News Release
Media Contact: Marty Goolsby
Communications and External Relations


Secretaries win recognition for devotion and excellence

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 31, 1995 — Secretaries Dana Griffith, Kim Grubb and Millie Atchley of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) were presented awards for outstanding teamwork, dedication and excellence in the first ORNL secretarial awards ceremony. The awards were the Best Newcomer, Secretaries' Choice and Secretarial Achievement awards.

Dana Griffith of the Environmental Sciences Division received the Best Newcomer Award in recognition of her dedication to Lockheed Martin Energy Systems' Groundwater Program. As a team worker, Griffith worked approximately 30 hours in one weekend to edit and organize the Plumes Focus Area Implementation Plan. The award represented her continuous support and dedication to her division.

The Best Newcomer Award is presented to secretaries who have been employed three years or less by ORNL. The nominees must exhibit professional skill and growth, efficiency and a positive attitude.

Griffith joined ORNL in 1992. She was a 1988 graduate of Maryville High School and earned an associate of applied science degree in information systems technology from Pellissippi State Technical Community College in 1991.

Griffith has also received the American Business Woman's Association Scholarship in 1988, Leadership Award for Collegiate Secretaries International Club in 1991, and a certificate for dedication to the Groundwater Program in 1994.

Griffith is a native of Decatur, Ga. She lives with her husband, Rodney, in Knoxville.

Kim Grubb of the Office of Operational Readiness and Facility Safety received the Secretaries' Choice Award for her "steadfast professionalism, guidance and energetic attitude." ORNL secretaries cast the nominations for this award based on the candidates' excellence, teamwork and mentoring abilities.

Grubb was also named the Employee of the Quarter for the second quarter of 1995 for her division.

Grubb is a Knoxville native who graduated from Bearden High School. She joined ORNL in June 1987. Grubb became a certified professional secretary in 1989 and attained her supervisory certificate in 1991 from Pellissippi State Technical Community College.

Grubb lives in Knoxville with her husband, Rodney. Their children are Mikel, 13, and Nicholas, 11.

Millie Atchley of the Metals and Ceramics Division received the Secretarial Achievement Award in recognition of her commitment to accuracy, promptness and friendly professionalism. She was chosen for her dedication and sustained administrative contributions.

A native of Knoxville, Atchley joined ORNL in 1977. She graduated from Bearden High School and has worked 29 years in the clerical profession. Atchley has also received company awards for her support of technology transfer in 1991 and 1993, and a Significant Achievement Award in 1992.

Atchley lives in Knoxville. She has three children, Edie Marie, Corey Dru and Ronald Eugene Anderson, who is stationed at the naval base in Dededo, Guam. Her late husband, Neil, had retired from ORNL after 42 years of service.

The first ORNL secretarial awards program was organized by the ORNL Administrative Advisory Council to recognize the secretarial staff for its contributions to ORNL. The program will continue to be sponsored annually by the council, which was chartered in November 1992 to support ORNL research and development activities by improving communications among the administrative staff. It also publishes a monthly "FYI" bulletin to provide up-to-date information for secretaries.

The council has seven members who represent a cross section of ORNL. The Laboratory Director's secretary serves as an ex officio member and David E. Reichle, associate director of Life Sciences and Environmental Technologies, serves as the senior management adviser to the council. Brenda Campbell of the Central Management Offices is the chairperson.

ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, which also manages the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant.