Wellness Expos Offering $4 Fair Tickets

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Come out to celebrate your health at one of 11 Wellness Expos in May. The County is hosting the interactive events for employees at some of its largest worksites.

The fairs are focused on fun, fitness and nourishing nutrition. They include healthy snack samples, a farmers market stand, fitness gyms and more.

“Come out to get inspired,” said County Wellness Coordinator William Erese. “Learn how wellness can be fun.”

In addition to all festivities, there will be an opportunity to pick up San Diego County Fair vouchers good for $4 admission. There is a limit of four vouchers per employee, while supplies last.

View the complete Wellness Expo schedule (PDF).

Our True Bottom Line

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You’re going to see something a little different when we roll out our Op Plan in a few days.

We’ll still run through all the key numbers. They’ll still show a balanced budget, even as it goes up 6 percent from last year’s to $5.4 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. As part of the presentation, we like to have a video that gives an overview of how we operate and highlights our recent accomplishments.

This year, that video will include a few clips of customers talking about services they received from the County. They’re regular San Diegans, explaining what we did for them.

We wanted to give them a place in the presentation, because in the end, they’re what it’s all about.

A few of those you’ll hear from include a family we worked with to make sure they have medical coverage. A library user. A military veteran we helped get needed services. They’re real people, sharing their stories in their own words. And their stories are our story.

The Operational Plan is full of figures, tables and charts. It takes a phenomenal amount of work to put together, and my thanks to everyone who’s been busting their tails to get it done. I know not all of you may find it quite the page-turner that I do, but I encourage you to give it a look. It is our playbook for the year ahead, and if you want to know what’s coming in your department, you’ll find it spelled out there.   

But we need to always keep in mind that every line item in there leads in some way to real lives out there in the community. Having the customers in the presentation connects how we do business with who we’re doing it for.

That connection is easier to see for those of you working directly with the public each day. You’re literally looking the customer in the eye, or hearing their voice over the phone.

Sometimes it’s less direct. The crews that maintain a County road don’t meet every person who drives on it. But every driver who has a smooth ride and gets home safely is a customer. 

That driver is also the customer of the Purchasing and Contracting staff who helped us buy asphalt and the General Services’ fleet team that takes care of the grader. I could keep going, but you see what I’m getting at. It’s a whole network of employees who have pieces of taking care of the customer.

Giving customers great service has long been part of our culture here at the County. But one of my priorities since coming to this job was to see how we could push it forward. A big part of that is just keeping the customer in mind at all times. You now see the Positive Experiences section on InSite, giving us regular reminders of how we make a difference in people’s lives. The employees deserve the recognition, and we all get an example of the real people we’re serving.

So that’s why we want to see a few of them in our Op Plan presentation as well. We’ve crunched the numbers and our books are in order. But we want to show that customers are always part of the equation. Fiscal discipline means being able to help more people, offer more services, make lives that much better. On our balance sheet, people are our true bottom line.

 

'If You're Here, It's Because You're Rock Stars'

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Being an administrative professional is no walk in the park, but on April 30, nearly 360 County admins got a well-deserved trip to Balboa Park to celebrate all the hard work they do for us.

The annual Administrative Professionals Event included opening remarks from David Estrella, general manager of Community Services Group.

"If you're here, it's because you're rock stars," he said.

Estrella emphasized that one of the most admirable traits of the hundreds of administrators in the room was patience, which is often overlooked.

CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer told the group that they all serve with heart and five very important C-words: competence, customer service, curiosity, continuous improvement and character.

"We have the number one administrative professional workforce in the nation!" she said.

After lunch, Balboa Park District Manager Michael Ruiz gave the County employees an inside look of what's to come at the landmark, which celebrates its centennial this year. Guest speaker Lee Sibler got the crowd laughing with his presentation, including many quotes about what makes admins so important, like: "Admin professionals are just like regular people, but smarter." 

"Just because your job title doesn't say 'leader' doesn't mean you can't lead in what you do," Sibler said. 

Thanks to each and every administrative professional who helps keep the County moving! 

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.