State Department Stamps County Passport 'Excellent'

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The top passport official in the United States presented San Diego County with a leadership award last week during an afternoon visit and tour of the County’s passport services.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Passport Services Brenda Sprague was in San Diego to visit the San Diego Passport Agency, one of the State Department’s 29 own passport facilities. But Sprague also asked to visit the County’s passport services at the County Administration Center, where she presented it with the award.

Sprague said the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs — which oversees the U.S. passport system — is always concerned that passport services are safe and that American citizens are getting great customer service when they travel.

“So today it is a pleasure to be somewhere where they are doing extraordinary (work),” Sprague said to an intimate gathering in the Board of Supervisors’ offices. “And we want to give you a leadership award. This is something we take very seriously in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.”

County Clerk Thomas Pastuszka returned the favor, presenting Sprague and members of the San Diego Passport Agency with a proclamation from the Board of Supervisors honoring her visit and declaring Tuesday “San Diego Passport Agency Day,” to thank the agency for its help.

The Passport Agency prints the passports for the applications the County processes. It also works with the County and its staff to make sure they can detect and prevent possible passport application fraud.

Pastuszka said the County Board of Supervisors authorized the Clerk’s office to become a passport application center in 1999, and that since then, working with the San Diego Passport Agency, the County has processed more than 100,000 applications.

The State Department has needed help to accept passport applications because the number of Americans seeking passports has increased dramatically in 25 years. According to the New York Times, just 7 million Americans had passports in 1989. In a U.S. Postal Commission hearing last year, Sprague said 113 million Americans have passports, that the State Department issues roughly 13 million passports each year and that they expect that number to increase to 16 million a year by 2017.

Pastuszka praised County staff during the presentation Tuesday, saying they’ve worked hard to help the State Department meet its goal of providing excellent customer service to travelers.

“As you know,” Pastuszka said, “the only way it happens is because they (county staff) are dedicated folks who greet people with a smile and do exceptional work.” 

Free Wellness Classes Boost Health Awareness

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Sneezing, sniffling, itchy eyes, runny nose: these symptoms affect us all when our allergies are acting up; but a free class recently helped County employees learn more about their allergies and how to manage them.

The County’s Employee Wellness Program puts together monthly “Lunch and Learn” programs that focus on one ailment or disease and management for it. February’s program was all about allergies.

“This is really good information,” Wellness Coordinator William Erese said. “It’s everyday stuff we all go through.”

County employees can sign up for the free events, hosted by Anthem Blue Cross or Kaiser, by signing into Learning Management System and searching for “Lunch and Learn.” Erese said there is no deadline to register and walk-ins are welcome.

According to the wellness coordinator, the class topics — and locations — vary from month to month, depending on interest and needs. Due to high interest in asthma and allergies, both January and February’s Lunch and Learn focused on just that: different kinds of allergens, a chemical breakdown of what happens during an allergy attack, how you can be tested for allergies, symptoms to look out for and types of treatment.

“I have asthma, so I wanted to come,” said HHSA employee Laura Diaz. “I learned new things and where I can find more information on my asthma.”

Attendees had various concerns, including eczema and cat allergies, all of which were discussed at the hour-long class.

“It’s nice to learn the process of how your body reacts to things,” said HHSA employee Nereyda Orlanschi.

The class was held at HHSA’s  Rosecrans facility, hosted by Anthem Blue Cross and taught by Dana Mann, M.P.H., M.C.H.E.S .

“Dana takes a complex issue and really simplifies it,” Erese said. “She makes you think about a lot of things you’d normally never think about.”

At the end of each class, a raffle is held with various wellness prizes, like a vegetable steamer or heavy-duty gym bag. Resources are also handed out for each attendee on the topic of the day.

Interested in learning as you lunch? The next class, which will cover bone health for women, will be held at noon on March 19 at the Housing and Community Development Building’s Career Center, located at 3989 Ruffin Road, 92123. Make sure to register at LMS and bring your own lunch.

Employee Finds Crafty Way to Help Seniors

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When it comes to San Diego County seniors, Cathy Cardoza is always there for them.

On holidays, the County’s More on the Menu (MOM) program always provides an added touch with the hot, nutritious meals it delivers to homebound seniors. It’s usually a placemat handmade by local school children and a fresh flower. 

The plan for Valentine’s Day this year had a glitch though. Through a mix-up, the school making the placemats didn’t create enough.

“They were short about 100 placemats,” said Cardoza. “We didn’t want anyone in the program to not receive a placemat.”

So Cardoza, an HHSA Aging & Independence Services administrative analyst that works with MOM, jumped into action.

She spent more than a dozen hours of her own time – with help from her mother - cutting, drawing and gluing to make up the placemat deficit.

“We both just went at it and did what we could and got them all done,” she said. “My mom was excited about and said, ‘let me know what you need.’”

For more about the MOM program, see CountyNewsCenter.com.

 

Pitching in for Love

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Employees to Help Meet Overflowing Demand for V-Day Weddings

Nadia Moshirian, a legislative policy advisor, conducted one of her first wedding ceremonies at the County Administation Center last week. Moshirian normally works in the Office of Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs but will volunteer for the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk's office on Valentine's Day to keep up with heavy demand for marriage licenses and wedding ceremonies.

Brides in white dresses, clutching bouquets. Excited families and friends gathered nearby. Limousines idling out front.

It’s hard to miss these sights when you work at the County Administration Center, where thousands of couples come to wed each year.

Working next door to the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s marriage room, County employees Nadia Moshirian and Caroline Smith often hear bursts of applause. The legislative policy advisors in the Office of Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs sometimes poke their heads in the marriage room to see what’s going on.

Moshirian and Smith are among the more than 20 employees who will leave their regular jobs behind on Friday—Valentine’s Day—and don black robes to help meet the heavy demand expected for ARCC’s wedding services. Moshirian and Smith are specially trained to be able to marry couples on this famously amorous day.

Part of what drew them to the duty, they say, is the jubilant atmosphere in the marriage room, especially on Valentine’s Day.

“Everyone is in love, and there’s a happy mood throughout the day,” Moshirian said. “That’s when the real romantics show up.”

Turnout is expected to be huge at the four ARCC locations that offer marriage licenses and ceremonies: San Marcos, El Cajon, Chula Vista and downtown San Diego. As of Tuesday, all but three pre-reserved time slots for a license or ceremonies were booked, said Jennifer Pechan, ARCC’s Assistant Division Chief for Marriages. But couples can come into the CAC on a walk-in basis anytime Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pechan said her office can’t predict how many eager couples they may see that day. Having ample resources is key.

“We’re always over prepared,” she said. “Having the folks from outside (our department) is always a blessing, so if we have one of those unbelievable days, it really makes a difference. Even if they’re only able to give us a couple hours it’s really helpful.”

In addition to acting as commissioners and marrying couples Friday, other volunteers from both inside and outside the ARCC’s office will perform other duties, including acting as witnesses, processing license applications, escorting couples and guests to ceremonies and taking photographs.

After agreeing to volunteer, Moshirian and Smith first received a copy of the ceremony script. They immediately began reading through it and practicing, using co-workers and each other as stand-in couples. At home, they practiced in front of friends, family and even their dogs. Smith said her chocolate Labs had short attention spans.

Moshirian and Smith then observed full-time ARCC wedding commissioners performing ceremonies, watching their different styles and learning logistical details, such as at what point couples should pivot to face each other and when to hand them the rings. The duo was ecstatic to put their new skills to the test last week as they officiated their first few real weddings. They performed like such pros that one would never know they were rookies, gushing afterwards about the experience.  

What’s special is “just to be part of people’s happiness (in this way), and seeing how happy people are,” Smith said.

So how did this all come together? Weeks ago, Smith and Moshirian were standing in line at the CAC’s first floor coffee cart next to Pechan. They started talking and half-jokingly offered to help out with weddings if the ARCC ever needed it. Lo and behold, their chance came week before last when their boss, Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director Geoff Patnoe, received an email from Pechan seeking volunteers for Valentine’s Day. Patnoe was very supportive so the two got in touch with Pechan.

Smith said she loves how different officiating weddings is from her day-to-day job. As a legislative policy advisor, she spends most of her time working with County departments, and tracking policy and politics in Sacramento and Washington, DC. They don’t often work with the public.

Not only are they working with the public in this role, but they are presiding over a couple’s most intimate of moments. They feel a responsibility to not only get it right, but to make sure the couples don’t feel like a number.

As Moshirian officiated her second wedding ever last week, she read each word carefully and made eye contact with both the bride and groom.

They may be complete strangers, but “you look at their expressions and you get in the moment with them,” she said. “You feel that emotion that they’re feeling.”

For more information on the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk and its wedding services, visit the department’s website.

Caroline Smith, also a legislative policy advisor in the Office of Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs, officiated a wedding ceremony last week to prepare for what is expected to be a huge day for the ARCC Friday.

Take a Minute for Your Heart on Valentine’s Day

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Show some love for your heart on Valentine’s Day. Get your blood pressure checked! The County is offering free blood pressure screenings at more than 200 locations around the region, including nine County offices that will primarily serve employees on Friday, Feb. 14, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Getting your heart checked is important to your health, and it’s also one of the County’s audacious goals: to draw 20,000 people to the screenings, as CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer described in her most recent InTouch column. For a list of locations, visit the Love Your Heart website. Let your family and friends know!

The Deal on the Seal

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It adorns our buildings, letterheads and even the top of this webpage, but do you know the history behind the County seal?

Paul Yale, who works in the Health and Human Services Agency, recently asked about the seal. He writes:

“I am a proud county employee and was recently looking at our famous County logo one day. Then it dawned on me that I don’t really know a lot about it. Who created it? When was it created? What do the various items mean? I have asked many of my fellow county employees and no one seems to know. I was just curious at first, but now this looks like it could be a topic that all county employees can appreciate and may want to know as well.”

We couldn’t agree more, Paul. Let’s find out what each part means and breakdown the County seal, which was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 1937 (replacing the 1933 version) and designed by CAC architect Samuel Hamill.

All information about the County Seal can be found online in the interactive history book on the San Diego County Administration Center Bridging the Centuries: The Jewel on the Bay.

Central Element: Double-headed Axe and Dolphins

The main element in the seal is shown as a double-headed axe rising from a bundle of sticks, which was used in ancient Rome as a symbol of authority.

Behind the double-headed axe, stars and stripes, representing the American flag, sit proudly.

At the base of the axe sits horns of plenty, which represent the fruits of the land. On the left horn, a stylized dolphin is incorporated into the design, representing fruits of the sea.

Left Element: Air and Sea

A clipper ship, seen riding the waves, is a nod to San Diego’s naval and trade history. And that airplane you see flying high? It represents looking into the future, while also recalling the area's aviation history, including Charles A. Lindbergh’s take-off from San Diego in 1927 as he flew to New York to begin the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight.

Point Loma Lighthouse can be seen on the cliffs behind the ship.

Right Element: Land and Sky

One of San Diego’s most famous landmarks, Palomar Observatory sits proudly on the County seal, representing a world-renowned achievement in science, as well as San Diego’s position on the threshold of scientific history.

On the seal, the observatory is overlooking an orange grove, which represents the rich agricultural industry found in the County.

County Motto: “The Noblest Motive is the Public Good”

Our County motto comes from the wise words of Roman poet Virgil and was chosen by the Building Committee of the Civic Center in 1933.

MDCCCLI

This Roman numeral represents the year 1851, when San Diego County was admitted to the state of California.

Momentum Building for New Asian Pacific Islander Group

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It’s an idea more than three years in the making.

After much behind-the-scenes work, a group of employees is getting close to launching the County’s newest Employee Resource Group: the Asian Pacific Alliance of County Employees (APACE).

So far, they’ve got a core group of leaders. They’ve got the support of top County officials. And they’ve built an InSite page, website and a Facebook page.

Now, organizers are seeking input from you, their colleagues. They want to know how many of you may be interested in joining or even serving in a leadership position? Which kinds of activities are you interested in going to?

Organizers said APACE is asking employees to participate in this brief survey by Feb. 14.

“We’re trying to gauge interest in the group, and what employees are interested in” so that APACE’s leadership can plan effectively, said APACE Interim Secretary Mary Grace Sadile.

So far, in addition to a “core committee” of 20 employees, another 60 employees have expressed interest in joining.  

APACE Interim President Thai Sukrachan said organizers hope to expand that list in the coming months, leading up to a planned kickoff event in May, which is Asian Pacific American Heritage month. It’s still a ways away, but Sukrachan and Sadile said the event will offer multicultural food and costumes. Official elections and a meet-and-greet event are expected to take place next month. They are also starting to pursue non-profit corporation status.

“The momentum is continuing to build,” Sukrachan said. “It’s definitely a journey we’re on.”

The idea for the group first came about three years ago. That’s when Jose Mallari, a Filipino-American and an Administrative Analyst II in the Department of Public Works, first thought how great it would be to see a group of Asian Pacific Islanders, alongside the other employee resource groups at the County. Then, last year, he noticed the growth spurt of ERGs and decided to make the idea happen. Mallari is the group’s Interim Vice President.

The term Asian Pacific Islander describes people who come from or whose ancestors come from the Asian continent (including China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Thailand), as well as Hawaii, Guam, Samoa and other Pacific Islands.

To participate in the survey, visit APACE’s survey website and for more information, visit APACE’s website or email them at APACE@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Shining a Spotlight on African-American Culture, History

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Supevisor Greg Cox presented a proclamation to (from left to right) Zenobia Howard, Toroshinia Kennedy and Debrah Champion, all of the African American Association of County Employees.The County’s new African-American employee resource group was recognized by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning, less than a year after forming.

Supervisor Greg Cox presented a proclamation to the African American Association of County Employees (AAACE) declaring February Black History Month in San Diego County. As part of the honor, he commended AAACE for its “outstanding leadership” in the short time since it formed in 2013.

“We’re delighted to have such an active and vibrant group of County employees that are focusing on encouraging employees in San Diego County to get training programs and to progress into leadership positions in the County,” Cox said. “It’s nice to have such strong representation of African-American employees in the County.”

A few AAACE leaders accepted the honor, including Interim President Zenobia Howard, Secretary Debrah Champion and Vice Chair of County Initiatives Toroshinia Kennedy.

Howard said she was elated when Cox’s office first invited her to accept the honor.

“I was just excited and honored all together,” she said.

Howard said the 121-member organization is thrilled to have such strong support from the Board of Supervisors and other top County officials.

Howard encouraged County employees to learn more about African-American culture and history this month by attending one of a few events planned in the coming weeks. This Saturday, Feb. 8, the San Diego County Library, AAACE and other sponsors will put on a Black History Month celebration at the Spring Valley Library from 1-4 p.m. The event is free. AAACE is also planning a Black History celebration Thursday, Feb. 13 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the County Operations Center’s plaza area. The events are open to everyone.

Employees can also visit such websites as the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC or the California African American Museum in Los Angeles.

AAACE also suggested the following books about African-American history and culture:

•    “Mirror to America, The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin”
•    “My Bondage and My Freedom,” by Federick Douglass and John David Smith
•    “The Souls of Black Folk,” by W.E.B. Du Bois
•     “The Mis-Education of the Negro” and “The Education of the Negro,” both by Carter G. Woodson
•    “Up from Slavery: An Autobiography” by Booker T. Washington
•    “Army Life in a Black Regiment,” by Thomas Wentworth Higgison.