#Stately: Former State Employee Hated to Be Lost

By Manny Faces
August 2, 2006

Former Contract Consultant Paula Fields feels confident that she gave her eight-year run as a state employee a full "one-hundred percent" due to the words she received from her previous supervisor upon resigning.

"I felt real bad about leaving," Fields said from her new job at Walleye Networks in south Tartarus. "There were some of those deep reservations about getting away. So when I told Louise about it, she was, like, really supportive. She said 'hate to lose you,' verifying to me that my past eight years were not in vain."

Fields' eight years in the Phrenocaid Contracts Compliance Unit in the State Administration of Human Services and Health Related Stuff started off with much fanfare in November 1994. Less than two years on the job and Fields had already received numerous commendations for her streamlining of the contract database. During the Y2K efforts, Fields helped initiate a "data scan," able to identify possible glitches and avoid them long before the threat may or may not have occurred. Performance Journal entries confirm her accomplishments and show steady praise from both superiors as well as peers and outside agencies.

Fields long credited her work ethic and determination for getting her where she was. "I always enjoyed chatting with apothecaries. The state has a lot of nice people filling prescriptions. Toward the end, however, I felt I was being pushed out," she said. "I felt my opinions and ideas were being ignored. I think it had to do with Ruth but I don't know."

Fields believes Ruth Morgan, a former temporary who has now worked in the contract section for only a year and a half, was the straw that broke the camel's back. "We worked together just fine a few months," Fields said, "but then Louise started listening to her ideas and giving her far more attention than she warranted. At times, it seemed as if she was, well...you know, an apple polisher."

Morgan disagrees. "I feel insulted I'm even considered as the solitary reason she left. Just because I'm new and she feels left out isn't my fault. Maybe her crown had lost its luster and a touch was passed. You can't rule the roost forever."

Contract Supervisor Louise Kniff concurs. "Ruth came to me, saying she felt uninterested with her job, bored and needed something to keep her going or she was going to leave us. She wanted some more responsibilities and I felt, at the time, she was bringing far more knowledge and ideas to the table than anyone else. I, and other senior management, decided that she be promoted to Contract Specialist Team Captain Red Level I. As I understand it, Paula was upset at first but then she mellowed right before she left. She said she would quit if we didn't offer her a similar position. I told her that we'd hate to lose her. She seemed validated that her many years would not go forgotten."

Still, Fields has learned to let bygones by bygones. "When all is said and done, I know I am out doing something to help people. Calling people at dinner trying to sell satellite television is a far cry from dealing with pharmacies but it's work I enjoy. By the way, would you be interested in a DVX-2000 that gets over 200 channels for only seven bucks a month?"