Staff Profile- Norma Combs
By Ashley Denany, contributing writer
If you visit the Department of Military Science at ASU, you will be greeted by the warm personality of Norma Combs, the senior administrative secretary. Making guests feel welcome is something that she does quite well, but she is equally good at the other parts of her job— managing the department’s budget, making appointments, and planning events such as the Veterans Day ceremony, the 9/11 ceremony, the Spring Formal , and the Commissioning ceremony.
A Washington, Ga., native, Combs moved to Augusta in 1970 and began working at Fort Gordon as a secretary in the Military Personnel Officer Records Department. In this position, her duties involved initiating and maintaining the records of incoming 2nd Lieutenant ROTC officers who were enrolled in the Signal officer basic course.
After 10 years, Combs left the records department to accept a position in the Military Police Department as secretary to the Provost Marshall. She later moved into her final role as secretary in the office of the Director of Community Activities.
After retiring from Fort Gordon in 1997, she became the senior administrative secretary in military science at ASU. Although it has been 14 years since Combs left Ft. Gordon, she says she likes keeping her ties to the military through her current job.
“What I like most about my job is the interaction with students, faculty, and staff,” says Combs. “However, I also love being able to work with the ROTC students and maintaining my relationship with the military after all of these years.”
Not only does Combs work at ASU, but she also works weekends in the Department of Surgery Oncology at the Medical College of Georgia.
When Combs is not working, she loves traveling and spending time with her dog, Bailey. She says she also enjoys being with her two children, Krista LaRussa, 38, and Richard Todd, 36.
Name: Norma Combs
Position: Senior Administrative Secretary in Military Science
Time at ASU: 14 years
Family: Krista LaRussa, 38, and Richard Todd, 36
Little known fact: “I play the piano.”
