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Previous Award of Excellence
Winners
Bennett is a charter member of BFMA International’s Madison chapter, currently serving as both education chair and director-at-large. Under his leadership over the past two years, the Madison chapter has won the International Chapter of the Year award, the International Newsletter of the Year Award, and the Norm Chilton Excellence in Education award from the BFMA Foundation. He has presented educational sessions at his chapter meetings and at Symposium, and he has written many newsletter articles, which have appeared in chapter newsletters and inFOCUS. On the national level, Bennett has served on the President’s Education Data Advisory Committee as the representative from the state of Wisconsin since 1997. The committee, consisting of representatives from each state, meets twice annually to offer advice to the U.S. government’s executive branch and to Congress on data and issues surrounding improvement of public education. Source: May/June 2001 inFOCUS
Traver has been a member of BFMA for more than 15 years. Her dedication and commitment to the Association and its mission to provide form systems education and networking began with her involvement in the Golden Gate chapter and grew to include her services as a member of the Association board of directors. At the chapter level, Traver was involved in many activities, from planning educational meetings to serving on the chapter board. Under her competent leadership, BFMA’s Golden Gate chapter grew and flourished. Traver later served on the Association board of directors, first as a Regional Vice President, then as Executive Vice President of Regional Operations and as Executive Vice President of Administration. Her contributions were many, from working with local chapters, to enhancing the Association operating guide. In her influential and highly visible role in city government for the City of Concord, CA, Traver was an early adopter of intelligent electronic forms. Her knowledge and experience has made her a resource for other cities in the bay area and beyond. Source: May/June 2001 inFOCUS
A purchasing forms controller for The New York Times, Rogoish consistently displays passion for the chapter by showing initiative beyond the traditional role of a member. He faithfully provides monthly treasurer’s reports and annual financial reports to the chapter and coordinates its annual holiday luncheon. He assumed responsibility for all financial management of Region IV’s annual seminar last year and organized tours of the Post Office and The New York Times as a benefit to members. In addition, Rogoish has been a strong role model for new members, mentoring them on how to grow the Association. He is deeply respected as the backbone of the NY chapter. Source: May/June 1998 News & Views
Award of Excellence Winner Says: Forms Folk Must Promote Themselves Let the bosses know how important forms really are. That’s the biggest challenge facing form systems professionals today, according to Margaret Tassin, winner of the 1997 Award of Excellence. “I think the biggest challenge is showing the value of your work so that management will want to keep you and continue to have a forms management program,” Tassin said during a phone interview. As it stands now, many corporate managers regard forms management as a clerical function that can easily be trimmed with budgets get tight. To fight that perception, forms people must promote the value of their profession, Tassin said. Her specific suggestions include sending reports on forms projects to management, getting involved in high-profile projects where solid forms management can make a difference, and encouraging house organs and newsletters to publish articles about the forms department. “I think they need to do things to make themselves more visible to the organization,” said Tassin. Currently Manager of Forms and Print Services for the Pennzoil Company, Tassin has been in the forms business for nearly 20 years. She holds two of the industry’s most valued certifications—Certified Forms Consultant (CFC) and Certified Form Systems Professional (CFSP). Like many forms people, however, Tassin came to her profession almost by accident. After moving to Houston in the 1970s, she was looking to leave her first career in special education. An employment agency worker recommended that Tassin answer a “strange job order” that no one in the agency could understand. Tassin accepted the position with the Ross-Martin Company, a nationally recognized forms firm. She stayed there for six year before moving on to Pennzoil, where she has worked for over 13 years. The Award of Excellence, one of BFMA’s highest honors, is presented to members who have made significant contributions to the Association. Presenting the award to Tassin during the 1997 Symposium, former President Sue Hawkes noted that Tassin has presented sessions at Symposium for eight consecutive years. She has written extensively for INFOCUS and for the Journal of Forms Management, a previous publication of BFMA. Tassin is a member of the Form Systems Certification Board, which oversees the CFSP program. Currently, she is Program Chair for the 1998 Symposium, which will be held next May in Fort Worth, Texas. She also has been heavily involved in the Document Management Industries Association (DMIA), where she served for five years on the CFC board. She has authored material for DMIA’s Business Forms Handbook. She is a leader of BFMA’s Houston Chapter and one of the Houston area’s best-known forms experts. “Margaret Tassin is synonymous with BFMA in Houston,” says Houston Chapter member Tobi Watashe. “Besides holding many offices through the years, her brilliant smile and gracious ways have mad many a new invitee feel at home. She is a visionary not only with forms and electronic processes, but in keeping the Houston Chapter functional.” For Tassin, the payoff from this involvement has been a reliable network for professional associates. Along the same lines, she advises newcomers to the forms field to make the most of their professional associations. “By being involved, you establish relationships to share information with other people.” Source: August 1997 News & Views
Anne South entered the forms business by happenstance. She was working for a small Atlanta company in the Fifties when she was asked to substitute for a typesetter. Demonstrating a flair for forms, she worked for Lockheed Aircraft and other firms before joining Coca-Cola in 1969. Now she is a senior systems analyst, widely respected for her work in implementing electronic forms at Coke. “I love forms,” she said. “You use the same tools and the same skills, but every form has its own challenges.” A BFMA member since 1979, she was a charter member of the Atlanta chapter. She has served two terms as Region V Vice President. “I had to serve the second year,” she recalled. “I found out what to do the first year.” Looking to the future, South expects the migration toward electronic forms and technology to intensify. Forms professionals owe it to themselves to learn more about databases, networking, and other computer technology, she says. “They’re going to be more systems-oriented than we’ve seen in the past,” she said. “Everybody’s trying to do more faster with less people.” Source: May/June 1996 News & Views
The Award of Excellence is presented at the discretion of the Past President’s Council and is not necessarily awarded each year. This year’s recipient, Ms. Endres is a charter member of BFMA’s Madison, Wisconsin, chapter. She works as a Business System Analyst and Forms and Records Officer for the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations. She has worked for the State of Wisconsin since 1962. In 1994, she chaired the State-wide Electronic Forms Subcommittee, which made recommendations on the future of forms and systems for the Wisconsin state government as whole. Within BFMA, Ms. Endres has served as Director of Member Services, Executive Vice President of Membership (now called Regional Operations), Region III Vice President, and Association Nominations Chair. She developed the Chapter Records Retention Schedule and is currently working on the Association Records Retention Schedule. She has served on the Madison chapter’s Board of Directors for eight years and has held many chapter offices, including President and chair of many chapter committees. Throughout her BFMA career, Ms. Endres has been an instructor at chapter meetings and seminars throughout the Midwest, at regional conferences, and at Symposium. She has attended Symposium for 15 consecutive years. Source: June 1995 News & Views
BMFA awarded Judi McClellan, Blood Bank Office Supervisor, University of Minnesota Hospital & Clinic, its Award of Excellence—the Association’s second highest honor for dedicated service to the Association at the awards banquet at the annual Symposium. Ms. McClellan has been highly involved with BFMA since she joined in 1984. She has served on the BFMA Minnesota Chapter’s board of directors for 8 years, has served in a number of other chapter offices including president, and was instrumental as membership chairperson in helping her chapter become the association’s largest chapter. Most recently she has served at the association level, including the association’s second highest office, Executive Vice President Administration. Judi had this to say about receiving this award: “None of what I accomplished was accomplished alone. It took team work—committed people, BFMA people. I received so much from BFMA. I encourage other to join simply for that reason.” Source: May/June 1994 News & Views
BFMA honored Chuck Mindach with the Award of Excellence for his outstanding contribution to the growth and success of the association. Chuck has long been active in the Canada’s Capital (Ottawa) Chapter and is currently President of the chapter. He also won this year’s Region VI Member-of-the-Year Award. Check is an out-going Canadian, with Paul Bunyan height and an openness to match. When he gets involved in a project, things seem to happen. Chuck is the Forms Manager for Supply and Services Canada. He has worked for the Canadian government for the pas 31 years, and the past 24 years he has been in the forms program. He has been an active member of BFMA for 10 years. Chuck was instrumental in proposing “Plain Language” to BFMA and then participated in the production of “Drafting Documents in Plain Language”—an excellent manual on the subject. Source: May/June 1992 News & Views
“The Consummate Teacher” When Swanee Reinoldson presented Linda (Cricket) Raybern the BFMA Award of Excellence at the 1991 International Symposium on Information Resources Management in San Diego, she described the effect Cricket has had on the Association this way: “You’ve heard the saying, ‘When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.’ Well, the Association was ready…Cricket appeared…and the face of BFMA was changed.” Some of Cricket’s most significant accomplishments came through her dynamic involvement in the organization of early Symposiums. Her work in organizing the 1982 BFMA Symposium was instrumental in forever redefining the scope of Symposium, the centerpiece of the Association. Swanee Reinoldson, a past winner of the Jo Warner award and a BFMA innovator herself, knew what she was talking about—nor was she speaking lightly when she stated, “Cricket had the know-how and the opportunity” to restructure the way Symposium was run. At the 1980 Minneapolis Symposium, Cricket presented the Portland Chapter’s bid to host the 1982 Symposium. Even in the manner in which she made the bid for the 1982 Symposium, Cricket made change. “She made Portland dance in our minds,” Swanee remarked. This was really the start of the esprit de corps competition among chapters to “win” Symposium for their locale. At that time Cricket also single-handedly started the tradition of swapping city stickers and pins, when she handed out rose stickers to keep the City of Roses—Portland, Oregon—uppermost in everyone’s mind when they were deciding upon a site for the 1982 Symposium. This tradition is carried on with vigorous good humor, camaraderie, and warmth each year—during the “pin and sticker exchange” at the Symposium Icebreaker. But besides not having many traditions in the early days of Symposium, in those days there were also few if any procedures or protocols for any of the Symposium events, Swanee pointed out. “Picture this: 1981…the Awards Program…busy lunch time…conversation buzzing all over the room…awards being presented just in from of the dais. Not surprisingly, only a couple of winners came forward—others didn’t even realize they should be there. Embarrassing? It should have been! But we didn’t know any better. At another helter-skelter lunch, the newly elected Association officers were simply introduced,” Swanee said. But at the 1982 Portland BFMA Symposium, Cricket was the Chair and things were done right. “For the first time ever, we had an Awards and Installation Banquet. We got dressed up. Each award winner was spotlighted for their achievement. If the winners were not there, a fellow chapter member accepted in their honor,” Swanee noted. “And following the awards was the Installation of Association Officers. Each Board Officer was sworn in and accepted their responsibilities, making a verbal contract with the members.” The 1982 Symposium was also held at a site that commanded respect as well, a hotel with rooms overlooking the majestic Willamette River. Swanee paused at this point and looked around the grand ballroom of the San Diego Princess hotel. Today, the Awards Banquet and the formal Installation of Officers (now on a separate day, as a separate event) are taken for granted. Also taken for granted is the fact these events will be executed with precision and with the professionalism that marks every aspect of the BFMA Symposium experience. But sometimes it should be remembered that there were bold pioneers such as Cricket—and that they have given much to BFMA. As Swanee’s gaze swept the room she simply said, “Tonight is the outgrowth of that evening in 1982.” Swanee also talked about Cricket’s parlimentarian expertise and how her efforts helped restructure the Association’s bylaws. “Again, Cricket showed us the way. We are still changing them, of course, but because of her it is a more viable process,” Swanee stated. Cricket was also instrumental in making BFMA a far-sighted organization by creating the Long Term Board Decisions report—a 30-page document that tracked Board actions. And after creating it, “ She updated it for the next six years, trying her darndest to get us to rescind the old before we created a new…no little task!” Swanee commented. Cricket is still active in BFMA and currently teaches the BFMA professional course, “Advanced Forms and Systems Analysis.” She is a CSP (Certified Systems Professional), and has been a driving force on numerous BFMA committees. The committees she has worked on include: Symposium Protocol (3 years), Educational Advisory Board (6 years), Strategic Planning Committee (3 years), and the Communications Committee (2 years). She served (without pay) as the Association’s director for a brief period, as well as 2 consecutive years a Secretary, 7 years as Parlimentarian, and 1 year as Vice President. She held other posts as well within the Association, and has taught courses at Symposium for 10 yeas. In all these areas she has been, in Swanee’s words, “the consummate teacher.” “She has always shared all the knowledge that comes into her being. Sometimes we didn’t think we wanted to know it…but through it all, she has always been there for us. Teaching. Nurturing. Sharing. That’s what BFMA—and Cricket—are all about.” Source: June 1991 News & Views
BFMA presented its second highest award to Cathy Grammer, Director of Printing at St. John Medical Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is the first year the Award of Excellence has been presented, making the honor even more distinct. While the achievements of the winner were being read by Paula Stewart, President of BFMA—before the announcement of who had won—some people noticed Cathy was crying. But then near the end of the recitation of the winner’s achievements many people guessed what Cathy had surmised early on—that it was she whom Paula was talking about. Cathy was presented the award at the Symposium Awards Banquet. The achievements that “gave it away” are as follows: She has been a member of BFMA since 1978. She is a charter member of the Tulsa Area Chapter of BFMA, and has been a chapter president, vice president, and newsletter editor. At the international level of the association, she has held the positions of Symposium Program Chair, Nominations Chair, Seminar Chair, and Director-at-Large. This past year Cathy served with distinction as BFMA Director of Symposium Operations, and will again serve in this capacity this coming year. Cathy has also served on the BFMA International Board of Directors as Regional Vice President and as Secretary of the association. She has been a lecturer at past BFMA Symposiums and has assisted in the formation of other chapters in the United States. “Her unrelenting efforts are never for personal gain,” BFMA International President Paula Stewart said during the presentation to Cathy, “her efforts are always for the overall betterment of the Association.” Those that know Cathy personally can attest to this face. They can also attest that Cathy does things in the “BFMA spirit”—with a cheerful vigor and studied determination. Source: May 1990 News & Views |
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