THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 10, 1995 TAG: 9505090082
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AROUND TOWN
SOURCE: LINDA MCNATT
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
You won't find a help-wanted sign outside the Old Courthouse on Smithfield's Main Street. That's because Diane Howard, director of the Isle of Wight Tourism Bureau, has all the help she needs, thank you - from the standpoint of a secretary, that is.
Tom Meador, a retired supervisor from Newport News Shipbuilding, took over as Howard's secretary, visitors' center coordinator and right-hand man in March. And his boss couldn't be more pleased with his performance.
``When he tells you all of the things he does - and does very efficiently - you'll be amazed,'' Howard says.
I told her she probably leads my list of women who have secretly always wanted a male secretary.
Howard made a face at me - and Meador, who seems a little embarrassed by the attention he's getting in his new position, appeared to blush. But he was quick to tell me that he did get taken to lunch for Secretaries' Week.
``Diane doesn't mince words,'' he said. ``She walked in and said, `Hey, it's Secretaries' Week. I'm taking you to lunch.' ''
Meador, a youthful 61, sort of fell into the new position when Andrea Miller, who had been secretary at the Tourism Bureau for some time, resigned to take a full-time position with Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. She mentioned to Meador that she was leaving.
``Hmmm,'' he said.
When he retired, he said, he told his wife, a teacher at Smithfield Middle School, that he was going to be the best househusband she'd ever seen. And for several months, he was. But then, well, he just got the feeling he had to get out of the house, to get away once in a while from the dusting and washing. He began to look for a volunteer position.
Last October, Meador started working at the Tourism Bureau.
Customer service had been his thing when he worked at the shipyard, and he was surprised to find out that working in tourism can be similar. The people who come to town or who call for information about the town and the surrounding area, he pointed out, are customers. They need to be satisfied with the service they get.
``You wouldn't believe the amount of activity that goes on in this building,'' he said. ``The telephone calls. The people coming in. The requests for information. The reports and letters to be written. It's all in dealing with people. I enjoy talking with them. It's very nice.''
And it appears to be getting more hectic at the Tourism Bureau every day. Requests for information have increased by about 200 percent over 1993. People from all over the United States and from several other countries are coming to Smithfield. The local agency has the statistics to prove it. St. Luke's Church leads the way, attracting 18,000 visitors a year. But it's obviously the folks at the Tourism Bureau who keep the people coming back.
Howard said she was thinking about Meador's way with people when she approached him about the job.
Yes, he admitted, he'd thought about it. But he wanted to work only nine months a year so he could be off during the summers when his wife, Blair, was out of school.
So Howard told him it could be arranged. Lucy Tekinder, another former volunteer at the center, will take over during the summer. They call it job sharing.
And could be, when Meador comes back after summer vacation, he'll be working even more hours. Howard said she's asked in the upcoming budget for her secretary's hours to be increased from 15 to 25 hours a week.
Since he's been on the job, Meador's typing speed has increased, too. With more hours, he should be able to get even more done.
``Diane is a very demanding person, in a very undemanding way,'' he said. ``I think that says a lot for her communication skills.''
Meanwhile, Howard smiled and swore she'd never ask her new secretary to get coffee for her or to shop for husband Richard's birthday presents.
And a male secretary at the Tourism Bureau is something everybody is getting used to.
``There was a wonderful couple in just the other day,'' Meador said. ``They were from Richmond, here celebrating their 25th anniversary.''
He talked with the couple for some time, he said, and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. On the way out, the man picked up one of Howard's business cards. He paused, looked at Meador and said, ``This obviously isn't you.''
``No,'' Meador recalled replying, ``I'm her secretary.'' by CNB