Imagine interviewing for a job. It goes well and you’re offered the position. 

Now imagine it’s a week later. Your boss, who you wowed during the panel interview just days before, tells you she’s retiring. 

That’s where Arlita Kyles found herself 28 years ago.

“I remember that moment. I just thought, ‘How can they do that? They just hired me,’” said Kyles, who started with Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) as a purchasing clerk in 1996 and now serves as a contract specialist for Choice Partners national purchasing cooperative. “At the time, it was just the two of us, so I was left alone. Needless to say, I was nervous because here I am – a new employee – and I have to order for the whole building, and I also had to keep the purchasing cooperative going.” 

As nervous as she was, Kyles managed to find her way through those first few weeks. She did have some help – the previous employee in her position left a binder with information on job responsibilities. 

But Kyles fully embraced the challenge and never looked back. 

Nearly three decades later, Kyles is not only one of HCDE’s most tenured employees, but one of its most valuable. For that, she was named the October Employee of the Month. 

“She’s deserved it for a long time,” Assistant Director Jane Lopez said. “Knowing her and knowing how much she cares about Choice Partners, I think she felt immensely proud. When you’ve committed that much time to something, been given credit for it and been told that your ideas matter, I think it meant the world to her.” 

Kyles works with the Rebate Program, which launched in 2022 as an avenue for members of the cooperative to earn money back from what they spend on awarded Choice Partners contracts. She reconciles the usage submitted through the rebate portal and ensures vendors are reporting which school districts are using their contracts. 

In addition to the Rebate Program, Kyles handles regular invoicing for contracts through Choice Partners. 

“I love it,” Kyles said of working with the Rebate Program. “It’s something different than what I’ve been doing. When I first started here 28 years ago, I was a purchasing clerk. They hired me and they stressed customer service, so I try to continue that, whether it be our members or inside HCDE.” 

Kyles is a native Houstonian who graduated from Worthing High School. She started college but balancing her studies and work was challenging, especially as a one-person shop at times early on at HCDE. She worked long hours while also learning on the job. 

“With the amount of work that had to be done, I didn’t leave sometimes until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.,” she said. “I was working really hard because the bids that were being taken in at the time were done by hand.” 

Those bids then had to be evaluated and put into a system. Throw in deadlines Kyles had to meet – price catalogs needed to be delivered to school districts by April 1 – and her plate was full. But once again, Kyles embraced the challenge. 

“It’s just been full steam ahead,” she said. 

Outside of work, Kyles is all about family and loved ones. She takes care of her mother and has three brothers, to whom she has no problem reminding she’s the older sister. One brother even prepared his fiancé that she needed to win over Kyles to officially be part of the family. 

Her two dogs, an Anatolian shepherd and Russell terrier mix, are her world.  

She loves to read and will routinely find a quiet place at NPO to enjoy her lunch and a good book. Kyles loves suspense and horror – her favorite book is It by Stephen King and coincidentally, the movie is her favorite too. 

“I like being scared and those storylines,” Kyles said. “I don’t like those cheesy ones. I like the ones that make you think and try to figure out who it is. The original It has me scared. I couldn’t sleep.” 

Kyles builds relationships with vendors through time and top-notch customer service, which shows her value as these connections are predominately over the phone and through email. She may meet face- to- face at a vendor show or appreciation luncheon. 

Both Lopez and Client Service Manager Christina Niño, who nominated Kyles for Employee of the Month, first met her from their time working on the vendor side. 

“I was with one of top vendors and Arlita was my contact for several years,” Lopez said. “She always showed care for what she does, and she would always work really well with me on figuring out what the problem was.” 

Said Niño: “Every email was just very reassuring. She helped me follow through the procedures and know what steps I needed to take to make sure we were in compliance. We worked together over email for the better part of six years and so we had a relationship prior to my arrival here at Choice Partners – even though she didn’t know it.” 

Kyles has that same nurturing effect with others on the Choice Partners team, who will look to her regardless of position or title. Team members understand she’s a wealth of knowledge. 

“She helped train me when I came on as far as our customers and what things to know and learn,” Choice Partners Senior Director Jeff Drury said. “She may not know it, but she’s helped me learn a lot of things about how we operate.” 

It’s routine for Kyles to step in when needed or when she’s sees a need. She’s seen Choice Partners grow and procedures evolve. From the old supply catalogue, which is now extinct, to Choice Partners growing into a national purchasing cooperative. 

Even during the bi-weekly staff meetings, Kyles gets her time. The open forum portion is really for anyone to ask questions, but leadership knows who always has one ready to go. 

“If she doesn’t ask first, we ask her,” Drury said. “We give her that special invitation because she usually has something on her mind and it’s usually something that someone else was thinking of anyway and wanted the answer to.” 

Kyles has earned it. 

For nearly 30 years, she’s supported HCDE and Choice Partners, and their missions to serve. She’s built those relationships, so it’s normal to see the fruits of her labor. 

“Arlita is Choice Partners royalty,” Niño said. “There are people from all over HCDE that will drop in to this building to see maybe somebody else here, but they’ll make it a priority to come by and see her. They’ll ask where her office is and stop by. She’s just a celebrity and a ray of sunshine.” 

Said Kyles: “I’ve tried to make a difference. I’ve tried to keep it going. I love it here and I love what I do here.”