Stop #1 – Business Training and Community Education

June 14 – 15, 2010

What a delightful way to begin this tour.

I was able to attend two staff meetings, have lunch with the entire office, meet a new employee welcome to (RJ Rowland with the new IDOT grant program), and have some great discussions with the people that work in the north end of the Parkland on Mattis building.

Here is what I learned:

• BT has a nice little meeting agenda template (attached) that works very well for their weekly meetings. Actually, you have to see it in practice to fully appreciate.
• The old Live and Learn publication needs a new name. If you think of something brilliant, let Jan Simon or Triss Henderson know.
• Congratulations to the Marketing Department for your work/design of the posters informing our students and visitors that we will be closed for 8 Fridays in the summer. BT and Community Ed loved the design.
• Call volume jumped from @ 166 calls per week to 308 after the most recent BT publication hit the streets.  That is an average of 61 calls per day. Well done.
• We are adding another handicapped parking space in front of the facility.
• Twenty-Four scholarships were funded and distributed to deserving College for Kids participants. Thanks to the Foundation, Allison Smith in Community Ed, and the staff in the Grants and Contracts Office for pursuing.
• The BT/Community Ed Staff take a day once per year to do some special cleaning of their area. Baseboards are wiped down and Chairs are dusted, etc. Wow!K
• Keep your eyes open for a special week-long fundraiser at Chili’s to support College for Kids. 
• Troy Burns, Jan Simon, Triss Henderson and I toured the buildings and grounds. Special thanks to Jackie Jones in the Physical Plant for her excellent work keeping the facility in good shape.
• The Truck Driver Training (or CDL) program is a hidden gem. Four weeks of training leads to a $40k per year career and Coordinator Jason Kamp says that students are seeing 4-5 job offers just two weeks into the program.
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Here is a picture of the group. The person on the far right is Jason Kamp. He took the group picture, so this is my version of “photoshopping” him in.

Our colleagues in the BT and Community Ed do a great job serving students. It’s evident that they are busy “engaging the community in learning”. My appreciation for all you do.

Tour dates are filling up. Public Safety is scheduled. I’ll go with Von to a Chief’s meeting, spend some time in the dispatch office and shadow an officer the next day.

On June 28^th, I’ll spend a week in the Admissions Office. Maybe they will let me sit at the front desk for a while…

The week of August 2^nd, I’ll learn more about Financial Aid and maybe help out Chris and Mary at the front desk. No doubt, I’ll learn more about the wonderful world of “FASFA”.

Today was the first “Tuesday Lunch in Gulliver’s”. About a dozen of us got together and had a free-wheeling discussion about a number of topics:

• Electronic “contracts” versus the paper versions from years past
• Status of Adult Education funding
• Construction projects (roofing in particular with all this rain)
• Budget outlook
• Board Meetings – They are open to the public and any/all employees that so desire. Don’t hesitate to come if you are inclined. FYI, I will be posting a summary of the meeting in the portal as well.
• The old deck outside HR has been removed today.
• Wireless network speed is sometimes an issue.

A word of thanks to Linda Parent, Betty Zeedyk, Lori Friedman, Kevin Knott and Brian Counter for their diligent work (till midnight last night, I hear) on getting the C3 report done. A lot of work went into this report.

And a mystery. As you sit in Gulliver’s and look out to the southwest, the wood trim by the roofline has a small red and white checked “sign” on it. It looks to have been there for a while, but no one at lunch knew what it is or its purpose. Do you? A mystery…

I’ll be posting updates and information to this site regularly, as the tour progresses. In addition, I’ll post notes from our Executive Team meetings…topics we discuss, decisions that are made, and information that might be good for you to know. I hope you find it useful. 

Tom
(From the BTC/Community Ed. Conference room)

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Business Training Staff Meetings

Objective:

To conduct an efficient, effective staff meeting

Agenda:

• Weekly Calendar (Angela)
• Enrollment Numbers (Kay)—Date of Class, Title, Enrollment
• Confirmation/No-Pay contacts (Angela)
• Book Orders (Paul/Angela)
• E-mail Blasts (Paul)
• TSP News/Updates (Angela)
• Open Enrollment News/Updates (Paul)
• Contract Training News/Updates (Joe)
• HCCTP Grant News/Updates (RJ)
• Staff schedules (Kay, Angela, Paul, Joe, Triss)
• Director Items (Triss)
• New topics/discussions relating to Department

Materials Needed:

• Room Calendars, Enrollments, Staff Schedules
• Ground Rules:
• Be on time
• Forward desk phones to voicemail
• Mute cell phones
• Keep personal items separate—focus on business matters relating to the Department
• Listen for door chime to assist participants
• Check voicemail and follow-up with future participants immediately after meeting
• Kay will take notes and Angela will type them up and ensure delivery to Staff