CS secretary named Oklahoma's best Published Nov. 29, 2006 By Staff Sgt. Amanda Mills Public Affairs Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- The 71st Communications Squadron commander's secretary recently received a statewide award for her duties at Vance Air Force Base. Enid, Okla., native Melva Glaser was named Oklahoma's Department of Defense Clerical/Administrative Assistant of the Year for 2004. "I was very pleasantly surprised," Ms. Glaser said. She has been at Vance since October 1988. "Everyone was so happy for me. I couldn't believe it was from the whole state. So many people were up for various award categories; it was really great to be selected. "This award has a lot to do with my commander's faith in me. I'd like to thank him (Maj. Richard Folks) for that. He's very big on recognizing his people, so this probably didn't surprise him as much as it did me." "Melva is the epitome of extraordinary government service," Major Folks said in her nomination package. "She is a key player in the success of the 71st CS at Vance AFB. A self-starter, she continually takes on tough challenges that fall outside her normal job duties. She is confident in her professional abilities and has a contagious positive attitude which enables her to handle endless interruptions while staying cool and calm under pressure. "Her excellent communication skills have served the squadron well, and her expert writing and editing abilities have been driving forces behind our recognition and award winners. An ultimate team player, she never seeks recognition for herself, but is willing to go above and beyond to help recognize the men and women of the squadron. Melva is truly an example of extraordinary service in her role as the squadron's secretary and exemplifies the Air Force's core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do." Ms. Glaser was the 2004 71st Communications Squadron's Out-standing Civilian of the Year and the 71st Mission Support Group's Civilian of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2004, according to her award nomination. She maintains complete oversight for all internal and external processes and programs for a severely undermanned commander's support staff. She also coordinates on all awards, enlisted and officer performance reports, decoration packages, below-the-zone promotion packages and more. Because the squadron does not have a military personnelist assigned, Ms. Glaser rapidly took on the tough job and became the squadron's wizard on the Air Force's personnel database, PC-III, correcting dozens of mistakes caused by a software upgrade and ensuring the database was clean and 100-percent accurate, according to the nomination. This work is totally outside the scope of her core duties, but she does it because she knows if she doesn't, it won't get done and the squadron as a whole would suffer. She is also the only personnelist who has a year-long 100-percent accountability record. The Air Force goal is 100-percent accountability, but the actual average for duty status accountability is 65 percent; Ms. Glaser meets the Air Force goal and exceeds the average by 35 percent, showing dedication and meticulous attention to detail.