BILL DUSTIN

In his position as Founder of Tea Leaf Touring and Director of Events and Guest Services at Mohawk Valley Community College, Bill has proven himself as organized, thorough, energetic, communicative, proactive, and passionate in all he does to anticipate and meet the needs of the internal and external clients the Events and Guest Services Office serves. Beyond his position, he has been an active contributor at the college through numerous initiatives and committees, an advocate and leader in the administrators union, and an outstanding ambassador and representative in the community.

As chair of the Values Committee, Bill has helped to develop the values statement for the college – “I believe in you, so that you can believe in yourself.” Not only does he promote the shared values – embracing our community, modeling the way, inspiring confidence, and encouraging excellence – but Bill lives these statements through his work every day at the college.

Bill’s commitment to the community is evidenced in large part to the excellent work he has done in expanding and enhancing the programming and services of Events and Guest Services, as well as being the creator and catalyst of the explosive growth in the college’s Cultural Series event program. Another administrator wrote “In working with Bill, I find that he is always eager to please and eager to accommodate the guests that are on campus.” Further, she writes that he is “professional, courteous, helpful and hard working.” When speaking with others at the college and in the community, there is always this common theme when talking about Bill and the events he oversees. He values each person and fosters a professional and service-oriented culture in his department.

Bill’s work truly espouses modeling the way, in what he does inside and outside the college. One example of this is his participation in the nationwide “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service.” He did this as a follow-up to his completion of Leadership Mohawk Valley training. But this was not all just for his personal and professional development. As is true with Bill in many areas, he shared his knowledge with others as he practiced what he learned. He created workshops and opened them up to people within and outside the college. A former CCED Executive Director wrote that “Bill provided a half day training on some of the concepts that he had learned. He made it fun and interactive. We were all very appreciative of the work that he put into doing that for us.” This is reflective of his commitment to consistent and robust professional growth, and modeling the way for others. One of his staff members stated “His Disney way of making sure everyone knows their roles are important, leading by example, ‘guest eye views,’ comfortable relationships, etc. are consistently demonstrated and has been passed on to the whole Events and Guest Services team as well as the college.” Bill has earned the respect of his staff as well as his colleagues.

Finally, Bill’s contribution to encouraging excellence can be seen in many different ways. Not only is this apparent with his staff, but also obvious through his other involvements at the college. He has served as President of the Association of Mohawk Valley Administrators (AMVA) Union, representing his colleagues so that they can be secure to do their best work. Bill oversees the Commencement ceremonies each semester, bringing that high level of service and professionalism to the events to recognize student excellence and success. His contribution on the Values Council was shared by an Academic Dean when he wrote “Bill is collaborative, open-minded and always available to help his colleagues. He is invested in the mission of MVCC, and he works hard to exemplify MVCC’s foundational values in all that he does. I would be hard pressed to name a more congenial and optimistic person. His positive leadership of the Values Council since he has taken over as chair has reverberated throughout the membership, and he makes every meeting a truly enjoyable experience.”