Vienna Business Employees Honored With Outstanding Service Award

VIENNA, VA — Two business employees within the Town of Vienna were honored Monday with the town's first-ever Town of Vienna Outstanding Service Award.

Mayor Linda Colbert and the Town Business Liaison Committee started the award to recognize local business employees who have provided significant customer service to the Vienna community. Awards went to Ann Dunning of Mitchell Eye Institute and Nancy Nichols of Foster's Grille.

Dunning was nominated by ophthalmologist John Mitchell at the Mitchell Eye Institute. She has provided 50 years of ophthalmologic diagnostic service, serving three generations of patients.

"Ann is beloved by patients whom she has made feel secure with a continuity of care she has provided them throughout the years," Mitchell said in the nomination. "It is a regular occurrence that patients request an appointment on a day when Ann is working."

Nichols has served Foster's Grille for 20 years, starting as a cashier and now as the assistant manager. Vienna resident Tim Strike nominated Nichols, pointing to her cheerful customer service on nights when his daughters’ basketball team visit Foster’s Grille after practice for ice cream.

"Some days we stayed past closing and she told us not to hurry, to take our time, and just enjoy," Strike said in the nomination. "The girls don’t remember what the season was like, but they do remember Nancy at Foster’s."

The town said in a news release Dunning and Nichols contribute to "Vienna’s thriving economy, quality of life, and its reputation for small-town charm."