideal Technical Specialist, making him the first choice among all of the candidates.