Meet The Voice Behind Airport, Train Station Announcements

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - If you're taking a plane or train for the holidays, you've probably heard a familiar voice from above.

There's a woman who speaks to millions of people everyday. The voice of many international airports is there to help you get where you're going.

As CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported, the gentle but authoritative voice belongs to Carolyn Hopkins.

Her Midwestern accent hails from a place you might not expect -- a bucolic little village in northern Maine.

The 65-year-old emails her little greetings from her modest office.

She records most of her messages with a smile.

"Traveling can be such a bummer nowadays that people need a friendly voice," said Hopkins.

She started almost by accident while working at Innovative Electronic Designs, the company that sells paging and public address systems.

They had the product and she had the secret ingredient, Gainer reported.

"My father had a big, deep booming voice and I always kind of imitated him. It was a little strange for a girl but that's alright," Hopkins joked.

Her voice has gone places she herself has never been. She's on the PA systems of 200 airports all around the world, in subway stops, train stations and even heard issuing weather warnings.

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