Early Bird Deadline Nears for Live Well 5K

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Participants in last year's Live Well 5KReady to join thousands of your fellow County employees and other San Diego residents in a fun, family-friendly event that raises money for a good cause?

After warming up with March of Dimes March for Babies and the NAMI Walk, you can lace up your shoes again and tackle the Live Well San Diego 5K on Saturday, May 30 at Naval Training Center, Liberty Station.

Registration is open for the event, but you should register now. Early bird prices expire on Thursday, April 30. Registration is $27 for adults ($30 after 4/30) and $20 for children 4-12 years old ($25 after 4/30). All proceeds from the event go to the County’s Polinsky Children’s Center Trust Fund that benefits children in foster care.

Even if you can’t make the event, you can still make a contribution by becoming a “virtual runner” for $25. You will receive a commemorative Live Well 5K t-shirt and runners bib.

County employees can register as a team. Designate someone as your team captain and have them register first. They can set up your team as part of their registration. The other team members can then select that team name when they register.

Runners and spectators can enjoy music, a kid’s fun zone with games and activities, exhibitors and refreshments at the end of the race.

Volunteers are also needed. There are a variety of opportunities from registering participants to manning a water station to monitoring the course for safety issues. Volunteers will receive an official Live Well San Diego 5K event t-shirt and refreshments at the Fun Zone after the race.

Perk Up Your Weekends with Employee Discounts

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Making plans for the weekend? Maybe you have a movie date with your significant other or a surprise trip to Disneyland scheduled for your kids. Don’t forget you can save with PerkSpot!

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts to County employees on everything from movie tickets to Zumba classes at hundreds of retailers. You can even find a deal on engagement rings and travel!

The top five most popular deals for County employees are savings on Sprint bills, price cuts on tickets to sporting events and concerts, markdowns on Canon cameras, and discounts on jewelry and movie tickets.

Some deals close to home include reduced entry fees to the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld and Legoland.

The best part is that this resource is free to all employees. Simply go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and click on the “New Members” heading to complete the easy registration process. You may register using your County email address or your personal email address, and you are able to login from any computer.

Already a frequent user of PerkSpot? Tell us about your deals in the comment section below.

Keep Marching - We’re Nearly Halfway There!

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County employees will be marching through Balboa Park this Saturday to help raise money for the March of Dimes, a non-profit focused on prenatal health, research and education. It’s all part of the County’s audacious goal for the year: raising $100,000 for the charity.

The good news? We’re almost halfway there! So far, the County has raised $43,945. We could reach our goal if every County employee donated about $6. And now, there’s even more incentive to raise money. If you’re signed up or you join a County of San Diego team and raise $50 or more online between now and May 1, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a dual membership to the San Diego Zoo (two adults or an adult and a child).

You can visit Insite’s March of Dimes page (click here if you’re from the DA, Sheriff or SDCERA) for more details on how to donate online.

Plus, there are lots of other fun ways to donate:

  • Buy a beanie for a preemie: Donate $10 and write a sweet message on a hand-knit beanie cap that will be sent to a little one.

  • Blue jeans for babies: Dress down while getting our donation number up. Pay $5 and wear blue jeans for the day (must get approval from supervisor).

  • Convenient parking: Work at the CAC and want to skip out on the trek from the lot to the building? Pay $5 to enter an opportunity drawing to win a week of underground parking.

For more information, including signing up for the April 25 March for Babies at Balboa Park, visit March of Dimes on InSite. Questions? Contact Christi Knight.

10 Employees Earn CSAC Certificates

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Ten County employees were honored Friday at the County Operations Center for devoting energy over the last 10 months to honing their policy and leadership skills. They completed 60 hours of coursework as part of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Institute for Excellence in County Government credential program.

Courses covered topics such as financial reporting and budgeting, building and maintaining a team culture, and managing crises and emergencies. While there were only 10 employees who attended the entire series, more than 100 County employees joined one or several individual courses.

Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer, CSAC Institute Dean William Chiat and course instructor Dr. Rich Callahan, an associate professor of management at the University of San Francisco, awarded the certificates during the final class: Thinking Strategically in Trying Times. The course focused on new ways to think and work through problems, concentrating on the “art of possibilities.”

Credentialed California County Senior Executive awards were given to:

  • Tiffany Anderson, Administrative Analyst, Public Safety Group

  • Ardee Apostol , Administrative Services Manager, Health & Human Services Agency

  • Jennifer Bransford-Koons, Deputy Director of Departmental Operations, Family Resource Center - North Inland

  • Patricia Cabello, Senior Departmental Human Resources Officer, Planning & Development Services

  • Linda Holt, Group Human Resources Director, Community Services Group

  • Ashish Kakkad, Technology Manager, Sheriff’s Department

  • Christi Knight, Staff Officer, Health & Human Services Agency

  • Megan Moore, Assistant Director, Agriculture, Weights & Measures

  • Geoff Patnoe, Director, Office of Strategy & Intergovernmental Affairs

  • Caroline Smith, Legislative Policy Advisor, Office of Strategy & Intergovernmental Affairs

“These courses help develop our next set of leaders,” said Geoff Patnoe, director of Office of Strategy & Intergovernmental Affairs, who helped bring the CSAC Institute to San Diego County.

It was the first time CSAC held courses outside of Sacramento. They were held monthly at the COC, and Patnoe said offering the courses here allowed more San Diego County leaders to attend. Representatives from several other Southern California counties also joined with the opportunity to attend training closer to home. CSAC is currently looking to use this regional model of bringing the classes to the people who want them.

Chiat said the 10 should be proud to join the approximately 145 county employees who have completed the credentialed program statewide. He said it shows the dedication of the participants and the County’s commitment to building an informed team.

Robbins-Meyer said the program, which has been widely popular, will be offered again in San Diego County.

Throwback Thursday: March of Dimes Edition

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We dug deep into our archives to find this March of Dimes-themed photo for Throwback Thursday. The black and white snapshot features former County Registrar Conny McCormack casting her support for the charity.

There is still time to sign up to participate in this year’s March of Babies walk or donate! The big one is coming up April 25 in Balboa Park. Sign up or simply donate. Learn more.

Introducing the Live Well San Diego Champions

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A parks project planner, a probation officer, a human resources analyst, a probation officer and a public health nurse – what’s the common thread?

While all are County employees, they are also champions for Live Well San Diego, the County vision for a healthy, safe and thriving region.

Today we are launching the first in a series of 10 monthly videos that show how the work County employees do each day supports different aspects of Live Well San Diego. The segments feature 18 employees across the County. Leading off the series is Andy Hamilton of the Air Pollution Control District. He explains how his job affects the Live Well progress measurement related to air quality. 

"Our employees are our best ambassadors for what we are trying to achieve through Live Well San Diego," said Helen Robbins-Meyer, County Chief Administrative Officer. "It’s important to realize that we all play an important part in turning that vision into reality."

The video series is part of a broader campaign to educate employees about Live Well San Diego. You’ll also start see posters and other promotional materials appearing at County offices.

Keep an eye out each month for the latest installment of the Live Well San Diego Champion video series. 

 The Air Pollution Control District's Andy Hamilton is the first Live Well Champion we are introducing. This poster and those of other champions will be posted at County worksites.

Why Do You Love Your Library?

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Bookworms are wiggling with excitement – it’s National Library Week! Our very own San Diego County Library is celebrating with sweet treats for checkouts, a bookmobile party and more.

Be a part of National Library Week by sending in your photo of why you love the library. Some examples include “I love my library because I get to tell stories there every week” and “I love my library because it’s my learning center.”

The system has built nine new libraries in the past nine years and offers access to 43 million books, movies, and music CDs.  Your local library system ranks eighth in the nation in terms of the number of free programs offered each year – a whopping 28,983 storytimes, crafts, concerts, book clubs and so much more.

So tell us, why do you love our library? Send in a photo with your answer or share via social media using #LoveMySDCountyLibrary.

Check out the many reasons people love the San Diego County Library.

Don’t have a library card? It’s easier to get than you think. Watch how you can get free access to seemingly endless books, movies and music.

Going the Distance

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Deputy Casey Calloway runs his segment of the race through the desert.

Cooperation, endurance and handling stress under difficult circumstances are part of the job for the County’s law enforcement departments. Those traits all came in to play for the Sheriff, Probation and District Attorney teams who ran in the strenuous 2015 Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay desert run.

The 31st annual 120-mile race was held the weekend of March 28-29, started in the town of Baker and passed through the scorching desert to Las Vegas.  Law enforcement teams from all over the world participate, including teams from Australia, Canada, and Germany. 

Probation ran in the Mixed category and the Sheriff’s and DA teams competed in the Invitational Mixed category. The Mixed category means that of the 20 runners, five have to be women and all are sworn officers. The Invitational Mixed means that two runners must be non-sworn personnel.

Three of the teams started at 4 p.m. The Sheriff team came in at 15 hours, 18 minutes, and 27 seconds; Probation finished at 15 hours, 23 minutes and 48 seconds; and the District Attorney team crossed the finish line at 16 hours, 1 minute and 18 seconds. A second District Attorney team, with many running for the first time in a race, started at 10 a.m. and came in at 20 hours, 19 minutes and 1 second.

Thirteen of the 20 team members and Undersheriff Ed Prendergast and Assistant Sheriff Mark Elvin celebrating the run afterward.The Sheriff’s team was among 52 teams in their category and placed 19th overall of 276 teams.

“It was our fastest team ever and the first time the Sheriff’s Department came in first in our division ever at Baker to Vegas,” said Sheriff team captain Denese Deal.

Probation finished 22nd overall.  

“Our department has competed in this race over 17 times and this year we once again proved that we are the fastest Probation team in the U.S./International race. We won the Mixed division category for the fourth time,” said Probation Chief Mack Jenkins, who ran as an alternate for part of a leg. “In the more than 30-year history of the race, we are the only Probation Department to ever win a category.  That’s a credit not only to the athletic talent of our runners but also of the ability of our team and support staff  to work hard and work together to make it happen.”

The San Diego County Probation Team accepting their plaque on stage for Baker to Vegas.Team captain Linda Yoakum-Latimer, who retired after the race, said, “I finished up my last year as captain of the fastest probation team in the world in the 31st annual race, on team 31, and with 31 plus years of service to the County of San Diego.”

The first District Attorney’s Office first team finished 7th in their division and placed 46th overall. The DA’s Office has competed in the race for more than 20 years.

“I am so proud of all our runners for persevering through the 100-degree heat and the various challenges we had during the race.  Our team stayed committed and focused; and we still came away with a top-10 finish in our division,” said DA team captain Roy Lai. “We started two teams last year because having multiple teams allowed different members of our office to compete and have fun without fear that they were not fast enough.”  

Farmers Market Expanding to 4 New County Locations

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A farmers market for employees is sprouting up at four new County locations! A fruit and vegetable stand is coming to Behavioral Health Services in Mission Valley, the County Administration Center (CAC), Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility and the Rosecrans Health Services Complex.

Wellness Coordinator William Erese said the farmers market pilot at the County Operations Center, which launched last year, was so successful that he wanted to bring it to other County locations.

“The farmers market proved to be a popular way to promote healthy eating, plus it is very affordable and easily accessible to our workforce,” Erese said.

The vendor will be selling deeply discounted produce, locally grown through a partnership with the County and its wellness partner Kaiser Permanente at the four new locations.

The farmers market kicks off at the CAC and Rosecrans Health Services Complex on April 16. It opens at Edgemoor and Behavioral Health Services on May 7.

Employees can pay with cash, debit or credit cards. Don’t forget to bring your own reusable bag.

Schedule (*note: locations have been updated to reflect correct dates)

First Thursday of the Month, beginning May 7

  • Behavioral Health Services Administration: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., 3255 Camino Del Rio South, San Diego (in the east parking lot).

First Thursday of the Month, beginning May 8

  • Edgemoor: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at 655 Park Center Dr., Santee (in the front courtyard). NOTE: The farmers market will kick off on Friday, May 8 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and follow on the first Thursday of each month moving forward.

Third Thursday of the Month, beginning April 16

  • Rosecrans Health Services Complex: 11 a.m. to noon at 3851 Rosecrans St., San Diego (on the Pacific Highway parking lot side).

  • CAC: 12:30 to 2 p.m. at 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego (near the east entrance).

Fourth Thursday of the Month:

  • COC: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 5520 Overland Ave., San Diego (in the plaza near the Commons).