September 25, 2009

connecting the staff community

LAST DAY FOR EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION

Today, September 25, is the last day for early-bird registration.  All registrations e-mailed or posted today will receive the early-bird pricing.  Click here to register online.  Save $10 and register today!  Questions?  Contact Faye Cooper, ext. 1442.

CELEBRATE!!

Many friends and family joined to celebrate Linda Rounds retirement last Friday, September 18.  Fond memories and good wishes for the future were shared!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

This year’s calendar show will be Tuesday, September 29 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, in the Temple break room. The Corporate Express Brand refills (CEB####) for planners are no longer available, C.R. and Kathleen Ryan will have charts to find the new number for the refills. There is a $20 limit per person.  If you need a new case etc. you can do an employee purchase through Eway, and get the HQ’s price but pay tax.  You must pay with a credit card when they check out. For questions, contact Kathleen Ryan or ext. 1308. 

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

There’s still room in the Interpersonal Peacebuilding on October 13 and 15. The next session for Interpersonal Peacebuilding is November 10 and 12.  Interpersonal Peacebuilding is a multi-session class on understanding yourself and others during differences, and how to resolve differences through collaboration.  This training is excellent for anyone who wants to learn the skills needed to resolve conflict in their daily life.

Listening Ear follows and builds on the skills learned in Interpersonal Peacebuilding.  Listening Ear is training that works on skills that help the listener guide a person to recognize, access and structure their resources in a way that can help the person deal with the conflict in a healthy, positive manner, if they so choose. If you’ve taken Interpersonal Peacebuilding, sign up now for Listening Ear and continue to grow.  Listening Ear sessions are October 6 and 8. 

Visit with your supervisor if you’d like to attend and contact Judith Yager to reserve your seat.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

If you’d like to participate in additional training to improve and develop your skills, talk with your supervisor about what will work best and how to sign up. 

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN??

How well do you know your colleagues here at IHQ?  Below, match the picture, with the name and location. 

Check your answers at the end of this NewsPEACE edition.

DID YOU KNOW?

If you’d like to put something on the public bulletin boards in the Temple or Auditorium break rooms, please contact Human Resources for approval.

Temple Bookstore hours are 12-5 p.m. on Mondays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

New Emergency Procedures were recently delivered to everyone’s desk and posted in all public places.  Please be sure to review these procedures.  We will be having some emergency preparedness drills soon.  If you have questions regarding these procedures contact Risk Management.

Contract work continues on the north entrance to the Auditorium.  In this picture steps are lifted, raised and leveled.  Additional work includes the brick wall. 

Staff Pastoral Care – With the retirement of Rich Kohlman, a team of eleven employees from IHQ and the field are reviewing the current pastoral care model and making recommendations on how effective services and ministries can be provided to our employees and families.  This team has met since August and will submit its recommendations to the World Church Human Resources Committee in November.  Once the model has been approved steps will be taken to fill the vacant staff pastor position.  Members of the team are:  Art Smith, Shawn Mallas, Cathy Loving, Marvin Rice, Lisa Soignier, Mary Jacks-Dynes, Charmaine Chvala-Smith, Bruce Crockett, Wade Wallace, Claire Smith, and Scott Murphy.

The Temple Library will close from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. for the lunch hour and the Daily Prayer for Peace    During special events and seminary there may be special arrangements to keep the library open throughout the day.  Thank you for your flexibility.

VOLUNTEERS & ASSOCIATES

 We greatly appreciate the time, work and dedication volunteers and associates share so graciously here at International Headquarters and related sites.  We are all a part of the team.

We appreciate the many months David Bolton has spent helping in Kirtland.  He has guided visitors at the Kirtland Temple, maintained the pump organ, provided music and much more.  We wish him well in his continued journey, and look forward to our future associations.

A warm welcome to Wendy Eaton who is now interning in Kirtland for the next nineteen weeks – giving tours and helping around the site.  In this picture she’s checking the contents of the first-aid box in the Visitor’s Center.  Thank you, Wendy, for your time and willingness to share.

A familiar face can be seen around the Archives – we welcome Dick Howard as an Archives staff associate.  His more than 50 years of service to the church is invaluable and we appreciate his time here now sharing with the Archives.  You can find Dick in and around the Library and Archives a couple days each week.

If you have need of a volunteer, contact Cathy Loving.  Cathy is collecting all information regarding needs for volunteers, names of those who would like to volunteer, and keeping current with our volunteer and associate staff.  If you have a friend or neighbor who would make a great volunteer, contact Cathy now!

Father and son mark 100 Years on Kilimanjaro Summit

Johnny Stabno (retired, International Support Services) recently celebrated his birthday on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. 

Generali USA actuary Andreas Stabno sets his eyes beyond the horizon, so when he investigated traveling with his parents to Africa this year, it didn't take long to dream of an excursion to Mt. Kilimanjaro.

After his father Johnny announced his retirement from a life-long ministerial career at the end of August, Andreas formed plans to travel together with him to an area where his father recently served.  Soon the mountain became a common focus for the trip.  "Once our eyes fixated on the crater's rim, the determination to reach the summit became etched in our minds" says Andreas.  Johnny remembers the attraction to this extinct volcano when he visited the area in 1986.  "At that time I thought of running to the top" Johnny chuckles.

Months of planning and training included a trip to the Colorado Rocky Mountains to test their response to higher elevations.  At its peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro rises 5895 meters (19,340 feet) above sea level, and every breath receives half the amount of oxygen as at the lower elevations by their homes near Kansas City.  The virtues of the Swahili "Pole Pole" (slowly, slowly) pace cannot be underestimated and the cheerful support of each guide and porter greatly added to the success.

The trek involved five days of gradually gaining altitude while hiking through several distinct ecological zones: rainforest, heather and moorland, alpine desert and arctic.  Then on September 6, father and son together watched the sun rise from the Roof of Africa.  "Seeing the sun stretch over the clouds to grace this beautiful land is simply breathtaking."  Andreas proudly displayed the winged lion of the Generali Group, where he works as an actuary in the Lenexa office of Generali USA.  Johnny unfurled the banner of the Lion's Club, the international service organization where he functions as a Vice Governor.

Summit day coincided with Johnny's birthday, and together the pair celebrated 100 years of life's exploration and adventure.  Johnny recalls, "The group of other summiteers sang an oxygen deprived round of Happy Birthday at the peak, and then the entire team celebrated with cake when we returned to camp."  Without revealing their ages, Andreas hints that both are perfect squares.

SOMETHING NEW

Looking for something new and unique.  Check at the new product at Herald House. 

ANSWERS TO QUIZ

A4b
B3d
C1e
D5a
E2c

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