Hello There! Haven’t figured out the formatting for this yet, but wanted to pass on the info in the recent newsletter. So, here are the articles, without any “prettying up”. Thanks for your patience while we learn.
************************************
GREETINGS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
With the recent passing of the long time UCLA Coach, John Wooden, I heard many good things about an individual described as a gentleman, a leader, a motivator, and a builder of character. He also generated a number of positive thoughts and quotes during his amazing life. I recently heard one of those quotes that was along the lines of, “You have been successful if you have done the best you can with what you have been given.” This caught my eye in particular, as it is the same thing that my mother had said about my brother, a person with Down’s syndrome, upon his unexpected passing a number of years ago….that he had done the best he could with what he had been given.These thoughts made me ponder the many opportunities that we all, employees, participants, Board members and all, have in front of us, within and without the agency. We have done well in the past with tapping the best within and contributing that to the mission of the agency. I challenge us all to continue to do that…. To take the best of what we have been given and do our best with it. It is exciting to think of what we can make out of worms, out of overgrown grounds, of unique employment opportunities in the community; of how we can support our national Navy, protect businesses and the earth with shredding, and make grocery stores and gift shopping a delight. We have so many opportunities where we can have positive impact by applying “our best” to the opportunities and challenges in front of us. Let’s have fun doing that! The results can be nothing less than awesome!!Other quotes attributed to John Wooden that I particularly enjoyed and thought I would pass along include:“Learn as if you were to live forever, live as if you were to die tomorrow.”“Don’t give up on your dreams or your dreams will give up on you.” Thanks once again to all of you for all you do, and for willingly sharing of your talents and for giving the best you have to give. Happy Days! Jill Robinson Executive Director
AND Just For Fun, A DOG’S INTERPRETATION
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
If a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
1- When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. 2-Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. 3- Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy. 4-Take naps. Stretch before rising. 5-Run, romp, and play daily. 6-Thrive on attention and let people touch you. 7-Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. 8-On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. 9-On hot days, drink lots of water & lie under a shady tree. 10-When you’re
happy, dance around & wag your entire body. 11-Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. 12-Be loyal. 13-Never pretend to be something you’re not. 14-If what you want lies buried, dig until you
find it. 15-When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
The world might just be a better place if we all acted a little like dogs.
***********************************************
GREETINGS FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE WHEELS ARE TURNING
The ideas “flew” at the last two board meetings. How can we get more involved and offer support and encouragement to the good work Peninsula Services carries out every day? On June 23, the board will climb aboard the company van and visit our local job sites. Each program is unique and by seeing first hand just what goes on, the board can see what kind of help they can offer. Contacting local businesses with news of Peninsula Services and designing a one page brochure are other ideas in the works. We are very much looking forward to meeting and talking with you on June 23rd.
Claudia Young, Board Chairperson
*********************************************
Keep The Date of September 3rd OPEN!
It’s The Annual Employee Picnic and everyone is invited! This year it will be at Camp McKean so bring your swimsuits, your appetites and the whole family! Chris Norcross said to ask you to please start making plans now to carpool as there are only 58 parking spaces. We want to have room for all! Stay tuned for more information on this fun event coming soon!
SPOTLIGHT ON …….
Employee Surveys: Thanks to everyone for filling these surveys out. If you missed out on the chance to participate please contact Linda in the HR office. Once the results are gathered a Plan of Action will be put in place to address your concerns and comments.
Welcome to new employees: Craig Renner (Bremerton Commissary), Ben Delarosa (Bremerton Commissary), Gabe Diaz (Janitorial at Werner), Linda Karrmann (HR Tech)! Welcome all TWE and Temp employees as well!!! If you see a new face introduce yourself and make these new people feel welcome!
Staff members just returned from the Annual NISH conference held in Los Angeles this year. They always gain valuable information and make new connections while attending the various classes and events that are held. Jerry Forbus from the Grounds Crew was also able to go along, and was honored for his nomination for the national excellence award.
There are Training Opportunities available. There are only 10 spots for each training day and you must be signed up two days before the training date.
Training Schedule:
BBP/Sexual Harassment 10am-12pm July 7, 8
Incident Reporting 10am-12pm July 21, 22
It’s About Respect / Ouch 2-4pm July 21, 22
And lastly, beautiful little Adalina was born to Rachel and Brian May 4th….a little later than expected because of Daddy’s appendicitis! Mother, daughter and father are all doing fine now.
***************************
A BIG Thank You from the little Editor
Again, thank s to all of you who helped to put this issue together! I truly couldn’t do it all without you! Smiles, Andrea Johnston
***************************************************
A BUSINESS OFFICE MEMO:
RE: HAZARDOUS WASTE!
When we don’t want something, we throw it away. It goes into the garbage can, and then into the dumpster, and then to the dump, right? But the dump may not be its final resting place. Unless it’s permanently packaged in strong, waterproof containers, particles of it can get into the ground water and poison the groundwater for thousands of years. Batteries may contain lead, acid, or other toxic substances. Fluorescent lights—either the long tubes or the new compact ones that we now use for light bulbs—contain phosphorous and mercury, and the broken glass itself can be dangerous to handle. Fuel, oil, oil-based paints, and cleaning chemicals must be kept out of the “waste stream” also. What should we do with these things? Peninsula Services itself is an “e-cycle” provider: we collect old TV’s, monitors, and computers at our Green Acres site and then the state picks them up for special treatment. The county has a facility that accepts other hazardous waste. Call them at 337-5777 to find out how to use their services. For householders, it’s free. Companies have to pay a fee. Please don’t throw any hazardous items into our dumpsters. If you’re not sure about something, ask your supervisor or call me in the business office at 373-1446.
Thank you, Kevin Kilbridge, Business Manager
**************************************************
DROP BY THE GIFT GARDEN AND SEE HOW IT BLOOMS!
The Grand RE-Opening of The Gift Garden store is June 23rd, 2010 between 4:00 and 6:00 with the ribbon cutting ceremony presided over by Mayor Lent at 4:30.
The public is cordially invited to visit the upscale newly remodeled store located at 327 Pacific Ave. in the heart of downtown Bremerton. Free cookies and ice cream! Shop our exciting new inventory including locally made and environmentally friendly products, and of course our signature handmade rugs and unique custom gift baskets. Plus the All Shred mobile shredding truck will be on hand so shoppers can see the state-of-the-art truck in action! Each person can bring in one box of documents (banker box size) to shred for FREE!
****************************************
Call ALL SHRED for all your home and business shredding. Our new state-of-the-art mobile shredding truck has arrived and is busy at work , collecting and shredding even the biggest jobs. Wrap around graphics are being designed and will soon be on the truck. We also have local drop-off spots for your smaller jobs.
(360) 731-6695
**********************************
AND FROM THE FOLKS UP AT THE WHIDBEY SERVMART STORE: On May 5 , Karen Johnston and David Jefferson of Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind visited Whidbey SERVMART. They were impressed by all facets of our operation. So we returned the favor. We split Whidbey team into two and on May 21, Anna, Shelby and Vic toured their facilities; while the team of Aaron, Bernie and Henry did the same on June 2. We saw their Computer Numerical Control machine operated by Harry who is blind; we visited their Computer Training Program and witnessed accessibility tools such as refreshable Braille keyboard and screen reader software that reads text (JAWS); the Contact Center that is fully ran by blind folks who take customer calls, do outreach on the phone, and use all Microsoft tools, including Chat by the aid of JAWS and Braille keyboard. We also met Malissa in their GSA canteen production center. We extremely impressed with everything we saw.Since we were already in the Seattle we made side trip to S.P. Richards, one of our biggest vendors. We met the ladies of customer services and special order sections who we contact on a regular basis. We were given a tour of their huge warehouse and showed us how they are able to make next day deliveries to our stores. We were also impressed with their operation. They were also excited to meet us . SERVMARTS Arsenal and Whidbey are two of their best customers.It was a day we will never forget.”The End,Vic
Servmart Arsenal Goes “Greener”
On June 1st, Servmart Arsenal participated in Puget Sound Energy’s Small
Business Lighting Rebate Program in conjunction with Green Energy Management of Tacoma. The contractor replaced all the old light fixtures with T8 lamps and electronic ballasts and all regular light bulbs with compact fluorescents designated as “high performance” or “reduced wattage” by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency. This energy conservation measure was done throughout the entire building with the approval of Seattle Realty FREE of charge and should prove to have considerable savings in energy costs and consumption in the future. The building is much brighter now so you may need sunglasses next time you stop by. For more information or to see if your building qualifies for this rebate program, visit pse.com
Rick Roque, Manager-Bremerton Servmart
*********************************************
News from the Worm Farm: The City of Bremerton’s Blueberry Park is one of our first trials of compost tea. The second application will be applied in the next two weeks. If you haven’t been to the worm farm lately, be sure to visit. E-Z Earth workers have created a garden next to the facility to show the benefits of worm castings. The garden is wonderful! Kitsap County wants to partner with Kitsap E-Z Earth to promote using compost/castings through a county-wide educational outreach program. Hearing about our compost tea trials with the City of Bremerton, the county is interested in the results and will be ready to introduce compost tea to county grounds. Our first spring “cut” of castings will happen probably next week. Our organic OMRI certification has been renewed.We have a huge opportunity to employ/train clients to apply compost tea to the City’s flower baskets. Logistics need to be figured out as well as clients for this pilot project. The vision here is to prove the model then approach all cities for a contract to water their flowering baskets with compost tea which would open up opportunities for additional employment for our clients as well as a new revenue stream for Kitsap E-Z Earth.Diana Pheasant, Grounds Project Manager has embraced this opportunity at Jackson Park to prove the model of compost tea. This opens potential to transition Kitsap E-Z Earth worm castings and compost tea to be use in our ground maintenance on the bases which would be a new revenue source for Kitsap E-Z Earth. check us out at www.kitsapezearth.com!
QUICK COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSARY!
Here at “The Bangor” we are just plugging along, busy, and ready for The IG inspection, should they Ever arrive! IG stands for Inspector General.Members representing his office will be coming to inspect all aspects of store operations. This has more to do with Deca store Personnel than us, but we must ensure we are stocking correctly and maintaining proper rotation of products to ensure customers are getting fresh products. This and the cleanliness of the store are a couple of things they will be inspecting. We’ll let you know how we do! We would like to wish Elisha Garcia the very best in her future endeavors in California. We want to thank the entire crew here for their continued hard work. We Would like to recognize Matt Vale. He has come a long way from when he first started, always available for any work assignment and has a “eye” for detail. We would also like to wish everyone at Peninsula Services a safe and wonderful summer. Greg Horton, Bangor Supervisor
**********************
OUR CORE VALUES
1. People are the greatest asset in achieving the mission of Peninsula Services and stakeholder input is encouraged;
2. All persons have the ability to grow and to excel;
3. All persons……….. participants, customers, employees, and advocates are deserving of dignity and respect;
4. The pursuit of excellence in all services provided is of utmost importance;
5. Innovation, creativity and the desire to excel is greatly valued.
************************************************
Thanks to everyone who participated in the United Way Campaign by donations and payroll deductions. One Dollar taken out of your paycheck won’t even be noticed to you, but it will make a BIG difference to someone else! The United Way helps fund Peninsula Services and many other agencies that help Kitsap County families, especially during times like these. Live United!
********************************
We are all so grateful to have such a wonderful group of people on the Peninsula Services Board Of Directors. They are devoted to the agency, promoting the mission at every chance they get. Thanks for all you do! We are looking forward to them coming out to the sites more often….and if they ask what you need to do your job more efficiently or have a better work experience, they aren’t kidding. They really DO want to know what they can do for you!
CLAUDIA YOUNG - CHAIRPERSON
PEGGY HOWLAND
PHYLLIS MERHAUT-SECRETARY
HELENE NORMAN-TREASURER
CHRIS PETIG-OUR NEWEST MEMBER
PENNY PINCKNEY
PERRY ANN PORTER-BROWN
STEVE PYLE - VICE-CHAIRPERSON
TOM TAYLOR
***************************************
OUR MISSION: To provide employment opportunities and work training to adults with disabilities. We are proud to be accredited by CARF and a United Way agency. Peninsula Services is EEO/ADA compliant. RESPECT • DIGNITY • RESULTS