Minnesotan To Meet: St. Paul Hotel's Jon McConnell

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- What started out as a way for Jon McConnell to pay his college tuition has turned into a permanent position at The Saint Paul Hotel.

"I thought it would be a great job to do. I could study while I'm here. It's not that way; you're on the floor all the time," McConnell said. "I haven't left, it's great. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up."

He's been an employee of historic landmark for 25 years and a doorman for 24 of them. He will do whatever it takes to give the guests exactly what they need.

"A gentleman was trying to tie his bow-tie before his wedding pictures," McConnell said. "He couldn't do it so I quickly grabbed my extra one."

He credits the late Bill Morrissey, who passed away last month, for showing him the ins and outs of hotel hospitality.

"I get great satisfaction out of it. It feels really good to help people and know that they are being taken care of," McConnell said.

He said on any given day there will also be a driver, a bellman and a concierge all helping him out.

He's also isn't afraid to lend a hand out on the ice, coaching in Rosemount.

"Right now I am coaching at the peewee level with my son," McConnell said.

He also coached his daughter until she was in high school.

It's that second job that helped him get a little extra ice time with Woody Harrelson, while he was filming "A Prairie Home Companion."

"We took him to the Eagan rink and, trust me, it wasn't hard finding friends to go play with him," McConnell said, laughing. "I fed him the pass, he scored and he jumped up in the air like he had just won the Stanley Cup."

Harrelson's stay was so long at the hotel that there was a second pick-up game.

"My biggest regret is not keeping a log of who I've seen, who I've helped," McConnell said, though he added he's not allowed to discuss all the well-known guests that have stayed at the hotel.