3rd Annual City Employee Appreciation Day
is October 3
By Gary Johnson & June Skerik, United Way Campaign
Co-Chairs
The 3rd annual “City of Waco Employee Appreciation
Day” will be tomorrow, Oct. 3, and this edition will be bigger and
better than ever with great food, exciting events and a number of
great prizes.
This year’s event will once again be held in Chisholm
Hall at the Waco Convention Center, and all full time and part time
City employees are invited to attend. If you thought the last two
years were a blast, you haven’t seen anything yet!
A free lunch for employees will be prepared by the
City Manager’s Office and served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The lunch
will include chicken wings, sausage wraps, potato salad, fruit,
and Blue Bell ice cream.
Activities will officially kick-off at 11 a.m. and
will be highlighted by five events involving Olympic-style, interdepartmental
competition. Larry Groth is participating in a “Fear Factor” fund
raiser for this year’s City United Way Campaign.
The Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring
the Olympic competition events and the City Secretary’s Office is
handling the Fear Factor fund-raiser.
The day will also feature a carnival-theme complete
with games, activities and various competitions. All of the winners
will receive prizes and gift certificates.
There will also be a number of drawings during the
day that will involve a number of super prizes. Employee Appreciation
Day festivities will conclude at 2 p.m. with the “Closing Ceremonies,”
as the winners of the various drawings and contests will be announced
and recognized by City Manager Larry Groth.
The City will also be kicking off its annual United
Way Campaign on Oct. 3. Seventeen local United Way agencies will
have booths in Chisholm Hall to provide information or answer any
questions you might have.
Each United Way booth will also conduct a drawing
for prizes. A booth will be set up to distribute individual employee
United Way contribution cards to those who would like to complete
their cards during the festivities.
Employees completing their United Way cards at the
carnival who donate $72 or more will also be entered in several
drawings for prizes to be announced during the Closing Ceremonies.
United Way donations may be made through payroll deduction,
cash, check or direct billing. Major Employee Appreciation Day activities
and competitions will include the following:
“Who’s That Baby Contest” featuring the 2nd
City Leadership Graduating Class - Person who correctly matches
the largest number of baby pictures with the correct adult Leadership
Class counterpart wins a big prize.
Silent Auction - Employees will have the opportunity
to bid on various donated items including individual theme “baskets”
donated by City departments. Proceeds from the auction will also
be included in the City’s United Waco contribution. If you are interested
in donating a basket, contact Liz Taylor at 750-5807.
Free Throw Shooting Contests - Individual and
team competitions (call Randy Childers at 750-5671 or Mark Hines
at 750-5440 to sign-up).
Three-Point Shooting Contests - Individual
and team competitions (call Randy Childers at 750-5671 or Mark Hines
at 750-5440 to sign-up).
Golf “Closest to the Hole” Contest - Individual
contestants will use a pitching wedge to launch a golf ball onto
the putting green, with the person having the shot closest to the
hole winning a big prize.
Cake Walk - Carnival-style cakewalk with winners
receiving a cake, pie or other baked goods donated by City employees.
Cake Decorating Contest – Prizes will be awarded
to the top three cakes with a sports or Olympic theme.
Pumpkin Decorating Contest - Prizes will be
awarded to winners with the most original pumpkins.
Mario Kart Races – Win your heat and you win
a prize.
Hula Hoop Toss – Successfully toss a hula hoop
around three different sized garbage carts and win some trash bags.
Soft Drink Ring Toss – Ring a soft drink and
claim it.
Candy In The Jar Contest – Correctly guess
the number of pieces of candy in a huge jar and win the entire jar
of candy.
Putting Contest – Make a hole-in-one and you
have a chance to win a prize.
Toilet Paper Toss – Toss a roll of toilet paper
into a toilet bowl and you have a chance to win a prize.
Pot Hole Repair Bean Bag Toss – Successfully
maneuver bean bag into target and you have a chance to win a prize.
Ping Pong Pandemonium – Six exciting ping pong
games where multiple people can play at one time and win prizes.
Football Touchdown Toss – Throw a football
into a tire attached to two goal posts and you have a chance to
win a prize.
We look forward to seeing everyone on Oct. 3rd! Watch
for e-mails and flyers with additional details regarding these activities
and competitions.
If you can’t win a prize during Employee Appreciation/United
Way Kick-Off Day, you probably should not play the lottery!
If you'd like to submit information for the City Talk Newsletter,
you can send an email to: marlenen@ci.waco.tx.us
or call 750-5638.
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Raise the Roof Week
Volunteers Raise the Roof 2008 is quickly approaching and we still
need volunteers to help build this year’s Habitat house. The home
is being built at 718 Frost for the Joiner family. The work will
begin Saturday, Oct. 11 and will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 18.
City Manager Larry Groth has once again generously agreed to allow
employees to work on the project up to 8 hours during normal business
hours with supervisor approval.
If interested in volunteering, please contact Shawna Bolen at
750-5676 or by e-mail at ShawnaB@ci.waco.tx.us.
You may access the registration form on the Employee Intranet at
www.waco-texas.com/intranet.htm.
Safe, Fun Halloween Activities
Halloween Fun Bledsoe-Miller Recreation Center will host a Fall
Festival from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24 for kids ages
5 to 13. The cost is $2 per child (concessions sold separately).
The festival will be filled with a variety of entertainment, food,
crafts and games. For more information, call 750-8684.
Enjoy a safe, fun-filled Halloween Carnival with games,
candy, and a costume contest from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 31
at Dewey Recreation Center. The cost is $3 per child. For more information,
call 750-8677.
As an alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating, South Waco
Recreation Center will host Halloween at the Pavilion from
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 29. The event is free and will include
games, candy and a costume contest. For more information, call 750-8650.
Safe & Spooky Community Carnival
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum will sponsor their 2nd
annual Safe & Spooky Community Carnival in partnership with the
Waco Convention Center and Mars, Inc. The free carnival will be
held Saturday, Oct. 25 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Waco Convention
Center.
Join the museum and local safety organizations as the Texas Ranger
Museum celebrates its 40th Anniversary with trick-or-treating, games,
storytelling and more! Children can wear their costumes and are
encouraged to bring bags to take home lots of candy and prizes.
For more information visit www.texasranger.org
or call 750-8631.
Zoo Boo at the Cameron Park
Zoo
The Cameron Park Zoo will undergo its annual transformation for
Zoo Boo on Friday, Oct. 31. Costumed visitors will enter Arachniguy’s
web, tour the harrowing herpetarium and walk the plank with the
Pirates of the Flower Garden Reef.
Along the way, children will enjoy games and receive lots of treats
to take home. The hours are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets will be
available for purchase online at www.cameronparkzoo.com
as of Oct. 1.
The cost is $7 per adult and $5 per child for ages 4-12. Children
ages 3 and under will receive free admission. All children must
be accompanied by an adult. For more information, call the Cameron
Park Zoo at 750-8400.
Mayor & City Employee Honored
Mayor Virginia DuPuy and Waco’s Homelessness Administrator
Teri Holtkamp received awards at the Texas Homeless Network state
conference Sept. 3-5 in Austin.
Mayor DuPuy received the Outstanding Elected Official
Award, which recognizes an elected official who has demonstrated
understanding, compassion and leadership to address poverty, housing
and homelessness in their community.
She has served on the Homelessness Implementation
Steering Committee and is the chair of the Prisoner Re-Entry Committee.
Under her leadership, Waco approved the Mayor’s 10 Year Plan to
End Chronic Homelessness, which was nationally recognized in 2005.
Teri Holtkamp received the Kathy Reid Award, which
was created in 2003 to honor the work of the outgoing executive
director of the Texas Homeless Network. Holtkamp is described among
Waco leaders as an “Angel to Waco’s homeless.”
She meets Waco’s homeless individuals personally to
better understand their needs and frequently purchases gift cards
and bus passes with her own money to give to those in need.
Baylor University’s School of Social Work was also
honored for their partnership with the City of Waco to address homelessness.
New Ermployee Orientation
September 2008
Front Row: Katherine Wong, Police Department;
Terry Spear, Library Services; and Soledad Castelan, Facilities.
Second Row: Angelika Arnold, Police Department;
Kimberly King, Police Department; Aaron Tatum, Parks and Recreation;
and Joseph Mazzola, Cameron Park Zoo.
Third Row: Jason Vencalek, Cameron Park Zoo;
Michael Mallick, Library Services; and Diana Bumguardner, Municipal
Court.
Employee Awards Program
The deadline to submit nominations for the Employee
Awards program is Nov. 1. The categories are customer service, teamwork,
community service and lifetime achievement. The nominations should
be based on employee achievements occurring during the past fiscal
year - Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008.
Nomination forms are available on the S:Drive and
under the Forms section on the Employee Intranet at www.waco-texas.com/intranet.htm.
The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, Feb. 26 in the Bosque
Theatre at the Waco Convention Center.
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