The Gainesville Sun, Gainesville FL

Here's a great feature article published in the May 10 Gainesville Sun newspaper on the IAAP Gainesville Chapter and their incoming chapter president Carol Law

Letting the cat out of the bag
Carol Law, president-elect of administrative professionals, hopes to raise awareness of career

The Gainesville Sun

May 10, 2004

Carol Law, a design project assistant at CH2M Hill in Gainesville, has been chosen to lead the local chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. Her goal is to help more people know about her group.


By KATHY CIOTOLA
Sun staff writer

Carol Law, president-elect of the Gainesville chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals, started her career even before the 1980 movie "9 to 5" depicted the chronic disrespect administrative support workers endured.

Things have changed for the better, said Law, 54, a design project assistant at CH2M Hill who coordinates the efforts of design engineers working on projects.

Law, who began her career 30 years ago as a clerk at the city of Gainesville, said pay for administrative support generally was low back then. And how much respect they got depended on what their boss was like, she said.

"It was a man's world," Law said.

But now administrative workers have more responsibility and respect, she said. They know more because of the need to keep up with technology, and can save a company money, as well as present a good face to the public.

And when she becomes president of the local IAAP in June, she plans to make sure everyone can be the best at what they do.

Her main goal is to let administrative professionals know about the resources IAAP offers.

There are 24,000 administrative professionals in the Gainesville area, but only 28 of them are members of the local IAAP, Law said. Those jobs include positions such as office managers, executive assistants and administrative assistants.

"I think we're the best-kept secret in Gainesville," she said.

But Law wants more people to know about her group.

Administrative professionals could further their careers and earn more money by taking advantage of the training seminars, networking, discounts on books and online education, articles and other benefits IAAP has to offer, Law said.

Peggy Zelonka, a friend of Law's and a member of IAAP, said Law is the right person to raise awareness about IAAP.

"She's very motivated; very positive," Zelonka said. "I think she's the person to do it for us."

Labor statistics predict a slowdown in hiring of administrative professionals in the next 10 years, Law said, and those who stay in the field need to be the best.

Yvonne Picard, a mechanical engineer at CH2M Hill, called Law a shining example of the best.

A lot of people come in and just do their job, never going above and beyond, Picard said. But not Law.

"She always does a little bit more than everybody else," Picard said. "Nothing that you ever ask her to do seems to be too much to ask. The standard has been raised by Carol."

Because Law and the other administrative workers at CH2M Hill are hard-working and professional, they inspire others to respect them, said Picard, who has worked with Law on some projects.

But Law, while serious about her work, has fun while with it, too, Picard added. Law always has a smile on her face, she said.

In fact, fun seems to be Law's approach to life. Dressed in a cheery red outfit with a multicolored scarf recently, she laughed often as she showed off her "Cat Walk" at CH2M Hill.

The "wall" began when Law posted a picture of her beloved cat "Fiddles," affectionately called "Cissy Cat" by some, on the wall of her cubicle. Her co-workers know she loves cats, so they began adding pictures and drawings of cats and other pets to the wall.

Now the items number at least 100 and are joined by cat statues, cat planters and toy-stuffed cats inside Law's cubicle.

The IAAP president-elect is also well-known for her love of the beach and her car, Zelonka said.

"She loves to go to the beach and she really loves her PT Cruiser," Zelonka said. "She takes really good care of it. She likes to show it off."

Law was born in Bokeelia, on Pine Island near Cape Coral, but moved to Gainesville when she was 2. She graduated from Gainesville High School, married her high school sweetheart and later became the mother of two boys.

Law said she always knew she would have the same type of job as her mother, who worked for the Social Security office for many years.

"I think it's something you have to want to do, be proud of doing and do a good job," Law says of administrative work.

Law has been a member of IAAP since 1996. The organization has more than 40,000 members worldwide.

Gainesville's chapter meets monthly, featuring an educational program, dinner and business meeting. The group's Web site is www.afn.org/~iaap/indexmain.htm.
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