Co-workers Shave Heads to Support Call Center Leader During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The leader of the Comcast call center in Fife, Teresa O’Keefe, gets ready to hug Sales Supervisor Lisa Rydman. Rydman was one of about 20 employees who had their heads shaved to show support for O’Keefe, who is receiving treatment for breast cancer.

Not everyone would lose their head of hair for a boss

But she isn’t just a boss! In fact, many refer to her as “Mom.”  Senior Director for Customer Care Teresa O’Keefe is dedicated to supporting her growing team at the Comcast Fife Call Center. The 600+ people who work there all know she’s working right though treatments for breast cancer.

In keeping with that “Mom” theme, Sales Supervisor Marcus Fenton describes the Fife team as a family. He said people didn’t think twice about showing their support. About 20 employees had their heads shaved on Oct. 3 as part of events to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lots of other people wore pink and chose other ways to show support, such as writing inspirational comments on Teresa’s glass office wall.

Comcast is marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a variey of helpful programming. Click on the pink logo to watch videos and learn more.

“Team O’Keefe Day” was part of a series of daily events celebrating Customer Service Appreciation Week within the call center. The call center’s LaTonya Hernandez and Candace Gwynn organized activities for the week. “We came up with Team O’Keefe day to honor Breast Cancer Awareness month and show our support for Teresa,” said Gwynn.

Employees wore pink clothing, ate pink goodies and surprised O’Keefe with a public display of head shaving! Fenton arranged for four supervisors to shave their heads to show solidarity with O’Keefe, and then about 15 other people lined up to meet the clippers.

“I think something like breast cancer affects everyone and shaving our heads was pretty much the least we can do. Our hair will grow back,” Fenton said. With each new pile of hair, the call center would erupt with cheers and applause.

Touched by the display of support, O’Keefe said words couldn’t express how meaningful and spiritually uplifting the day was for her.

“I wish that for those of you who have family members or friends who have been touched by Breast Cancer, that they could have been in the call center to witness this exceptional day and the overwhelming support to this cause,” O’Keefe said.

Comcast currently employs 1,300 call center employees locally in Washington. More than 600 are based in Fife. The location in Fife is a growing to a specialized customer service center where representatives are getting geared up to handle calls from customers throughout the Western side of the United States who want to order new services. You may have read about Fife when it made news that Comcast is adding jobs in Washington State.

O’Keefe says leading this growing team is what helps get her up every day. When addressing the staff, she said, “I’m humbled by your graciousness and generous spirit. You are the reason that Fife has a special mojo and heart!”

Big thanks to Comcast Marketing Manager Karie Houghton, who is based in Fife, for writing this story, and Rob. G. Scott, a customer account exec in Fife, for the great picture above.