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Philadelphia Resident Honored with EPA Employee Award

Release Date: 05/9/2007
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / [email protected]

Philadelphia (May 9, 2007) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic region presented the Administrative Excellence Award to Rhonda Purnell, of Philadelphia, at its annual employee recognition ceremony on April 24.

This award is given to an employee who exemplifies the highest possible standards of secretarial excellence.

Purnell, who has been with EPA since 1997, is the office manager and assistant to the deputy director of the Water Protection Division.

“Rhonda has mastered the fine art of multi-tasking,” said last year’s winner Pamela McCray. “We are astonished when Rhonda’s entire work station is covered with the makings of a several hundred-item mailing. She can reach to answer the phone before it rings twice, confirm equipment for an upcoming briefing, and remember to make a staff member’s travel arrangements – all without missing a beat.”

Purnell is an essential link in the chain of a very busy office with lead responsibilities for numerous administrative areas. “She is a counselor, a role model and a friend to her colleagues in her division,” McCray said. “She is skilled at organizing and monitoring work flow, and appears to have a sixth sense about when someone may need assistance. And she is quick to share her expertise with others.”

Purnell graduated from Philadelphia’s High School of Engineering & Science in 1983.

EPA’s mid-Atlantic region covers Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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