 Robyn Reger (second from left), recipient of the Barbara Saletta Meritorious Service Award, is flanked by Ace Everett and Sue Engberg, brother and sister of Saletta. Brenda Eaton, who received the Poummit Secretarial Award, is joined by SUNY Fredonia President Virginia Horvath, who presented both awards. |
Brenda Eaton and Robyn Reger, secretaries whose collective tenures at SUNY Fredonia span three decades, received coveted awards at the SUNY Fredonia Secretarial/Clerical Professional Development Group’s annual Fall Conference held Oct. 12 at the College Lodge.
The Poummit Secretarial Award in Memory of Janet Marks was presented to Eaton, agency program aide in the Admissions Office, who is known for an outstanding work ethic, sunny disposition and ability to tackle new challenges.
Brenda Eaton
Hired as a Senior Typist in 1991, Eaton was promoted to Secretary 1 and then State University Program Aide, both in 1993, and to her current position in 1997. In addition to being responsible for the decision process and sending letters to over 8,000 applicants each year, Eaton has added transfer aide duties to her considerable workload.
Implementation of OnBase, a document management program that has allowed Admissions to move to paperless processing of applications, was her most recent project. She is also a member of the Banner Users Group.
“Brenda is able to see all aspects of a problem or an issue. This allows her to solve a problem rather efficiently,” said Admissions Director Chris Dearth. She is always finding more efficient ways to handle various Admissions tasks, he added. “Her willingness to travel and aid in recruiting is a huge help as a limited staff tries to recruit students from all over New York State and beyond.”
Cory Bezek, assistant director of Admissions, praised Eaton for her combination of intricate knowledge of Banner and base level data that allows the staff to rely on her for every part of the application process.
“Brenda doesn’t simply sit in on meetings and contribute when she is asked directly how it affects her, but rather she is spearheading communication between the end users, the programmers making sure everyone is always on the same page,” Bezek added.
The Poummit Award was created in memory of Janet Marks, a former secretary to the SUNY Fredonia president.
Robyn Reger
Reger, Secretary 1 in Administration, received the Barbara Saletta Meritorious Service Award in recognition of her creativity, resourcefulness, integrity, enthusiasm and clear desire to go above and beyond the call of duty.
After being hired in 2001 as a Clerk 1 in Human Resources, Reger rose to Keyboard Specialist 1 and then Clerk 2 before being appointed Secretary 1 in Administration in 2006.
Reger excels in carrying out her many duties, has won praise from supervisors for her professionalism and is embraced as the “go-to person” for items relating to the activities of Administration. She accepts additional duties, was instrumental in streamlining campus cell phone procedures and acts as the back-up manager to the Director of Internal Control for the TouchNet Operations.
Her strong organizational skills and attention to detail receive admiration at the annual Contractors’ Luncheons, which Reger coordinates.
“Robyn is always willing to serve on committees as needed, whether it is a search committee or a campus committee. Her input is valuable and noteworthy,” said Judy Langworthy, interim associate vice president for Administration.
Reger also serves as the secretary of the Sustainability Committee and is a member of the Council for Women’s Concerns and of other Administration committees. For several years she coordinated Administration Division donations to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Roswell Park’s Rock’n the Commons fundraisers.
“Robyn always displays the ‘Fredonia can-do’ service attitude in her daily efforts. She displays a consistently positive spirit which adds needed energy to the workplace,” said Michael Daley, director of Human Relations.
The Barbara Saletta Award recognizes a secretarial or clerical employee with outstanding service attitude.
Both awards were established through the Fredonia College Foundation to honor secretarial/clerical staff members for an outstanding service attitude, creativity, resourcefulness, demonstrated team effort and personal integrity and leadership. Recipients received a framed certificate and monetary award from SUNY Fredonia President Virginia Horvath.
