January Newsletter 2010 ~ Community Catalysts of California A big THANK YOU goes out to each office for their contribution to Community Catalysts of California’s January newsletter/2009 Yearbook. The point of this month’s newsletter was to give us an opportunity to reflect on all of the memories from 2009! 2009 was a challenging year for many, but as with all challenges, it has given us the chance to grow as employees and as people. We hope you enjoy reading through all of the stories and looking through the pictures - there is nothing like good memories to give you hope for a great new year!! 2010 - Moving forward! Be on the lookout for some changes in the coming months of 2010: New performance review process• Changed Payroll Change Notice procedure • New Human Resources database (ADP HR Benefits Solution)• Revised forms• Revised Administrative Policies and Procedures• Revised Handbooks• Re-vamped recognition award process• We will be sending out memo’s and will be communicating with managers as we go along. Thank you all for your continued patience, dedication and cooperation! employee anniversaries 15 Years Denise Mansfield - SC 12 Years May Moua - FSO 10 Years Sylvia Ruiz-Ortiz - MCD 8 Years Shawn Benson - STK 7 Years Rosa Vizcaino - STK 3 Years Clarissa Thomas - PLH Frank Rodriguez - SAL 1 Year Maria Lopez - VIS Samantha Jackson - UK Maria Elena Barrios - SAL Charity Alberty - FSO Lizabeth Storer - UK Debra Martinez - STH Central Valley Fresno ~ Merced ~ Visalia fresno The Fresno office did a Secret Santa exchange of goodies, played the White Elephant game, did an M&M candy guess, enjoyed a lasagna lunch and good company, and raffled off prizes to end the holiday party with winning gifts for all! It was a great event! From left around the table: George V., DSA’s Hugo Sanchez and Charity Alberty, OM Alexandria Underwood, CM Deborah McCowan, DSA Priscilla Renfro, ES Chrissy Clement, and CM Martha Olvera. merced We have seen many changes in the past year. Consumers reached their goals including: controlling their diabetes, losing weight, learning how to cook, and clean and live independently. That brings smiles to the faces of our staff and those who work directly with our consumers. We have also seen some of our staff leave Community Catalysts of California to further their careers. We wish them all the best in their new assignments. We were all sad to see one of our programs come to an end (Social Recreation), but we are all still hanging in there and providing for our consumers. We’d like to congratulate Stephanie Hernandez in her return to Community Catalysts as Case Manager for the Merced Office. We’d also like to thank Martha Olvera (Case Manager) from the Fresno Office for coming and filling in while Stephanie Hernandez and Shelley Cook were on vacation. It’s nice to have her back in the Merced Office. The Merced Office will be having their get together for the end of the year towards the end of January. We wish Community Catalysts of California staff and consumers all the best in the coming year! Hope W. was awarded a patch for her outstanding karate. Great job Hope! Merced team presented Officer Ferrera with a young portrait of himself signed by everyone. He was surprised! Thanks Ferrera for a great year and for educating us on driving safely and the new laws. Keep up the great work! Merced Team would like to say “Farewell” to Nicole Dahlgren, Case Manager who had recently accepted a Program Director position with another local agency. We will all miss her positive attitude, team support and ability to advocate regarding our consumers in the worst situations. She was truly a gem and will always be a part of the Catalysts family. Good luck Nicole! South Bay Santa Clara ~ Salinas santa clara Happy New Year from Santa Clara!! In December we had a CAC Calendar Fundraiser where the consumers submitted art work and recipes for each month of the new year. It was a great success raking in over $200.00! Our office holiday party was held here in the office on December 18th. This year we came up with an idea on how to raise enough money within the office so that we could have the party catered. We sold snacks and sodas for several months and made not only enough money for a nice luncheon catered in by Venti Pizzeria,( a wonderful Italian restaurant), but also to play white elephant. A special thanks to Ann Marie Miller and her elf Jennifer Mansfield for buying all of the wonderful gifts. The gifts were so fun that there was a lot of stealing going on! A good time was had by all. salinas Salinas consumers advocated for themselves and chose how they wanted to celebrate this holiday season. First, lunch at Hometown Buffet, and then a movie of their choice at the mall. Over 40 consumers in all a ttended the holiday event and were able to take a gift home to put under their trees. Salinas staff also enjoyed an evening out to celebrate the season. Dinner and a gift exchange at Chili’s and then cocktails and dancing at Mortimer’s Lounge. WHOA!! We would like to welcome aboard new DSA Ruben Almeyda. DSA Lydia Melendez is back from maternity leave. Also, a fond farewell to DSA Myra Barocio who is pursuing her goal in the medical field. Things that happened around the world that will make 2009 a memorable year! ~ Barack Obama is sworn in as 44th president of the U.S. - Jan 20 ~Emergency US Airways landing on the Hudson River - Jan 15 ~U.S. Navy snipers fatally shoot 3 Somali Pirates holding an American cargo ship hostage - Apr 12 ~H1N1 Influenze, aka “Swine Flu” is declared a global pandemic - June 11 ~ Michael Jackson dies - June 25 ~ Longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century occurs of Asia and the Pacific Ocean - Jul 22 ~2 American journalists who were imprisoned in North Korea for illegal entry are pardoned - Aug 4 ~Balloon boy hoax - Oct 15 ~A couple from Virginia crash Obama’s First State Dinner - Nov 25 Redwood Coast Ukiah ~ Plum House ukiah & plum house December was full of great holiday cheer and activities for Ukiah and the Plum House. Consumers attended the Black and White Ball (sponsored by U.V.A.H), rode the Christmas Trolley around Ukiah, spent time with family and friends, and did lots of Christmas shopping! Happy birthday to staff Carol and Clarissa, and to consumer Lloyd! 2009 was full of many activities! In the winter and early spring Consumers took advantage of being indoors and participated in the Special Olympics Basketball. There was also a pajama party, a Valentine’s Day Dance, and a Masquerade Ball! Consumers took advantage of the great weather during late spring and summer to have picnics and barbeques in the park and at Lake Mendocino. They went to air shows, attended rallies for budget protests, and went to Concerts in the Park. A few were able to go to sights out of town such as the Oakland Zoo and The Charles Schultz Museum. Holidays were spent with family and friends, enjoying good food and festivities. Unfortunately, we also saw the passing of dear friends, consumers Dani, Marie, and Stephen. They are still in our hearts and greatly missed each and every day. Here’s to a new and wonderful 2010! fini & santa halloween black & white ball marie Dani stephen Southern CA El Centro ~ San Diego ~ San Marcos message from Regional Manager On behalf of all of the staff in Southern California, I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Alice Olsen for her energy in producing the biggest “End of the Year Extravaganza” the Southern California region has ever seen. It took all of our staff to come together and raise a grand total of $1800 and Alice led this team with determination and passion. Our hard work paid off and we enjoyed shrimp, steak, chicken and gyro meat accompanied with appetizers, side dishes and dessert. Each staff member received a $5 gift certificate. The top 2 sellers received $50 gift certificates to a choice of restaurants, the 3rd and 4th sellers received $25 gift certificates to Jamba Juice and the top 5th seller received 2 tickets to the movies. We had 22 baskets for the opportunity drawing. The winners are as follows: Mrs. Vrieling (Teri Geston’s Mom), Lynda Holden, Alice Olsen (donated to consumer J. Schultz), Lydia Rodriguez, Mr. Walt Kainz (2 times), Sharon Christodora (Fresno, CA), Alex F., Silvia Cazares, Samantha Stewart (Wichita, KS), Teresa Grenawalt (2 times) , James Casler, Martin Stout, Eduardo Bustillo, Lupita Meza, Janet Velarde, Sharleen Olsen (Wichita, KS), Linda Ponder, and Margie White. Congratulations to all the winners! You can also watch a glimpse of the extravaganza at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g62KxOHZ4K0 Thank you again Alice, for putting together the time of our lives at the Golden Acorn Casino! el centro The Advisory Christmas Luncheon was held on December 23rd and was a great time for everyone! Consumers had an awesome time at the “Golden Corral”. They even had a gift exchange. The food was delicious! December 11th was the best party of the year, aka “the Extravaganza”! Supported Living and Day Programs were there assisting at this awesome end of the year get together. The food was delicious and the staff were very pleased to join us on that day. Esperanza Rader was one of our lucky winners as she came home $60 richer! Don’t spend it all in one place! R.I.P. Bob Marshall - Tara Ramirez’s (DSA) grandfather passed away on December 11th. Our deepest condolenses to her family. December 30th we had a 5.9 earthquake. Alex, Office Assistant in El Centro, was pleased that consumers and staff knew what to do in case of an emergency. Our training really does work! san diego IL/SL: Our program is growing rapidly. We have one new SL consumer joining the San Diego case load. We are really excited to have 3 consumers live together as roommates, sharing the responsibilities that all roommates endeavor. One new IL consumer has been granted 20 hours for living skills management and education. One of our long time IL consumers will be receiving a free computer with our help. The best thing about the New Year is all the exciting ideas and adventures that come with it. We are looking forward to a FABULOUS 2010! SE: San Diego’s SE program has been a pleasure to be a part of. Every staff member has contributed a great deal to the program and has made the tremendous growth possible: Ron Clayton, Matt Brady, Chris McKelley, Tanya Diaz, Ariana Diaz, Kristi Koyle, and Media Battou. The Advisory event for January is attending a museum and a sandwich picnic at Balboa Park on January 26th. san marcos IL: We would like to recognize Joann and Hayden of our IL program, as their requests from The Butterfly Club have been approved. This is an example of how our donations through The Butterfly Club can make a difference in people’s lives. SE: Congratulations to Krista Hribar for assisting consumer, C. Cardenas, in obtaining a job at Burger King! Consumer O. Perez, was given a promotion to night crew at Albertson’s. When our consumers are a success then we are a success! The entire SE team has been working hard to adjust to a new Case Manager and management style. I want to thank each staff for being supportive and for your dedication to the program and your consumers. SL: Many of our SL staff spent the holidays with their clients. Thank you to Caryn Morris for making SL client Debbie’s Christmas a memorable one. I bet she will never forget it! Larry Steckling gave up his Christmas Eve into Christmas Day so SL staff Jennifer Valdez could be home to see her young children enjoy Christmas morning. Larry also started prepping for SL clients Wayne and Shelley’s Christmas Dinner. Linda Ponder spent the day with Wayne and Shelley and made a fantastic dinner with all the trimmings. Staff Kathy Hartland spent almost every weekend in December helping SL client Jack decorate his apartment. They made paper chains that went almost all the way around the room. Jack, with Kathy and Larry’s help, also made cookie platters/buckets for Jack’s many neighbors and friends and spent a few days delivering them to people. For the month of December, SL client Wayne was awarded the “Catalyst of the Month”. He was very excited to receive the Catalyst of the Month’s gifts! Samantha Jackson Community Catalysts of California is proud to announce that Samantha Jackson was selected to receive the Catalyst P.R.I.D.E. Award~Leading by Example for December 2009. Samantha has been with Community Catalysts of California as a Direct Service Aide in Ukiah for almost a year now, and in that short period of time, has made a significant impact! Samantha was recognized for her ongoing willingness to go the extra mile not only for her consumers, but for her co-workers and supervisors as well. She will assist anyone in any way possible and the consumers enjoy working with her! Samantha has a very positive attitude that is contagious to those around her. She takes her job very seriously and her pride shows in her work. Her caring nature is just one of her many attributes that makes her so successful and a joy to work with. Other staff members have come to the office to commend her on a job well done. She is extrememly consistent in her work, which is why we continue to trust her with new responsibilities. Although Samantha is very competent, resourceful and a problem solver, she is not afraid to ask questions and keep an open line of communication at all times. She is professional, dependable, inspiring and all in all, a great asset to the Ukiah office and to this organization! We appreciate the great service and dedication to the vision of Community Catalysts of California that Samantha has provided and would like to recognize her for her hard work and for Leading by Example. consumer anniversaries 18 Years John R. - SM 16 Years Johnny J. - FSO 15 Years Linda W. - ELC 14 Years Akito I. - ELC Paul M. - ELC 13 Years Chia L. - FSO Sou T. - FSO Plai M. - FSO 10 Years Mark K. - SM Everardo M. - ELC 9 Years Cheryl T. - SM 8 Years Steve G. - MCD 7 Years Olivia A. - SC Richard G. - STK Susan M. - SM Maria G. - SAL 6 Years Anthony A. - STK 5 Years Steven R. - SD Karen M. - SAL 4 Years Gian L. - SM Michael T. - SC Jose G. - SAL 3 Years Allona M. - FSO Parker C. - SM Roxann H. - SC 2 Years Janice G. - SC Shirley C. - SC Elias A. - SD Debra L. - MDO Linda H. - VIS 1 Year Lamar S. - STK Lakisha B. - FSO Steven M. - MDO Joey O. - SC Jose P. - ELC Lincoln G. - ELC Sherry D. - ELC Theresa B. - FSO Hope W. - MCD Keltoum CherkiDirect Services Supervisor San MarcosKeltoum Cherki, Direct Services Supervisor for the IL program in San Marcos has been with Community Catalysts of California for a little over 5 years. She is truly an asset to the San Marcos office and IL program and is a great example of someone who is willing to go above and beyond her call of duty. Keltoum always has her consumers best interest at heart. She will do anything to ensure that they get what they need, when they need it. She has complete dedication to each consumer in serving their needs and assisting them in successfully completing each goal. Keltoum has also built a strong trust with her consumers. As she shows respect for them, they show respect for her as well. They feel like they can open up to her and know that she will assist them in any way necessary to work through any problems they may have. Keltoum not only demonstrates respect for her consumers, but for her co-workers as well. She is considered a go to person who you know will always get the job done correctly and quickly. She has excellent follow through! She also demonstrates her leadership skills through her mentor approach to her job. She helps train new employees and can be counted on to ensure that these new employees have the information they need to succeed with their consumers. Staff know that they can go to Keltoum with questions and she will help to find the right answer. She is resourceful, knowledgeable and always willing to step up. Keltoum’s commitment, positive attitude and passion for her job are among many reasons why she is invaluable to her office, the IL program and Community Catalysts of California. She truly leads by example and inspires those around her in all that she does. She reflects Community Catalysts of California’s purpose and vision and that is why she is so deserving of recognition as the recipient of The Catalyst P.R.I.D.E. Award of the Year for 2009. James A. Jenkins’ • 2009 Award of Excellence•community catalysts of california• •Empowering Consumers, Enhancing Lives• It is important to recognize our leaders for all their dedication, hard work and tireless effortsResouRcefulness • compassion • empathy • Respect • tRust Pebbles DumonCFO ~ Corporate Office in pursuit of our company Vision and Purpose throughout the year! Thus, we are pleased to announce that Pebbles Dumon has been chosen as the recipient of the James A. Jenkins’ Award of Excellence for 2009.Pebbles has been with Community Catalysts of California as the Chief Financial Officer for almost 8 years. Consistently over the course of those 8 years, Pebbles has gone above and beyond in her position. Not only does she put in countless hours into her CFO responsibilities, but she is also willing to help anywhere else as needed. Whether it’s planning the company budget or answering the phones, she will take on any job, big or small and without complaint. Community Catalysts of California would not be in the same position that it is now without her. Her do whatever it takes attitude inspires those around her and she is truly admired for her hard work and dedication. Pebbles has proven that she genuinely cares for each and every staff member and consumer and to the overall success of the organization. She is a great example of a leader who is deserving of recognition! It is evident that Pebbles contributes to the continued success & growth of Community Catalysts of California and is a true model of excellence!