OfficeTeam, a staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals, has named Nancy Brown, administration team leader and executive assistant for Manulife Financial’s Canadian Individual Insurance area in Kitchener, Ont., as the winner of the 2006 OfficeTeam Administrative Excellence Award.

The award is presented annually to an administrative professional who demonstrates continued commitment to leadership, education and operational efficiency, and who makes meaningful contributions to his or her employer. Co-sponsors of the award include the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), Targeted Learning Corporation (TLC), Working Mother magazine and Microsoft Learning.

“The OfficeTeam Administrative Excellence Award recognizes the invaluable contributions administrative professionals make to their organizations each day,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. “OfficeTeam congratulates Nancy Brown for her outstanding accomplishments and commitment to the profession.”

Brown will be honoured today, Administrative Professionals Day, during the 2006 Annual Briefing for Administrative Professionals, a live, interactive distance learning event for support staff, held in Salt Lake City.

Brown’s manager at Manulife nominated her for the award at www.officeteamaward.com. More information about the nomination process and judging criteria can be found at the Web site.

Widely regarded as a role model within her organization, Brown not only supports one of Manulife’s vice-presidents and three assistant vice- presidents, but she also serves in a team-leadership role supervising two other administrative assistants.

Among her many achievements, Brown created proposals for senior management recommending a new vendor and additional training resources that ultimately saved her department money. She also developed a network of administrative assistants in her business unit to share information and resources at peak workload times. In addition to the contributions she makes on the job, Brown serves as treasurer of the Grand River chapter of IAAP.