Unsung Heroes

Photography by Linda Wallen and Kathleen McNamara

Don't look for them on the corporate stationery. You won't find them at the annual management retreat, and they wouldn't be caught dead hiding out in a high-backed leather chair in the locked office at the end of the hall.

Some call them secretaries, or office managers, or executive assistants, or some other of the half-dozen euphemisms employed to try to describe the depth and breadth of the work they do.

Few professions have ungone the changes experienced in the clerical fields. It is more than political correctness that has broadened their titles, and that causes even the Professional Secretaries International Association to change its name to International Association of Administrative Professionals. What used to be days spent in dictation and coffee fetching are now filled with computer network administration and customer service.

These employees have earned their way to fully responsible members of the team. Here's a few of this region's most exemplary examples.

Dixie Fowlie, Assistant Vice President and Registered Sales Assistant, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated

"Dixie?" said one of Fowlie's colleagues recently. "She runs the world."

Tom Palmer, Senior Vice President and Branch Manager for Robert Baird says of Fowlie's Vice Presidency, "Through recognition on a lot of people's parts, it came into being four years ago. Dixie was one of the first four in our network of 60 offices."

It is not a title in name only; it comes with officer-level responsibility. In addition to Fowlie running the office, she is a licensed Series Seven stock trader for the purpose of taking client orders, is responsible for the office's hiring and firing, has seven direct reports and is the point person for the office's upcoming construction and expansion.

"Some people call us secretaries," she says in a typically understated fashion, "and that's fine." She points out that she does the same things that are usually expected of secretaries, such as take messages and make appointments, but her contributions go beyond that.

"We are more dynamic," she says. "We help make sales."

Fowlie and Palmer have worked together for seven years, during which they have overseen two generations of operating system upgrades, the addition of several brokers and substantial sales growth. "I consider Dixie and me the management team," says Palmer. "She's helped us become one of Baird's leading offices."

He attributes her success to personal disciplines. "If you had to start looking for someone, you'd look for the traits more than the experience in your industry," he says. "Someone who has been successful and works hard with good ethics will always make you proud.

"A lot of things are technical and can be trained," Palmer avows, "but those traits reside within the person."

Linda Sanford, Administrative Specialist, SunTrust Bank, Southwest Florida

"Let me describe the relationship Linda and I have," offers her boss Michael Morris, SunTrust's executive vice president of Trust, Investment Services and Private Banking. "When I will be out of my office and unavailable by phone, having someone of her capabilities and dedication is such a comfort to me. Knowing that, if an emergency arose she'd find me, and that if she could deal with things, she would."

Sanford makes sure of this. "He can rely on me. I make sure I'm in when he's out," she says. "He has a lot on his plate, and if there is anything I can do to make it easier for him, that's what I try to do."

Sanford came up through the ranks, working first SunTrust in Orlando at a job which included showing and explaining the 500-piece fine art collection housed in the corporate offices there.

"The whole idea of being Florida is to be near the beach," she says, "so when an opening came in Naples, I applied."

Morris explains the bottom line. "Professionalism is an easier word to say than to describe," He says, "Appearance, ability to communicate, ability to represent me in the way I would want to be represented. In addition, dedication, commitment, and the quality of our service.

"I don't know anyone who does it better than Linda does," he pauses. "She can bring us clients."

Sanford lists her duties as arranging client meetings and monthly investor lunches, and publishing a booklet for the monthly meeting of the board of directors in addition to the more mundane correspondence and travel plans.

"I work for probably the best boss anyone could have," she says when asked to critique her job. "I don't think there is a bad part. We've pretty much ironed out the wrinkles."

Angela Fitch, Executive Secretary, Patient Care Services, Lee Memorial Hospital

"People may think good assistants or secretaries are a dime a dozen," says Angela Fitch, Executive Secretary to Lee Memorial's Vice President of Nursing Services. "But they aren't, not good ones."

Her boss, Davey Crockett (yes, that is his real name), agrees that Fitch is one such good one. "The main trait is the ability to make whatever customer she's talking to feel that that customer is only one who matters to her," he says. "I want doctors or whoever to feel that they are getting the full attention of this office."

"I like the range of responsibility," Fitch says. "It's very broad. I even get into real estate." She has one staff member directly reporting to her, and takes seriously her position as a role model for Crockett's subordinate's secretaries.

"My vision for the future for secretaries and assistants is a more utilized, helpful assistant, not afraid to come out of the box." she says. "We've got to help as much as we can, not just look at our job descriptions. We recognize the different responsibilities we each have; let's also stop and look at what needs to be done."

But perhaps most remarkable to both her and her boss is the symbiosis they have developed. "There's a connection," she says. "If a secretary or assistant gets with someone and builds that natural synergy along with the skill set, it allows you to become an effective team."

Crockett agrees, "This is a relationship you develop over time. We have a respect for each other.

"I don't consider her a subordinate in a hierarchical scenario," he adds, "but as an extension of this office. She's a good person who cares about people."

Judy Galer, Receptionist; Grant, Fridkin, Pearson, Athen and Crown, P.A.

"Years ago, I went to a law firm. It wasn't a happy time or a good feeling," recalls Judy Galer, receptionist at the law firm of Grant, Fridkin. "I just thought then that if I was ever in a law firm, I would try to make it pleasant and not as col