ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997 TAG: 9704170004
SECTION: AT WORK PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL THE ROANOKE TIMES
IF YOU ASK DEBBIE JACKS what a typical workday is like, expect a laugh in response.
``There's no such thing,'' said Jacks, executive assistant to Arthur Dunkin, secretary-treasurer of Rowe Furniture Corp. in Salem.
Jacks does follow a few routines every morning: She makes sure copies of The Wall Street Journal are where they're supposed to be. She makes coffee and opens the mail.
But beyond that, her day depends on Dunkin's day:
When it comes time to prepare Rowe's financial statements and annual report - which usually takes from November through March - she spends hours compiling and formatting data.
When Dunkin has to attend a meeting, she schedules his travel.
When he needs a company car, she finds it.
When his phone rings and he's out, she answers it.
And all the time she has to keep track of his every move, because someone is bound to need him urgently.
``Communication is the big thing,'' Jacks said. ``I tell him, `I can't get these calls to you if I don't know where you are.'''
Dunkin is pretty good about letting her know what he's doing, she said. They have, however, been known to have minor yelling matches, she said with a chuckle - usually along the lines of ``You didn't tell me where you were,'' or ``You never listen to what I say.''
But, after a decade, each knows how the other functions. ``We've worked together for so long that we kind of know what buttons not to push,'' she said.
Sometimes, Jacks will have three people on hold, waiting to talk to Dunkin, and he'll be on the phone with a fourth person, oblivious to the backup. ``If he's in one of his moods where he wants to talk all day, I have to go in there and threaten his life,'' she said.
The hardest part of the job, she said, is knowing how far she can go - which of those calls she can take care of herself and which ones Dunkin needs to answer personally.
Most of her training has been on the job. Over the last two decades, Jacks has worked in the order-entry, scheduling, trucking and credit departments. All that experience has given her the background she needs to do her current job well, she said. Dunkin agreed.
``Today, people ... change jobs fairly often, so they don't really have that total recall of the past,'' he said. ``She's almost like an historian. A lot of people are very dependent on her.''
But the long hours at Rowe sometimes take their toll. Since she lost her husband 31/2 years ago, Jacks has had to learn to balance two professions: an assistant to Dunkin during the day, and a mom to her two girls, Jennifer and Stephanie Williams, the rest of the time.
She gets to work most days at 8 a.m., and she's usually home in Southwest Roanoke County by 7 p.m. That doesn't leave her nearly as much time with her daughters as she'd like.
``They've had to become very independent,'' she said. Seventeen-year-old Stephanie, a high school junior and a ballet dancer, has her driver's license now, so she can drive herself and her 11-year-old sister to dance lessons. Jacks used to play chauffeur after she got home from work every night.
She and the girls have had to learn that Mom can't always take their calls. ``Sometimes Stephanie will call and say, `Mom, can't you come home early?''' she said. Sometimes those calls come when five co-workers are in Jacks' office demanding her attention.
Jacks shrugged her shoulders. ``You have to be a good juggler,'' she said. The girls usually understand, she said, especially now that they're getting older.
She figures she took maybe two vacation days last year. She usually works a few hours on Saturday mornings, too. She's just recently begun making a point of getting out of the office for lunch.
``I really try to make a conscious effort to go out every day, even if it's just for five minutes,'' she said. She used to skip lunch, she said, but since she doesn't usually eat dinner - the girls fix themselves something to eat long before she gets home - she figured she should eat at least one meal.
``She's very rarely not around,'' Dunkin said. ``I actually wish she would take more vacation.''
But there's just too much to do, Jacks said. Even when the plant shuts down for a week in the summer and another week at Christmas, she's in the office.
``He comes up with all the ideas,'' she said. ``I just have to make sure they get done.''
You'll be busy, but not bored
Name: Debbie Jacks
Age: 41
Occupation: Executive assistant to Arthur Dunkin, secretary-treasurer of Rowe Furniture Corp. in Salem.
Duties: Answering Dunkin's phone calls and correspondence, scheduling his meetings and trips, helping him compile financial reports and benefits packages. ``If it's his responsibility, it's my responsibility.''
Qualifications: A degree in executive secretarial science from Virginia Western Community College and years of experience. But her good memory is what she relies on the most. ``If that went, I would have to find another job.''
Salary: Average salary for executive assistants in Virginia is $33,228, according to the National Association of Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants.
What her boss says about her: ``A lot of people are very dependent on her. ... She's really aware of what's going on. And you sleep better at night knowing she'll keep everything confidential.''
What she likes best about her job: The variety. She never gets bored, she said, and she gets paid to learn new things.
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. Debbie Jacks,by CNBassistant to the secretary-treasurer of Rowe Furniture in Salem,
passes the phone to her boss, Art Dunkin. Jacks is ``very rarely not
around,'' Dunkin says. ``I actually wish she would take more
vacation.'' color. 2. Rowe Furniture executive assistant Debbie
Jacks figures she took maybe two vacation days last year. She
usually works a few hours on Saturday mornings, too. She's just
recently begun making a point of getting out of the office for
lunch.