The investment made when the university hired Norris Purdy 10 years ago is still paying dividends.
Hired as an extra-help worker in the shipping and receiving division of the U. of I.’s library system, Purdy now is a distribution clerk and serves as the division’s fill-in manager.
Purdy said he wasn’t aware of openings when he called Personnel Services, but soon found his curiosity had paid off because there happened to be a job available that matched his skills.
“I just got on and started working hard and working my way up,” he said.
He said he enjoys the duties of his job, which include receiving, sorting and delivering a variety of books and materials moving in and out of the entire university library system.
“We process and pick up materials for all of the libraries, which is a very essential service,” he said.
It’s a voluminous task as well, with the library recently celebrating the addition of its 13 millionth book.
“A lot of those things go through here, so we get to see some pretty rare things,” he said.
His job also entails ordering supplies for the campus library system and handling any other duties, or emergency, that may come up.
“We do a lot of different things and there are a lot of procedures to follow,” he said. “There definitely is a learning curve for anyone coming in new.”
For example, not only do Purdy and his co-workers have to know internal and university procedures, they also must be aware of domestic and international mailing regulations and any other special rules that may be lurking within the process.
And they must do it under pressure when the delivery volume increases.
“We get orders in throughout the day, so the work usually varies every day,” he said, “but it gets much busier near holidays and at the end of the semester. That’s OK because I like keeping busy.”
Before coming to work for the university, Purdy worked for 11 years as the assistant manager of distribution at a medical supply company. He was born in and has lived almost all of his life in Urbana, where he also attended middle and high school.
His father and mother are both retired, his mother having worked as a U. of I. building service worker for 20 years. He is the middle son of three brothers, one of whom still lives in the area.
He said a group of highly motivated co-workers makes his job easier.
“Everyone here is nice and everyone helps each other out when they need it,” he said. “It’s a really great and productive atmosphere to work in.”
That made being given one of last year’s Chancellor’s Distinguished Staff awards all the more special – considering some of those very co-workers were the ones who nominated him.
“It was a very big honor for me,” he said. “It felt good to receive the award because the people I work with nominated me for it. It really meant something special.”
The award included a trophy and a $2,000 prize. He split the prize and invested each half in two forward-thinking, but far different, directions.
“I used half of it to get a root canal and I invested the other half in the stock market,” the latter investment being one of his favorite activities outside of work.
Although he considers himself an amateur investor, he said he does his homework to ensure he’s getting the most bang for his buck.
“I’ve consulted with financial advisers and I watch a lot of investing shows on television,” he said, noting he became hooked on investing about five years ago.
He uses his own system to pick his stocks, and while he is regularly tempted to move his investments around, he said he tries hard to keep investment money in solid, blue-chip companies.
“I’ve made some money and I’ve lost some, but I’m in it for the long haul,” he said.
