Awards honor excellence in customer service
by Christine WilliamsonCCIT
Recently, the division of finance and administration honored three of its own with its fourth quarter 2001 Quest for Excellence Awards.
“The Quest for Excellence Awards program is designed to bring attention to division employees instrumental in the delivery of excellence in service to our customers,” said John Sutusky, Ph.D., vice president for the division.
From
left are Jack Buchanan, front row, Shining Start Award recipient; Lt. Bob
Waite, Navigator Award recipient; and Christine vonKolnitz, First Mate
Award recipient. Back row from left are Dr. John Sutusky; Tanis Manseau
and John Malmrose, engineering and facilities; Capt. Jeff Hample; John
Runyon, business services; and Jennifer Pearce, chairperson, Quest for
Excellence Awards Program.
There are three awards within the program: First Mate Award, Navigator Award, and Shining Start Award.
Each winner received a framed certificate and a $25 American Express gift certificate.
First Mate Award
Designed to spotlight an employee who demonstrates outstanding performance
in a visible or front line customer service capacity, this quarter’s First
Mate Award was given to Christine vonKolnitz, recycling coordinator for
the department of business services.
“Christine’s emphatic and timely responsiveness has built a positive reputation in recycling for the Medical University,” said Roy Dingle, manager, contract and support services.
By employing continuous quality improvement tools, solid communication practices and The Maintenance Authority (TMA) program, vonKolnitz developed a procedure for managing customer assistance requests. An active member of both the department’s CQI area council and the division’s CQI steering committee, she developed an Introduction to CQI presentation that will be used as the building block for a divisionwide quality education program.
What vonKolnitz is best known for are her efforts in bringing vermiculture (worm composting) into the university’s waste management system.
“Her work with vermiculture as a viable waste management technique has brought international acclaim to MUSC,” said Dingle. The project has been highlighted in 12 articles and three television news stories, garnering national and international interest.
Navigator Award
The division’s Navigator Award brings to the forefront an individual
who demonstrates outstanding performance in a behind-the-scenes capacity.
This award was presented to Lt. Bob Waite, electronic security officer,
department of public sSafety.
In nominating Waite for the award, Capt. Jeff Hample, operations commander, cited his “consistent willingness to help those of our community, the public at large, and his fellow officers.”
Waite demonstrated this through many efforts, including introducing electronic security to the campus, helping identify at-risk research laboratories as part of the university’s Bioterrorism Initiative, performing crime prevention talks and security surveys, and his “performance” as Santa Claus for 12 volunteer organizations throughout the Lowcountry. He “always gives 110 percent to his department, the division, and the university,” said Hample.
Shining Start Award
Another individual noted for his willingness to do whatever it takes
was the Shining Start Award recipient, Jack Buchanan, building zone engineer,
engineering and facilities department.
In nominating Buchanan for this award, given to an individual with less than one year’s service with the division, John Malmrose, director, engineering and facilities, stated, “In his short time at MUSC, Jack has made an outstanding impression through effective management and communication with those he serves in the 20 buildings in his zone, most notably the Basic Science Building and the Administration Building.”
His first week alone could have qualified him for the award, as he managed several emergencies in the Basic Science Building, while beginning to develop improvement plans involving scheduled inspections and customer-oriented tasks and schedules.
Malmrose was not the only division member to recommend Buchanan for this award; an additional nomination stated, “No problem seems too small for his thoughtful consideration. From legwork, brainwork or just plain hard work, he has set an example for others to follow.”
For information in the nomination process or nominating a candidate for the next quarter’s award, see the Web site at http://www.musc.edu/fanda/quest.
The deadline for submissions is March 31.