COLIN BROWN
Winners: |2011 PA of the Year Anel Martin, right, with Debbie de Jager, who was PA of the Year for 2010.
Theo Garrun
The search for SA’s top personal assistant is on. Many SA workplaces run efficiently because of the co-ordinating and executive support skills of their executive secretaries and PAs.
As organisations have become more contemporary and the executives able to do more on there own due to new office technology, the role of the PA has changed from the old-style secretary to more of an office manager, co-ordinator of tasks, communicator and document expert.
The purpose of the PA of the Year award is to identify and recognise those efficient PAs that are to be found in the corporate sector, government and in civil society.
Dictum Publishers, the organisers of the award, say they have seen the numbers of nominations for the award increase over the past six years, and they are gratified to see the growing respect for the award in workplaces.
Rene Potgieter, the head of the PA of the Year Award committee, says she is inspired by the standard of the nominations.
“In all my years of involvement in a national award for the secretarial and administrative profession, I have never ceased to be impressed by the calibre of office professionals South Africa has to offer,” she says.
“I have had occasion to attend events in the US and UK and I can confidently say our top PAs are right there with the best in the world.
“I am excited once again to view the nominations coming forward this year, and I count on offices everywhere in the country to once again nominate their worthy candidates for this year’s PA of the Year Award.”
Previous winners are: 2011 – Anel Martin from Telkom; 2010 – Debbie de Jager from First National Bank; 2009 – Lynn Kruger from Concor Holdings; 2008 – Ansunette Swanepoel from Distell Ltd; 2007 – Nicolette Jasper from Gidani; and 2006 – Bianca Filmalter from the CSIR.
“Being nominated for this prestigious award has been a thrilling experience,” says last year’s winner, Martin.
“It has given me access to people and activities that I would never have come into contact with if it were not for the title of PA of the Year.
“This award has elevated my profile in the workplace as well as in the industry which is a valuable asset to any working PA.”
The closing date for nominations is June 29.
To download a nomination form, go to www.paoftheyear.co.za
Please note that your candidate must have the title PA or execute the duties of a PA, in other words, he/she must operate at a level above that of a secretary.
l For more information, e-mail thandi@dictum.co.za or call 011 616 7401.
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