Carleen “Carly” Darsee, who has served as an administrative assistant for the Dare County EMS Department since October 8, 2018, has been named Dare County Employee of the Month for May 2023. The award was presented to Darsee by Dare County EMS Director, Chief Jennie Collins, during the Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting that was held at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 5, 2023.
As she began her Employee of the Month presentation, Collins explained the integral role that Darsee plays within the Dare County EMS Department and the importance of the many duties she performs on a daily basis.
“We call her ‘Carly Awesome,’ said Collins. “She’s an incredible hard worker. She was nominated by staff members for everything that she does for the employees. You talk about an iron-clad work ethic—she has one. She’s self-motivated, and she has incredible attention to detail.”
In her role as an administrative assistant for Dare County EMS, Darsee is tasked with numerous responsibilities, including developing the department’s base shift schedule for employees, reconciling employees’ TimeClock records and assisting them with leave requests, taking meeting minutes and organizing files, preparing and proofreading correspondences, editing the department’s web page, working with College of The Albemarle to schedule students’ clinical times and ride-alongs, providing assistance and support to candidates throughout the hiring process and helping new hires navigate the onboarding process, among many others.
In addition to providing support and assistance to current employees, Darsee is also instrumental in the Dare County EMS Department’s ongoing recruitment efforts.
“One of the things that you don’t find a lot of administrative folks helping out with is recruitment,” said Collins. “Carly worked with the Public Relations Department and redesigned our postcard with a QR code on it so that when we are at conferences or meetings people can just scan it and it takes them right to our website to [show] what jobs are being advertised—and that was all her doing. We have one of the best recruitment booth displays; it’s incredible.”
Collins continued, “The reason we’re here in June to do her May [Employee of the Month] recognition is because she was in Greensboro with me at the North Carolina EMS Expo, and she was in our recruitment booth and working that. She is not EMS-certified, but she knows an awful lot about the department from all the years [she’s worked for us], and she’s been able to answer questions, and it’s a tremendous resource for us.”
Collins also praised Darsee for her upbeat personality and cheerful demeanor, as well as her ability to facilitate positive interactions with members of the Dare County community who stop by Dare County EMS Station 1 in Kill Devil Hills in need of assistance.
“She’s always upbeat and positive; she’ll make the grumpiest person grin,” said Collins. “I always get lots of compliments from other departments about how joyful she is to work with and how much of a pleasure [it is].
As she concluded her presentation, Collins commented, “She may be behind the scenes, but she is vital to the success of our department, and she’s adored and well respected. So, ‘Carly Awesome,’ thank you for [being] Employee of the Month.”