e m p l o y e e m a t t e r s |
9
Even if you’re not a coffee fan,
there’s nothing quite like the aroma
of a freshly brewed pot to make a
person feel at home. The coffee,
inviting break room environment
and eye-catching event setup you
enjoy is provided by the Hospital-
ity team, whose members faithfully
make their rounds to ensure that
you have a clean and welcoming
home away from home.
Peggy Hawkins, hospitality spe-
cialist, has been perfecting her
craft in Columbus since 1989
and has the longest tenure on the
team. Peggy and her co-workers
project warmth and kindness,
both on- and off-site, and know
that their efforts affect employees’
and visitors’ perceptions of Afac.
“I truly care about people and their
comfort, and hope that’s their frst
impression of me,” says Peggy.
“I love to interact with people from
all over the world. We take classes
to learn about foreign cultures and
etiquette because it’s such an
important part of the job. There’s
always something to learn.”
Peggy has seen Afac’s pace pick
up in the past few years, and relies
on her seemingly unending energy
supply to keep up with it. “I believe
that I speak for the whole team
when I say we give 110 percent
to satisfy our customers. One of
our goals is to radiate a calm aura
in a fast-paced atmosphere, and
I hope that when someone’s hav-
ing a demanding day my positive
attitude, kind words or smile helps
them stay focused and on-course.
When that happens, everyone at
Afac benefts.”
y employees worked tirelessly
NEO training, to the talents that
new hire to valued Afac family
process the related invoices and maintenance agreements.
I’ve learned a lot about technology in the past 15 years, and
couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of the
great team at Aflac.”
As the National Hurricane Center warned that Hurri-
cane Sandy was headed to the Northeast last October,
Mary prepared for possible power disruptions by shut-
ting down every Albany server the night before.
“We were very lucky, though, and escaped direct damage.
I came in at 5:45 the next morning to get all the servers
back up and running before employees started coming
in. We had no down time.”
Mel Curtis
, manager, Disaster Preparedness, also
tracked the storm and subsequent nor’easter closely.
“During a crisis, one of the most immediate and pressing
issues is disruption of power,” says Mel. “That’s why one
component of Aflac’s disaster plan includes a 50-seat
mobile recovery trailer that is ready to deploy within 48
hours. When the vendor tested the bus in Columbus in
November, it performed beautifully,” says Mel. “Obvi-
ously we hope we don’t need to use it, but it’s reassuring
to know we have that kind of powerful backup available
for all our locations.”
Peggy Hawkins
p ro f i l e
Your home
away fromhome
Mary Mart in
, IT, Albany.