Two Who Show the Way - Society for Human Resource Management honors human resource mangers Marilyn L. Weixel and George C. Sinnott

HR Magazine, Sept, 2000 by Bill Leonard

Weixel's passion for her job and her profession also has translated into a real passion for volunteering and working with HR-oriented organizations--particularly SHRM and its local chapter, the Santa Barbara Human Resource Association. Weixel has been on the chapter's board of directors since 1986 and twice been chapter president-in 1988 and 1998.

Since 1986, Weixel also has attended every SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition--a professional development opportunity that she regarded as so important that she negotiated it into her employment deal with AGIA.

"I got them to agree to let me go every year to the conference, because it is very important to me," says Weixel, who has been a presenter at several SHRM conferences.

If you ask Weixel about her philosophy on HR management and why she has been so successful through the years, she says it's all about treating people right.

"To hire the best people and keep them on the job, you have to treat them well," she says. "Businesses that do right by their people will ultimately succeed. It's really all about doing the right thing and, in today's work environment, you really can't afford not to do that."

Meet an HR Public Servant

Large Organization

George C. Sinnott, SPHR

Commissioner

New York State Department of Civil Service, Albany, N.Y.

George Sinnott doesn't have fond memories of his first trip to Las Vegas nearly 30 years ago. After being discharged from the U.S. Navy, he decided to drive from Oregon to his family's home on Long Island, N.Y. By the time his roundabout route hit Las Vegas, he was broke and had to pawn his television set for gas money.

Last June, Sinnott returned to Las Vegas, but this time he was on top of the world after being named a recipient of the SHRM Award for Professional Excellence.

"It was a completely different experience than 30 years ago," Sinnott says. "I thoroughly enjoyed my visit this time."

In receiving the Award for Professional Excellence, Sinnott joins an elite group of HR professionals. But winning the award became doubly sweet for Sinnott when he learned that he was the first recipient from the public sector. It's an honor that Sinnott doesn't take lightly.

"When I found that out, I was really touched," Sinnott said. "It's great to be recognized by your peers and professional association, but to be the first from the public sector just puts icing on the cake."

To call Sinnott's career path in HR management "unconventional" would be a tremendous understatement. Sinnott dropped out of college in the late 1960s and went to work on the New York City docks. He signed up to work on a Norwegian freighter and promptly jumped ship when the freighter arrived in Europe. Sinnott traveled around Europe for nearly a year and, when he finally returned home to Long Island, a letter from Uncle Sam greeted him.

"It was an invitation to join the armed services, so I chose the Navy," Sinnott recalls.

He took a medical training course, became a Navy corpsman and was assigned to the Marine Corps. Sinnott doesn't talk much about his tour of duty in Vietnam, only to say he was with the Marines during the siege of Khe Sanh--which involved some of the most intense and savage fighting of the Vietnam War.