The Founders’ Award is presented to a NAPO member, or a group of NAPO members acting in concert, for outstanding innovation, inspiration, and creativity both within, and outside of, the field of professional organizing and productivity consulting. The vote of NAPO professional members determines the winner of this prestigious award.

The NAPO Founder’s Award is evidence that your peers admire and respect your professionalism and achievements and are proud to say that you are a member of our association. What an honor!

We wanted to know what winning the 2019 Award meant to the 2019 recipient Ellen Faye, CPO:

Q. What was it like to hear your name announced?

A. I suppose the word I would choose is thrilling. I was happy, gratified, honored … and I was thrilled!

Q. What does receiving this award mean to you?

A. To be nominated by my peers, vetted by the Awards and Recognition Committee, AND then selected by the NAPO membership for my contributions to our profession and NAPO… WOW, that is pretty mind-blowing. Of course, it is wonderfully satisfying, but it means so much because it validates that I did, in fact, make a difference.

Q. When, and what, was your first NAPO volunteer role, and what inspired you to volunteer?

A. My first volunteer role with NAPO – I can’t remember exactly – was 18 years ago. I love to volunteer, and I wanted to immerse myself in NAPO. I knew that jumping in and getting involved would help me connect quickly with my colleagues and help me figure out how things worked in NAPO-land. That was all the inspiration I needed.

There were many committee projects I did at the beginning. There are two that stand out in my mind. In 2002 or 2003, NAPO Education experimented with doing a live PO-101: Fundamentals of Organizing class. They selected Philadelphia as the first location. My chapter mate and good friend Anna Sicalides was selected as the Coordinator. I helped with registration and publicity. It was really cool – NAPO members from up and down the Northeast Corridor attended. I also remember creating a tri-fold display highlighting the chapter’s accomplishments for the year. All Chapters used to do that way back when. They’d all be displayed at conference in a hospitality room so that chapters could learn what other chapters were doing. This was long before POINT.

Q. What has been your most gratifying business and/or NAPO experience?

A. Serving as NAPO President was the best thing I have done professionally in my life. The pace in which I grew and learned, as well as the contributions I could make to lead our volunteer to make NAPO relevant and successful, was beyond anything I could have imagined. I have always felt very strongly about the value of NAPO as an organization that empowers its members to find success out of the typical (and frequently toxic) corporate environment. For me to know that my contributions could help our members find success on their own terms was a huge motivator for me. Making a difference = total fulfillment and gratification! I will add, however, that ALL of my volunteer work at NAPO (chapter volunteer, chapter board member, national committee member, national committee chair, and national board member) was always very fun and satisfying. As much as I gave, I got so much more back.

Q. What are you working on currently (business or NAPO)?

A. For NAPO, I have a couple of small committee member positions. I’m enjoying getting to do committee work. I’ve also been asked to do some leadership development training and strategic planning facilitation for a few of our chapters. Anyone who knows me knows I love that! For my business, I just delivered a pre-conference session at NAPO2019 on Team Productivity. I love that information. OK – I’ll commit right here to having a book on Team Productivity done by the end of 2020!

Q. What’s next for you?

A. Growing my productivity coaching, strategic planning facilitation, and professional speaking practice.

About the author: Pam Bowers is a member of NAPO’s Awards and Recognition Committee. She is the owner of Chaos Pros, LLC in Frisco, Texas and currently serving as BP Director on the Board of the NAPO DFW Chapter.

Do you feel inspired to become a NAPO volunteer? There are many volunteer opportunities in local NAPO Chapters and at the national level. Gain valuable insight and business experience along with the opportunity to meet inspiring leaders in our profession, like Ellen. 

Click here for the Volunteer Interest Form or go to POINT -> Volunteer -> Volunteer Interest Form. (NAPO Members only)