Presentation to be made at Hotel Bethlehem on April 23rd.

Lehigh Valley, PA April 16, 2008 - The 2008 Administrative Excellence Awards will be presented to four administrative professionals on April 23, 2008. The awards program, co-sponsored by Integrity Personnel, Inc. and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, will be part of an Administrative Professional’s Day Luncheon at the Hotel Bethlehem.

Local companies were asked to nominate employees who exhibit high performance behavior in their daily jobs. In order to be considered for an award, nominees had to be employed in an office support role and meet various criteria, including minimum years of service, professional training, and direct work on important projects or initiatives.

The four individuals selected for this year’s award are: Margie Pacheco of Lehigh County Conference of Churches, Tina Christman of Concannon Miller & Co., Jane Long, also with Concannon Miller & Co., and Karen Scherer from Minsi Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Integrity’s president, Kevin Flemming, explained the concept behind the awards program. “We want to emphasize the high level of professionalism and performance demonstrated by office workers today. Because the administrative support role has been changing so rapidly over the past 20 years, these types of jobs require new skills and real business acumen.” Flemming explained that most individuals working in offices today are fulfilling multiple roles that include greater amounts of responsibility than the traditional secretarial job. “This is especially true in the small companies that make up the majority of the Lehigh Valley’s business community.” he said.

Flemming and the executive team at the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce worked together to revamp an annual Administrative Professionals’ Day event that had become a little stale in recent years. The luncheon program had always been designed to provide local companies with a venue to show appreciation to their office employees, but never had an overall theme or purpose that participants could relate to. Understanding how important the administrative role is to the operations of their member companies, the Chamber decided to create a new program focused on a competitive award.

Integrity’s Flemming said that he hopes this first-time event becomes as popular as the annual GLVCC Excellence in Business Awards (also sponsored by his firm), now entering its 21st year.