The Voice of PEI

Face to face or on the phone, Charlotte Smart puts members first.

If you’ve ever called PEI headquarters in Tulsa, odds are the first person you’ve spoken to is Administrative Assistant Charlotte Smart. For the past ten years, Smart has been the “Voice of PEI,” helping to ensure that an individual’s first exposure to PEI is a positive one. “I try hard to be focused on the person on the other end,” Smart says. “I want to make sure they don’t feel like they’re stuck in one of those automated systems.”

This 1965 Pontiac GTO takes Charlotte Smart and her husband Earl to many historic sights throughout Oklahoma.

Whether talking to a member from across the country or around the world, Smart gets a great deal of satisfaction out of helping members find answers to their questions. “As I’ve been here longer and learned more about the petroleum industry, I’ve been able to help members search for the information they’re seeking.” From helping members find resources online to helping them access their accounts on PEI’s Web site, Smart stands ready to assist members any way she can.

Her focus on member needs extends far beyond the telephone, however. Smart plays a key role in preparing for PEI’s annual convention, from helping to coordinate member volunteers to ensuring that other PEI staff members have the information they’ll need at their fingertips during the event. Part of that preparation comes in the form of PEI’s Staff Book, in which PEI employees put together a compendium of information in order to be a one-stop resource for any member questions during the convention. From meeting information to the availability of local translators, “we try to think of everything,” Smart says. Her favorite moment comes when members arrive at the convention site. “Meeting members is really a thrill for me. I work with them over the phone, and to meet them face to face is great—I can really see and feel the appreciation they have for PEI’s efforts.”

Smart also provides support to PEI Executive Vice President Bob Renkes, from making sure that the PEI Board of Directors is fully prepared for its meetings to aiding Renkes with any research needed for the monthly TulsaLetter. She uses such research opportunities as well as the weekly staff meetings to find out as much as possible about current happenings in the industry and within the association in order to continually best serve members.

The petroleum industry’s history isn’t all Smart enjoys discovering, however, as evidenced by the 1965 Pontiac GTO that she and her husband, Earl, have lovingly restored over two decades. Originally purchased in 1984 as a project for son and classic car buff Richie, over time the Smarts worked to fully restore the car to its original condition; Richie moved to California and took another of the family’s cars with him, leaving the GTO in the care of his parents. The couple now take the car on short jaunts around northeast Oklahoma, discovering historic sites throughout the area’s many small towns, particularly along Route 66. “I always take my camera and photograph the old signs and buildings.”

Smart and her husband also enjoy the sounds of history, particularly the music of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. The couple has a 1948 Wurlitzer jukebox that is kept stocked with records from what they consider to be the golden age of music. Their favorite? The Andrews Sisters’ World War II classic “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

As Smart continues to build upon her history of service to PEI and its members, it’s clear to see that the “Voice of PEI” will continue to provide assistance to members, whatever their need.

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The PEI Journal • Second Quarter 2008 • Volume 2, No. 2 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.