The Hourly and Classified Employees Association presented its annual employee of the year awards to two well-known staff members at the HACE annual luncheon May 20. Tim Cromartie, trades/utilities worker senior for the moving and hauling department, was selected as Staff Member of the Year, and Julie Groesser-Grillo, special events coordinator for the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, was named Rookie Staff Member of the Year.

Cromartie, who has worked at Old Dominion for approximately 13 years, was nominated by his supervisor, Benny Jackson.

"Mr. Cromartie consistently looks for better ways to do a more effective and efficient job," Jackson said. "With his knowledge of assignments he often shows his co-workers better ways to get the job done."

Jackson attached to his nomination letters from members of the university community praising Cromartie and the entire moving and hauling crew for their hard work and positive attitude.

Katharine C. Kersey, chair of the early childhood, speech language pathology and special education department, wrote Cromartie the following letter in September 1997: "I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the excellent job you did on Aug. 22 and 23, while moving us from the Child Study Center into the new wing. It was a very difficult and time-consuming task, and could have been very stressful.

"You maintained a positive attitude throughout the entire move. . . . All of our faculty commented that you never seemed irritated or upset even though the job was hot and tiring." Other letters came from the offices of Academic Affairs and Alumni Relations, the Maritime Institute and from the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School, which the moving and hauling crew also serves.

In a July 1998 letter to Cromartie, David F. Harnage, vice president for administration and finance, said in reference to one of the letters: "I take great pride in the fact that our administration and finance team consists of dedicated, conscientious individuals such as yourself who, as a matter of course, will go out of your way to make sure that the customer - be it a student, faculty/staff member, neighbor or whomever - is not only satisfied, but leaves feeling that she or he has received special attention."

In his nomination form, Jackson also cited Cromartie's community activities, which include volunteer service to the Colonial Boys & Girls Club, and pointed out that Cromartie contributed to the moving and hauling department's selection in 1992 as the university's Customer Relations Department of the Year.

For winning the HACE award, Cromartie received a $200 U.S. Savings Bond from the Jill Nolte Endowment Fund, a $50 cash award and a framed certificate. Other prizes included a reserved parking space for one year and tickets to university basketball games and plays. Julie Groesser-Grillo, who has worked at Old Dominion just over a year and a half, was nominated for the rookie award by her supervisor, Walter Kimbrough, director of student activities and leadership.

As part of her job, Groesser-Grillo, the first person to hold the position of special events coordinator in the office, is responsible for planning the Senior Toast and Monarch Family Weekend.

"With these events, in particular, she has raised the bar for implementation, and improved both," Kimbrough said. "She took our Senior Toast program, which was hidden as a part of a Student Activities Council event, and made it a separate standing event which this spring hosted over 300 people. With any event or project, she always goes above the call of duty." Kimbrough went on to note, "She is the consummate team player, constantly sharing ideas and energy to revise and revamp our operations. As a part of our recent evaluation process, her colleagues in student activities and leadership mentioned her dedication, willingness to accept new challenges and her level of excitement and enthusiasm.

"She has helped our division by taking the lead with Welcome Week activities, as well as our holiday celebration. More importantly for our area, Julie is making a tremendous impact on our students . . . ."

Groesser-Grillo recently served as co-organizer for a statewide leadership conference, held at the University of Richmond. "As a new professional to this area and our university, this is a major accomplishment, along with all of her Old Dominion-related duties," Kimbrough said. For winning the HACE award, Groesser-\Grillo received a $25 cash award and framed certificate, along with tickets to Old Dominion basketball games and plays.