Dickey and Wentz Named Employees of the Quarter

Exempt Employee of the Quarter Drema Wentz, who joined UMBC in 2004, serves as coordinator of Campus Scheduling and Guest Services. She began her career as a Maryland State employee 25 years ago when she worked for the Maryland Parole Commission. In 1984, Wentz transferred to Towson University where she held positions as secretary and facility reservation manager.
“Drema works with every department on campus. She strives to provide the best possible customer service for the entire campus community,” said Michelle Myers-Brown, director of The Commons. “She is highly motivated and organized, [overseeing] 100 to 300 room requests that come in weekly. Due to a staff member leaving, Drema and one part-time student staff member handled all non-academic scheduling requests for the campus as well as all outside contracts – numbering around 4,000 (for a five-month period).”
“[She] has also been the driving force behind the campus conversion to the new, automated scheduling process (R25). In just two years, Drema has taken a fledgling program that the campus purchased without much support, trained personnel in every department on campus, worked with the Registrar’s Office on policy development for the program and created the online system for scheduling non-academic events that exists on campus today. The new process has cut the scheduling process from one to two weeks to a 24-48 hour turnaround.”
Wentz is a member of the ACCED-I, a professional organization for scheduling and conference personnel. She is actively involved in planning the next national conference, which will be held in Baltimore this spring and will highlight UMBC. In addition, Wentz is pursing a master’s degree in management with a concentration in human resources development. She expects to graduate in May 2007.
Wentz received her award on Jan. 8 at a staff meeting.
Donald Dickey, the Nonexempt Employee of the Quarter, is a groundskeeper lead in Facilities Management. Dickey began his career at UMBC in 1994 and has worked in the Landscaping and Grounds shop for the past twelve years.
“Dickey is a hardworking member of the Landscaping and Grounds crew who takes great pride in making the UMBC community a welcoming environment. I’ve observed [him] interrupt his work or stop his truck to give a quick wave and good morning to students and staff. [Dickey] must believe that his mission goes beyond his groundskeeping responsibilities to include building community and UMBC pride,” said Director of Student Judicial Programs Chris Tkacik, who also nominated Dickey.
“He has taken great strides to improve the landscaping of the Student Development and Success Center (the old Shriver Center),” added Tkacik. “His dedication is shown in photos taken of the building and surrounding grounds. His care for the plants and trees always include a personal touch and his interest in sharing his knowledge demonstrates his deeper commitment to UMBC, beyond his job responsibilities. Dickey epitomizes the personality of UMBC. His employment goes far beyond his job responsibilities and he takes the personal interest in students that Dr. Hrabowski speaks so often about.”
Dickey was presented with his Employee of the Quarter Award on Jan. 19. The facilities management staff joined Dickey for the celebration and offered their congratulations. Tkacik and other staff members spoke of Dickey’s contributions during the presentation ceremony.