Jill Randolph, a nine-year veteran with the Greene County Juvenile Office, was elected to a three-year term on the Association for Women in Communications board of directors. With 22 years of experience as a communications professional, Randolph has built a career in the human resources field. She got involved with the local AWC chapter in 2009 and recently served as chapter president before being elected to the national board, where she joins another Springfield professional, Treasurer Mitzie Zerr, who works in business and economic development for City Utilities.
AWC Calling “I joined as a general member, and shortly after, started getting very involved. I didn’t just want to be a person who came to the meetings. I wanted to get my hands and feet dirty, so to speak. I was helping with memberships, and then I realized there was a secretary position open here with our Springfield chapter. I became secretary after being involved for about a year. Soon after that, (I became) president-elect, and then, most recently, was my presidential term. The presidential term ended in June 2012, and now I’m the chapter administrator and still sit on the board. … We have close to 40 members. The association is for women who are doing some kind of communication in their jobs, whether it is public relations, journalism, advertising, marketing or sales.”
National Status “All the different roles I played led me to think I wanted to get involved at the national level and be able to interact with women all across the United States, with their diversity of leadership and management styles. … They send you information [and] you have to fill out all this information about the leadership roles you played with the local chapter. There was a timeline to get everything submitted. Then, (the board) sent out an email across the country. We have nearly 3,000 members. There were six people being voted on to be part of the [11-member] national board, and all six of us were elected. They voted yes or no based on a bio you submitted. … It is a three-year term, and you can have up to 15 members. We meet in person twice a year, and then we have numerous conference calls. My first conference call (was Jan. 12), and my first board retreat is in Kansas City, Jan. 23–26.”
Professional Development “We try to help better communications professionals. At the local chapter, and across the United States, we bring in speakers. Most recently, we brought in the League of Women Voters. … We’ve had [English professor] Margaret Weaver from Missouri State University come in and talk about gender equality. We had Lynn Onstot, the public information officer from the city of Joplin. She came in May 2012 on the one-year anniversary of the Joplin tornado. She was speaking to us as communicators about crisis communications. I invited one of the news reporters to come, and she got us on TV. That was the first time that had been done with our local chapter.”
Greene County Role “As director of administrative services, I pretty much do everything except case management. … I do personnel records. I bring on new employees. I do payroll and vacation and sick leaves. Any time anything breaks – from a chair to a sink to a printer – I am the go-to person who has the connections to get things fixed. I have 12 people who report directly to me. They are all secretaries and they all do various work for the various units we have in the juvenile court – everything from our domestic relations officers to our officers for family court. … Not only do I manage all the day-to-day office operations and all the administration that goes with that, I’m also developing, coaching and guiding 12 people along their path to help them be the best they can be.”
Budget Constraints “We haven’t had raises. No cost-of-living or anything for I don’t know how long – six or seven years. But, fortunately, voters did vote for the LEST-II funds – the law enforcement sales tax – and we were able to get additional people because of that. Back in February and March, we hired eight additional staff. It runs the gamut with a couple of secretaries, a staff attorney, some deputy juvenile officers. That has helped tremendously, but I can tell you when anyone vacates a position, we have a 90-day hold. Around here, everyone has a passion for what they do. Yes, we haven’t had raises. Yes, we have budget constraints where we can’t buy a new chair or furniture or that kind of thing, but these people have passion for what they do. I see them work hard every single day for the community, and they love what they do.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
