Do you ever stop on reflect what great people we have the honor of working with?
This week I had the chance to make it out to Walnut Grove and meet with Juana and Marta who run the Walnut Grove site. Housed in a 100 year old building the two of them are working together to help children and support the parents. Juana spoke with great pride about how dependable and Marta is. She stated that Marta is always someone that can be counted on to be on time and present to help. It is also encouraging how they are looking at the whole family by providing parents nights out and assisting with DMV forms. Thank you Juana and Marta!
After Walnut Grove I had the chance to meet the staff at Grizzly Hollow and to sit down and talk with the Site Supervisor Marlo. Marlo praised her team ” we operate like a well oiled machine.” She spoke about how great it was that different personalities complimented each other and how they all combined bring out the best in each other. Way to go Marla, Elena, Angelica, Isela, and the SCOE staff (Amanda, Debbie, and Ella)!
Today I was able to attend the official charter presentation for our SETA Toastmasters’ club. The Governor of District 39 presented the banner and spoke about what a remarkable group the SETA Toastmasters are. This club originally met in September 2014 and has grown steadily. Ellen Fransz (Training and Staff Development Officer) is very proud of how much professional growth she has witnessed in each individual member. According to Ellen ” We have staff agency wide attending (Workforce, Administration, IT, Head Start) and the club is open to all staff with their supervisor’s approval.” We are really proud of all the staff that are choosing to invest in their own development. Keep it up: Keni, Staci, Heather, Wanda, Melanie, Shondell, Katie, Cam, Alex, Ellen, Lorna, Lisa, Mollie, Bob, Megan and everyone else that is part of this great club!
Cindy Sherwood Green is retiring today after 16 years of dedicated service with SETA. I know that I have only been here a short time, but it is consistently impressive the way her staff praises (even when she isn’t there). She has clearly put a lot of care and appreciation into her team.
Jeanie Ross, as many of you know has also recently retired after 25 years at SETA. You don’t realize how much a person does or what they mean to an organization until they are riding off into the sunset. The good news is that we will have a chance to wish her well on January 29th at 11:45. Be on the look out for an email with more information. Any issues you would have normally brought to Jeanie please direct to Bonnie Bilger (acting Human Resources Manager). I have every confidence in Bonnie’s abilities.
Last week we sent out a link to complete a survey. We are still looking at the responses and trying to determine next steps based on the data. But one thing that jumps out is that over 90% of the staff value and appreciate the core values of SETA. Honestly it shows. The interactions in the field have shown me very clearly that we are about taking care of those who are in need of help and support.
So once again I encourage everyone to stop and reflect upon what an honor it is to work with such talented and dedicated people, who have chosen to make a career out of putting other people first.
Respectfully,
John Allen
HR Department Chief
SETA Personnel Department
