Marla Harvey is choice for Customer Relations Award

Marla Harvey, office services specialist for the Department of Biological Sciences, received the Customer Relations Employee of the Year award Oct. 30 at the President's Fall Meeting for classified and hourly staff in Webb Center.

One of seven employees nominated for the award, which is sponsored by the Department of Human Resources, Harvey has worked at Old Dominion 17 years. A 16-year employee in the registrar's office before being laid off as a result of the state budget cuts, she rejoined the university a year ago in the biology department.

Nominations for the award were based on the following criteria: cooperation with customers, department/university knowledge, initiative, communication skills and overall customer relations excellence.

"I think Marla is the university's customer relations role model," said co-worker Milissa Story, one of several employees who nominated Harvey for the award. "Her genuine love of her job, her attachment and commitment to the staff, faculty and students of the department is obvious to anyone who visits the office even for the briefest of moments. I wish everyone on campus had provided the level of service to their customers that Marla provides for us."

Frank Day Jr., professor of biological sciences, noted, "In the 29 years I have been at ODU, I have not worked with a more courteous, helpful, congenial individual in an office setting that deals with the public as well as students and faculty. I have never seen her get impatient with anyone ... ."

Another faculty member, senior lecturer Kerry Kilburn, said, "This semester I have taken on our largest lecture/lab course. I knew next to nothing about many of the administrative aspects of dealing with such large numbers of students, lab sections, graduate TAs and the like. Marla has consistently either been able to answer my many questions or find the answers she didn't know."

Kilburn added, "Her proactive attention to detail has made all our jobs much easier and much more pleasant!"

Lytton J. Musselman, department chair, praised Harvey for her "constructive attitude" and for going "the extra mile to help students." He noted, "If I were to list adjectives describing Marla, the words helpful, smiling, kindly and hard working immediately come to mind."

As Customer Relations Employee of the Year, Harvey received a plaque, three days of recognition leave and a $500 bonus.

Also nominated for the award were:
• Carrie Penn, Housing Services;
• Connie Merriman, Computing and Communications Services;
• Dianne Pieper, Residence Life;
• Donald Nash, Naval Science;
• Fumni Adesanya, Student Health Services; and
• Joe Blanchard, Virginia Beach Higher Education Center.

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