Nice feature on newspaper's Administrative
Professional of the Year contest winner; includes excellent quotes from IAAP
Fort Meyers Chapter member Carol Robb.
Unsung office heroes honored
Woman chosen top administrative aide
By FRANCESCA DONLAN, fdonlan@news-press.com
April 19, 2004
Stephanie Mooney was completely startled when she looked up from a staff meeting
and into the lens of a flashing camera.
“You won the 2004 Administrative Professional Day contest!” her boss, Trish
Williams, exclaimed as she handed Mooney a bouquet of flowers.
Mooney swept her eyes around the roomful of teachers at the Kingsley Juvenile
Residential Facility in Arcadia.
“I can’t believe you guys kept this from me,” she said with a big smile.
In conjunction with Administrative Professionals Week, which runs through
Saturday, The News-Press invited bosses and colleagues to submit essays
describing their ideal administrative professional.
Mooney bested more than 30 entrants and learned Wednesday that she had won $50
and the flowers.
She’s made the drive from her home in Port Charlotte to her job in Arcadia every
weekday morning for almost a year. A 20-foot fence layered with barbed wire
wraps itself around the moderate-risk facility that’s home to 80 girls ages
13-18. Court-ordered there for various offenses, most stay about eight months.
Besides a host of other tasks, Mooney organizes and keeps track of each
resident’s academic history.
“For many of our students, this is the first time they have had someone put it
all together for them,” Williams wrote in her letter nominating Mooney. “In her
own way, she lets them know just how important all of this information is and
how high-school credits are their key to success.
“Suddenly, we have girls who are more concerned about earning credits than the
latest lipstick color.”
Williams went on to say this about Mooney: “Try as I will, I have never beaten
her to work. She never forgets a birthday or anniversary. If someone had a
concern or problem the day before, she remembers to ask about it the following
day. She knows just when to bring in special treats for everyone and when
someone needs an ear or a shoulder to lean on.
“From making sure we have enough notebook paper to digging into her kitchen
cupboards for ingredients for science fair projects, she is the person who
always has whatever we need to do our job.”
Ambassadors
Administrative professionals deserve every bit of recognition they can get, said
Carol Robb, administrative professional at the city of Cape Coral Public Works
Department and a member of Fort Myers chapter of the International Association
of Administrative Professionals.
“They are the ambassadors of your company — the first person (customers) see
when they come through the door or hear on the phone,” she said. “They are the
backbone of the business.”
Robb loves Administrative Professionals Week. “These unsung heroes really
deserve some recognition and a little extra attention,” she said.
The staff at the Kingsley Juvenile Residential Facility doesn’t have to worry
about Mooney getting enough recognition.
“There is no question that I feel appreciated,” Mooney said. “I work with a
great group of people. This is probably the best job I’ve ever had and the best
boss I’ve ever had.
“Everyone works very, very hard and they really care an awful lot about these
kids.”