Media advisory issued October 7, 2002, effective immediately.
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Executives Honored at IAAP Luncheon Thursday

Area supervisors will be honored at the annual Executive Appreciation Luncheon hosted by the Ardmore Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Noble Foundation Pavilion, and a former Executive of the Year will be the special speaker.

Russ Youngs was elected Oklahoma City Chapter IAAP Executive of the Year in 1998. He retired in 2002 as General Motors plant manager after more than 36 years with the company. However, he turned down the title of plant manager, choosing The Chief Servant instead.

The legacy he left GM was one of leadership. He was often heard to say, "People don’t care how much you know – until they know how much you care."

Youngs began his GM career in 1965 as a General Motors Institute student at the Fremont, Calif., assembly plant. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from GMI in 1970, and went on to serve in leadership positions at GM plants in Fremont, Kansas City, and Wilmington, Del., before coming to the Oklahoma City plant in 1993 as assistant plant manager. He was named manager in 1997. He has served on the Oklahoma City Chapter IAAP’s Executive Advisory Board and is an avid supporter of the organization.

Youngs said he believes that IAAP provides a way for administrative personnel to develop necessary skills to help others succeed. According to Sandi Blehm, Ardmore Chapter IAAP president, Youngs set the standard for other Oklahoma executives, viewing support of IAAP as an investment rather than an expense. He and his wife, Geni, live in Edmond.

Youngs will be introduced by his former administrative assistant while at GM, Linda J. Williams, who was president of the Oklahoma City IAAP chapter in 1997-1998. She has worked at GM in Oklahoma City since 1978 as executive administrative assistant to the plant manager.

Williams has been an IAAP member since 1991, and has been treasurer for the Arkansas-Oklahoma Division since 2001, her second term ending in 2003.

Luncheon tickets are $10. To purchase tickets or for meeting questions, contact Allyson Wilkins at the Noble Foundation at (580) 224-6206. All area administrative assistants interested in learning more about the local IAAP chapter are encouraged to attend and bring their executives.

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Photos:
Linda Williams
Russ Youngs

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage biotechnological, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

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