Nominate An Admin: The Winner!

We asked you to nominate a deserving administrative professional for APW and we had dozens of nominations in just a few weeks. After much deliberation, a winner has been chosen! Congratulations to…

Cassie Crum, First National Bank Texas

“Cassie Crum is the administrative assistant for 2 Regional Managers at FNBT. She has an outstanding work ethic, working hard to ensure both RM’s are taken care of, 10 District Managers have everything they need on a daily basis and tracks over 300 employees with various bank initiatives. When I need a certain report, folders made for a meeting, last minute agenda’s made for a meeting, Cassie is responding with the information within the hour. Cassie treats all us like we are her family. She organizes our Manager Meetings and gets everything done with minimal to no help, taking care of her Managers. Cassie makes all of us feel special and for that I want her to be recognized for all her hard work and efforts.” – by Sue Owens, First National Bank Texas

Both Cassie & Sue will receive a new HON Ignition office chair! Thanks to everyone who entered! Here are a few of the stand-out entries:

Jamie Dedrick: Jamie always has a smile on her face even when it is so busy that she cannot even take a breath. She will always stop what she is doing to help other coworkers at any time of the day. – by Tessa Belden, First Community Mortgage, Killeen

Donnie Kinard: Donnie is very enthusiastic, always energetic, highly motivated, and has a positive attitude. No request is to big or small for Donnie. She is very knowledgeable on all policies, new and old. Donnie is very dependable and prompt on meeting all deadlines. She is an extremely valuable asset to the organization of which she has dedicated 18 years to. – by Loretta Grisham, Bell County Public Health District WIC, Temple

Shameka McClain: She is a very hard worker and spends hours on the computer crunching numbers and making sure everything is great on our website, in our system, and that guests are satisfied. – By Dorene Burlew, Candlewood Suites

Sharon Evetts: Sharon is the administrative assistant to the CEO/CFO of CMHS. She has worked in that position for over 30 years. Her constant smile and desire to help anyone that she can makes her a dream to work with. Sharon is the first face people see when they enter administration. She is a wonderful example of the spirit of excellence. Her work ethic is strong and she encourages others by example. – by Kathy Brady, CMHS

Dolores Hott: Dolores is such a pleasure to work with. She is very professional and yet very personable at the same time. She gets stuff done and done right and works overtime and helps where ever help is needed. She doesn’t just sit in her office like some bosses do. She gets in the middle of things along with the rest of us. She is so considerate of everyone and everything and willing to help anyone at any time. She knows her stuff and she gets stuff done. – by Brenda Lichti, TTI Communications/A&M University, College Station

Charlene Kirkland: Charlene is over several different departments and always makes time for everyone when they need her help. She is the back bone of this hospital and without her and all her hard work this place would not be the same. – by Megan Mohler, Coryell Memorial Hospital, Gatesville

Sharon Collins: has gone through health problems but this has not dampened her attitude about her work and the people around her. She is in charge of Dean Hunt’s office of the entire CTC Central Campus. She has always volunteered to assist anyone with questions and always has her door opened to students, faculty and staff. Sharon has kept our office and many offices up to date on campus materials and procedures. No matter what adversity she is facing she greets all who enter her office with her sweet smile and caring personality. – Helen Clements, Central Texas College, Killeen

Carolyn Bennett: Carolyn strives to always treat everyone with the utmost respect, providing superior customer service to all. Carolyn’s primary focus is to assist the Director of Public Works perform the duties of her job, but also to answer many Public Works questions, ranging from solid waste schedules and pick-ups, to water leaks and wastewater overflows. Many times, customers are calling because they are not happy, and Carolyn does an excellent job of listening, responding, and helping. She is truly a deserving worker who is to be commended for her service to her fellow neighbors. – by Nicole Torralva, City of Temple

Barbara Hayward: Mrs. Hayward truly goes beyond an Office Administrator. She keeps every record of our students neatly organized. She pleasantly greets all our parents in our office and makes them feel welcome to our school. Ms. Hayward is also accredited to saving one of our teachers when they were choking. She keeps our offices clean (she has even carried out the custodial duties) and always has a pleasant attitude, willing to help parents, teachers and students at any time. – by Beth Owens, Temple ISD

Kristie Evans: The backbone of the office. She works like a well-oiled machine. There is nothing she can’t do, but if she were to come upon something new, she would find the way to make it work.  Many other departments depend on Kristie for training and skill  and the knowledge that she possess in court administration and coordination. She brings both laughter and discipline to work every day! – Sophia Chapman, Brazos County, 85th District Court, Bryan

Diana Barnard: Diana is my Chief Deputy Clerk. She is my right hand and my left on some days. Diana is extremely conscientious, meticulous, and most attentive to the needs of the Bell County Clerk’s Office. Each and every day she goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the office is running smoothly, taking care of things before most others even know things need taking care of. – by Shelley Coston, Bell County Clerk, Belton

Hilda Sappenfield: Hilda works as the Administrative Assistant & Volunteer Coordinator for Fort Hood Area Habitat for Humanity. She shows excellent customer service skills, a heart for the people, takes the extra step of providing referrals to other agencies that may be able to help. She never lets anyone requesting help leave without referring them to another agency. She maintains a database with information on other organizations so she’s ready no matter what someone may need. She organizes/coordinates all volunteers for the job site, store, office. Hilda cheerfully trains a each new group of transient volunteers. She looks for ways to save. She provides feedback/suggestions to improve, keeps me updated on current events that we can tie into/that we can use to help improve our organization including ways to show appreciation to our volunteers. Hilda never complains about any task, she stretches our resource to make do. – TJ Conner, Fort Hood Area Habitat for Humanity, Killeen

Michelle Cosper: Hardworking, dedicated, always willing to help others, willing to go the extra mile. Michelle is someone who you can always go to with any questions or problems and she will always find the time to help in any way she can. – by Christina Rodriguez, Heart of Texas Landscape and Irrigation Co, Belton

Wanda Reid: Wanda has been taking care of the needs of our staff for 25 years now. She knows what we need and when we need it at all times. She also keeps us on a budget and knows what we don’t need. She is the best person to work with and always knows the right things to say to cheer up the office. She is a wonderful co-worker, friend, mother and grandmother to all of us! – by Misty Leofsky, Miller Heights Elementary, Belton

Heather Sellers: Heather came to the school shortly after the other administrative assistant left suddenly. While she was coming in to a new job with basically no transition assistance she immediately began to get things organized. She learned very quickly and it was not long before she was implementing useful changes. Heather is not only an asset to the school due to her organizational skills, but she is also very friendly and cooperative with all. She can be seen vacuuming, keeping score for soccer games or delivering lunches. No matter what the task Heather is willing to help. – by Tonnia Phelps, Memorial Christian Academy, Killeen

Debra Rowe: She hired on with our agency on Feb. 1 of this year. She is the most efficient and reliable secretary that I have met in all of my tenure with this agency. In just a few months, she has proven herself to be invaluable to our company. She is dedicated, morally sound, proficient in her work and in her personal appearance. Because of her, I am on the road to recovery and I think that I speak for our entire agency when I say that we are so much better as an administrative office due to her skill and style. – Sue Jordan, Bell County Public Health District, Temple

Irene Perez: Irene is the secretary to our school principal, Mr. Jimmy Cox. That is a huge job in itself, but she is so much more than that. She is our voice of reason, glue that keeps the ship afloat, and general all-around go-to girl. In a few words, she runs the show. And she runs it with democracy, grace, and an ever open heart. Her demeanor is a constant reminder to all of us that every day is blessing, and to strive for the best within ourselves. – by Jane Letts, Mays Middle School, Troy

Susan Stokke: Susan is our Chief Administrator and a leader in our firm. She is responsible for personnel, customer service and a myriad of administrative duties in all of our 11 offices. Susan shares her cheery smile and winning attitude with everyone she encounters – whether she is changing A/C filters, handling time/attendance issues or checking weekly reports. She takes care of tasks around the office as most people say, “that isn’t my job” without a second thought. If it needs to be done, Susan does it. No task is too petty or too great. She is friendly, outgoing, fun and a very hard worker. It seems like she is always at the office, but still she finds the time to be a great mom and wife, a runner and a special friend. She cares about people and our community and shows this through her actions. Our entire staff adores and looks up to her as the kind of person we aspire to be. Of course, because of the kind and humble person she is, she would deflect credit to others if she heard this. – by Lisa Griffin, The Carlson Law Firm, Killeen

Michelle Garcia: Mr. Listi has a very hectic and demanding schedule. And without Michelle, he would have an even harder job. She keeps his calendar, makes his travel arrangements, communicates with citizens and elected officials, runs interference, organizes the office, anything that needs to be done – and all with a smile and a great attitude. – by Cristy Daniell, City of Belton

Patricia Lewis: She is a hardworking and dedicated admin. Her attention to detail is vital in our workplace. When dealing with the public, she is friendly and professional in handling each situation. Our office is responsible for working with several volunteer agencies and committees. Patricia is efficient in maintaining records of each volunteer and event that our office handles. She is also responsible for maintaining our personnel time cards, monthly reports and budgets for five separate committees. – by Sheri Watson, City of Killeen

Donette Templeton: Donnette has been with our company for three years. She single handedly set up our office in Temple some 2 years ago. She always has a “can do” attitude and is always helpful. Most of our staff is out in the field taking care of our patients and Donette is always available to help staff members with questions over the telephone, investigate problems with payroll or mileage reimbursements and goes above and beyond in being helpful to staff members, vendors and our patients and their families. Donnette would be aghast if she knew I was nominating her, but she deserves a huge pat on the back for the wonderful job she does and for the continued positive attitude she exudes. – by Catherine Hausenfluke, Lighthouse Hospice, Temple

Beth Gallups: Mrs. Gallups is more than worthy of this award because she is a dedicated and positive employee. Her passion for what she does is obvious from the first moment you speak with her. She has a genuine and compassionate heart and always has a positive attitude. Mrs. Gallups commits all of her energy into ensuring that her job is completed to the highest of standards with unwavering motivation. She is supportive of her co-workers and is a constant encourager. – by Joshua Merillat, US Army, Copperas Cove

Thank you to everyone who entered and nominated a deserving co-worker!

Have you heard what’s happening at Perry Office Plus?

There are some exciting changes happening at Perry Office Plus and we’re working hard on a number of behind-the-scenes efforts, including a brand new, user-friendly, state-of-the-art website.

Over the last few months, we’ve been asking questions via a poll on our website and paying close attention to our customers. We’ve been listening to what you need and want from us as a supplier and we’re working hard to give you the right solutions.

Here’s what we learned and what we’re doing to respond:

You Told Us: Search is the most important online feature.
Our Solution: Online search capabilities will be vastly improved. We are thrilled — and we think you will be, too — that the new website will let you easily find any product, using simple keywords or item numbers. Drill down into various categories and features until you find exactly what you’re looking for, in seconds.

You Told Us: Email is the best way to stay in touch.
Our Solution: Automatic emails regarding delays. We know you want to stay in the loop when you place an order. If you provide us with your email address, we can keep it on file and notify you automatically when there are issues with your order, such as a back order or shipping delay, so you can plan accordingly while we work to correct the issue.

You Told Us: Knowing more about your past purchases would be helpful.
Our Solution: Online reporting for tracking spending & access to past invoices. You will now have the ability to print and export reports directly from our website to review your spending. Reports can be customized to show the information you need to make solid business decisions about your purchases. You’ll still be able to access past orders and invoices when needed.

Keeping Things Flowing Smoothly
There are major improvements happening on our side of things as well, so your experience will be that much better from placing the order to delivery. We will be better informed about situations with orders and accounts so we can solve problems here before they become your problem.

Important: Print Your Favorites List!
As we get the new website ready for you, there is only one small detail we’ll need you to do. If you rely on your online Favorites List for placing orders, it would be good to print those lists and save them for the new website. While we can carry over your username and password for a smooth transition, we are unable to carry over your Favorites List. We know this is not ideal and we apologize.

As always, we are here to help and we encourage you to call us with any questions or concerns you have (See our Contact Page). We are prepared for there to be a few hiccups here and there but we are working hard to get all the kinks out before the website goes “live”.

In the end, we believe you will really like the new site and it will make ordering office supplies so much easier and, dare we say… enjoyable?