Adrian honored for work

    Nancy Adrian has been honored for her outstanding work as the administrative assistant at the Iowa State University Extension Office in Washington County. Adrian was presented with the ?Pride of Extension for Office Management Award? at the ISU Extension regional meeting in August.

    ?It?s nice to be recognized by your peers and to know that there are people who think you?re doing a good job,? said Adrian. ?I know plenty of office assistants are deserving of the honor. It?s humbling to win the award because there are so many good people out there. Winning the award has made me want to work harder and continue to improve every day.?

    To win the honor, extension employees are nominated by their co-workers based on their office management skills. The nominations are then reviewed by an Extension Awards Committee. In 2007, Adrian was nominated for and won the award ?Pride of Extension for Program Management.?

    Adrian said that she has so much fun with her co-workers that being at the office doesn?t feel like work at all.

    ?I enjoy getting up every morning and going to work,? she said. ?At the office, we?re more like a family. We?re so involved in each other?s projects.? 

    As a matter of fact, assisting other staff is one of Adrian?s main duties. Adrian is particularly drawn to the 4-H program in the office, which is spearheaded by Kati Peiffer.

    ?The 4-H program is a big deal here in Washington County,? noted Adrian. ?I also love working with Kati. We are always bouncing ideas off each other.?

    Adrian has been involved in 4-H herself for 25 years. She said that her experience as a 4-H leader played a role in attracting her to the position seven years ago when she began as administrative assistant.

    Adrian?s first job out of college was as a teacher. After teaching for one year, Adrian moved on to become a bookkeeper for a gas company, where she worked for 23 years. She eventually found herself on the ISU Extension council, the governing body of the extension offices. That was when she had the idea of taking her career down a new path.

    ?I thought, maybe after 23 years, I should try something else,? said Adrian.

    And so she did. She applied for the position of administrative assistant with a general understanding of the job?s responsibilities. However, upon taking the job, she learned that the job encompassed far more than she had previously thought.

For the full story, see the Oct. 16 edition of The Washington Evening Journal