On Friday, County employees celebrated Halloween in a big way. Some decorated their workspace, others dressed up in costume and even more planned to head to the Haunted Plaza at the COC. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the plaza will be full of tricks and treats.
Share photos of your costumes or office celebrations. Email them to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov with your name and department.
Sam Bledsoe, with the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk
The unnerving wait is over! The fangtastic winners to the Workplace Decorating and Scary Face contests were crowned.
After casting more than 1,300 votes, County employees selected the top three workspace winners. While all participants impressively decorated their workspace with ghastly ghosts, terrifying tombstones and morbid mummies, only three spirits were crowned wicked winners. (See the photos below.)
Sam Bledsoe, with the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s office, won the Scary Face contest. His transformation is frighteningly fun.
Don’t miss out on the thrilling Haunted Plaza on Halloween Day from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the County Operations Center. Some of the planned activities include dancing the Monster Mash, games, and more tricks and treats. Employees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for the San Diego Food Bank to the big bash. Each person who brings in an item (or items) will receive one entry into a raffle. Winner need not be present to win.
Patrick Baker, with Sheriff's Department came in 1st place.
Joneal Chu, with Auditor& Controller, came in 2nd place.Norweena Asignacion, with Probation, came in 3rd place.
The County’s Employee Resource Groups, in partnership with the County Library, dedicated a new exhibition space this week to promote cultural awareness. A room at the Library’s administrative offices at the County Operations Center is now home to the ERG Wall, a project honoring individuals for their accomplishments in diversity and inclusion.
The inaugural exhibit “Breaking Barriers—Military Trailblazers” honors a group of veterans. The five established and three forming ERGs selected four individuals who represent each branch of the military: the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy. The display consists of posters of each military leaders with a photo and short synopsis of their support of diversity and inclusion.
Mavette Sadile, with the County of San Diego Filipino-American Employees’ Association, said she hopes the ERG Wall exhibit will spark conversation, learning and inspires the community.
“This wall is a great opportunity for the employee resource groups to come together and collaborate on a special project that really speaks to the county’s initiative with regard to cultural awareness and diversity,” she said.
Joe Cordero, Director of the Office of Ethics and Compliance, said the Military Trailblazer exhibit is the first of many installations. The display will be changed quarterly, and after each exhibit’s run on the ERG Wall, it will tour County library branches and other County facilities.
Zenobia Howard, with the African American Association of County Employees, introduced the print honoring Adm. Michelle Howard:
Angelica Fortin, with the San Diego County Latino Association, introduced the print honoring Lt. Col. Olga Custodio:
James Inglis, with the County of San Diego Filipino-American Employees’ Association, introduced the print honoring Col. Rayfel Bachiller:
Carl Smith, with VALOR—the veterans’ employee resource group, introduced the print honoring Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith:
Stop by 5560 Overland Ave., Conference Room B, at the County Operations Center to see the display yourself.
Due to the high volume of employees accessing the Open Enrollment system from work, the system is at maximum capacity. Many employees are receiving an error message. But don’t give up – Human Resources has some simple tips to ease the process. The department encourages employees to try enrolling during off peak hours or from home.
Review at work and enroll from home.
Employees are encouraged to review, compare and prepare their enrollment at work. Surf over to the Open Enrollment Benefits webpage for information. The page includes medical plan pricing, plan summaries and frequently asked questions. Take notes, print out, or download and email yourself important documents you may need in the decision making process.
Now that you have the 411, enroll from home. That’s right, you can access Open Enrollment from a home computer or even your smartphone. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Follow these steps to access the system:
Open Enrollment ends this Friday at midnight, but don’t delay and get caught in a last-second rush. Enroll as soon as possible.
There’s still time to sign up for two frighteningly fun contests being held on Halloween at the County Operations Center. Sign up to dress up or carve it up at the Haunted Plaza on Friday—there are openings in the pumpkin carving and costume contests.
All you need to do to sign up is click on the blue links below. Here are the details:
Pumpkin Carving Contest: The contest is open to both freestyle and pattern carvers. Registration is required, so sign up now. Participants carefully carved creations will be displayed at the Haunted Plaza where County employees will vote for the best of the best. Register to enter as a pattern or freestyle carver by emailing your name, title and department. Read the rules before finding the most perfect pumpkin as your canvas.
Costume Contest: Dress to impress! There are four costume contest categories this year: funniest, most creative, scariest or best group. (For best group, make sure to submit only one submission.) The costumes will be judged during the witching hour (12:35 p.m.) at the Haunted Plaza on Oct. 31. Read the rules before fabricating your disguise.
Don’t miss out on a wicked good time! Attend the Haunted Plaza at the County Operations Center on Halloween day from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Some of the planned activities include dancing the Monster Mash, games and contests with sweet prizes, a mummy wrap, and more ghoulish fun.
A new highlight of this year’s celebration is a food drive for the San Diego Food Bank. Employees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the big bash on Oct. 31. Each person who brings in an item (or items) will receive one entry into a raffle. Winner need not be present to win.
Ghouls and goblins of the County have deviously decorated their workspaces with cobwebs, creepy crawlies and more. Now, it’s your job to vote for the cream of the crop!
The first five photos in the slideshow below are the finalists. Scroll through the rest to see all the creative and festive entries. You can click on the picture inside the slideshow to enlarge.
Winners will be recognized at the Haunted Plaza at the County Operations Center on Halloween.
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite finalist!
Verint survey software
Take more than 17,000 employees, serving 4,200 square miles, with their jobs involving everything from flu shots to potholes, weddings to law enforcement, library books to air pollution. County of San Diego workers handle all of those and many more. Their success story is captured in a compact, easy-to-read format that won’t put you to sleep: the County’s new annual report.
The County’s latest annual report has been published and it’s nothing like the fusty volume from your grandfather’s day or even your father’s! The online version is short, crisp and clean. Just the facts on some of the major strides we’ve made in the last fiscal year.
You choose the topics that interest you most. What has the County done for you lately in the way of your safety, your health and your environment? Three separate tabs on just those subjects. How do we do it? Find out more about the backbone structure that supports everything we do. Like numbers? See what we’ve accomplished ‘By the Numbers.’ Where do the tax dollars go? See our easy-to-read pie charts.
The county’s annual report is designed to be a quick read but it does have depth. The figures are packed with links leading to more information, including County News Center videos or articles related to accomplishments, a mini photo gallery, department website or the County’s Operational Plan. Like what you see on ‘By the Numbers’? A link to SDCountyinFocus offers even more numbers from each department.
You can also meet our Board of Supervisors, see how the County departments are organized and scan a short list of our top awards.
The annual report is available online and it’s been optimized for your mobile phone or tablet in an in an easy to navigate format. You can even print an 18-page snapshot of the annual report.
Remember, the Annual Report is our County story, our success story – so show off what we’ve done.
Send the link to everyone, people you work with outside the office, your family, your friends who wonder what the County does exactly. Point them in the direction of your particular area of expertise and they can see how it fits into the bigger picture.
Our annual report is a reflection of what you do, what we all do here at the County – and you can be proud.
Open enrollment is coming to a close next week. You only have until Oct. 31 to complete the 2015 enrollment. All County employees are required to enroll. Don’t wait until the last second - mark it off your list today or this weekend!
Here’s a simple checklist to make sure you get everything done before the deadline.
You can visit the actual enrollment site off the County network so you can complete enrollment from home. You may receive a “session timed out” message if you visited previously. Sign in again to continue.
Don’t forget: Your enrollment is not complete until you submit all your forms. Submit any forms and/or required supporting documents to the Employee Benefits Division by 5 p.m., Nov. 7. Documents can be sent by email or fax (858) 694-3938 or through inter-office mail to Mailstop O-7. All forms are available online.
Time’s running out to complete your Open Enrollment. Remember, if it’s more convenient, you can complete your open enrollment from home.
Looking for some extra tips on Open Enrollment? Visit the Open Enrollment page or click on these helpful links:
Bid on items and give back to the community at the same time this weekend when the County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO) holds its 2nd annual auction fundraiser. Browse and bid on nearly 250 items to support CECO’s “Power of One” fall campaign. All proceeds will benefit non-profit programs throughout the San Diego region and County employees in crisis.
Bidding opens Friday, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. and closes at 7 p.m. Sunday. If you’d like a sneak peek now, check out photos and details of the auction items online during your lunch break or after work.
All auction items were donated and range from art to sports memorabilia. Items already causing a stir include beach cruisers, a Samsung Galaxy Tab, harbor cruise tickets, a pampered spa visit, and lunch with CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer.
One hundred percent of money raised by CECO is distributed back to the community. Earlier this year, CECO awarded grants to 93 local programs totaling $232,000. Recipients included Mama’s Kitchen, Second Chance’s transitional housing program, Rolling Readers’, the Employee Crisis Fund and numerous other programs.
“CECO is important because of its great tradition of giving. Because we are touching the lives of people in our very own community,” said CECO President Mavette Sadile, with the County Technology Office. “We are hoping to raise even more money this year and give back even more to the community.”
Registering is easy. Surf over to biddingowl.com/CECO and click “login / register” at the top right corner of the page. You can even set up your account to notify you via text message or email if you’ve been outbid. Since the bidding does take place over the weekend, you may want to email that link to yourself now or otherwise note it somehow so you can get to it while away from work.
The fun is not only for County employees. The auction is open to everyone.
Going, going, gone! If you take part in the auction or not, another great way to contribute to CECO is through an automatic payroll deduction. Plus, if you are already giving, you can increase your current contribution to help CECO achieve its audacious goal of awarding $250,000 in grants in 2015. Learn more.
It’s a fall color change of sorts. October arrives, and so does pink, the bright sign of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
It’s not only a time to raise awareness about this disease — the cancer that affects more women in America than any other. It’s also a time to honor those who have survived it and to support everyone who has been affected by it.
That’s why I’d like to invite everyone to join me Tuesday, Oct. 21 and wear pink to show our support for our friends, colleagues, loved ones and everyone who has battled, or is battling, breast cancer.
Tuesday will be a fitting time to show our support. It is also the day that we will present our annual update to the Board on our Live Well San Diego initiative, which we created to improve the health and well-being of all county residents.
When we started Live Well San Diego in 2010, a key guide was the 3-4-50 principle. Those numbers represent that three behaviors – poor nutrition, lack of exercise and tobacco use – contribute to the four diseases – cancer, heart disease/stroke, type 2 diabetes and respiratory illness like asthma – that cause more than half of all deaths in our county. The number one killer locally is cancer.
Live Well San Diego proposes that we can all help ourselves lead healthier lives by attacking those three behaviors — by eating better, exercising more and stopping smoking.
As science makes progress fighting and curing cancer, we will stay committed through Live Well San Diego to promoting choices than can help prevent people from getting the disease.
In the meantime, I’d like to welcome all of you to join me Tuesday and “go pink” to show our support!