May 2013 Employee of the Month

Meet Audio/Visual Production Specialist James Parker

If you're trying to keep up with James Parker, you better walk fast and smile a lot.

The audio/visual production specialist moves at the speed of light while greeting and serving his customers with a big grin at the BWC Conference Center. And those are just some of the reasons he was chosen as BWC's May Employee of the Month.

"He has a very friendly and approachable attitude and is extremely willing to fulfill the needs and requests of his customers . . . often at the last minute or with little advance notice," said Program Administrator 3 Lisa Crawford, James’s nominator.

As the force driving the BWC Conference Center, James must work both behind the scenes and in front of large crowds to ensure the facility's very complex equipment functions properly. Real Estate Administrator 2 Leslie Pomeroy, James’s supervisor, said now that the William Green Building houses multiple state agencies, James has accepted the challenge of dealing with new customers and increased conference center activity with confidence — as well as an emphasis on providing great customer service.

"James Parker embodies BWC’s values in just about everything he does,” wrote Leslie. “Service - Whether it’s an internal or external customer, he makes sure their needs are met. Simplicity - By making things simple, he makes things easier for the customers. Savings - James has made an out-of-date system last longer than it should have by taking the initiative to make small repairs himself.”

It’s not just his technical skills that the women praised. Both indicated his people skills are bar none. It’s a fragile balance, one that James maintains effortlessly.

“Much of his job is technical in nature, and he has a unique understanding of the inner workings of his tools to the point that they can troubleshoot many problems, saving BWC a lot of money over the years,” said Lisa. “But he excels at the parts of his job that require human interaction as well. He brings humor and joy to work EVERY DAY, and it naturally spreads to his customers and co-workers.”

James, a 19-year veteran of BWC, said he just enjoys coming to work each day to help people.

“I love coming in knowing that I am going to be doing the work that I love to do, also I am in a great department and have a great boss,” said James. “It makes me feel good to put my customers first at all times.”

Leslie said she’s received several emails from customers, praising James’s attitude and service. Lisa added that every employee with whom she discussed the possibility of nominating James responded with a resounding "YES!! He’s so deserving . . ." and "I can't believe he hasn't received the employee award before." She agreed, and went ahead with her nomination.

“He represents all the qualities of excellent work performance, customer service, and personal ethics and integrity on a daily basis,” said Lisa. “I have never known him to fail to deliver what he said he would or could do. His reputation and respect for ‘getting it done’ is widespread and often takes him outside the boundaries of his ‘job duties’ to help his customer.”

Sure, James is thrilled about winning BWC May Employee of the Month. But all he really needs is a smile — from you, his customer.

“I love to see my customers with that BIG smile on their face when things are going good,” he said.