Linda Redmond, head of the Reference Section at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), recently received an honor award from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The award is for work she accomplished while on assignment for the Executive Potential Program (EPP), which prepares mid-level supervisors for senior executive service in the federal government.
Presented on October 6 in the form of a marble desk plaque with gold department seal and pen, the award recognizes Redmond's special contribution to quality at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
She earned the award working in the Quality Improvement Service in the VA Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning as part of her participation in EPP.
In the first of two training periods required by EPP, Redmond spent August 1 through October 7 at the VA making preprations to present the VA's Robert W. Carey Quality Award, modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award and the Presidential Award for Quality. She also helped the VA prepare for training top leaders and staff in the principles of customer service.
Redmond says the assignment allowed her to attain her goals of "testing my ability to survive or thrive in an organizational culture unlike a typical library setting, learning more about the National Performance Review, and increasing my knowledge of quality principles."
The Reference Section head says her tenure at the VA also "affirmed that my people-centered leadership skills and technological experiences, in this era of the information superhighway, are transferable."
She says she also gained a greater appreciation for the standards set at NLS as it improves its service and processes.
In recommending her for the award, the VA said, "Mrs. Redmond represented all that is good in a federal government employee. No task has been too difficult or time- consuming. ... Her dedication and sense of purpose are admirable, and her quiet demeanor, yet strong commitment to the job at hand, has made her an invaluable member of the staff in the short time she has been at the VA."
Redmond, the second person from NLS to participate in the EPP, began her NLS career in 1971 as a children's librarian for the D.C. Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which was then a part of NLS. She became a reference librarian with NLS in 1974, then a reference specialist. She became assistant head of the Reference Section in 1989 and head of the section in 1992. Redmond, who holds a master's degree in library science from the University of Maryland, also participated in the LC Intern program and in the Leadership Development Program sponsored by the Prince George's County Human Relations Commission.
"Mrs. Redmond is an outstanding employee," said Frank Kurt Cylke, director of NLS, "and we are delighted that she has received this unique recognition from the Department of Veterans Affairs."