ManateE-zineDecember 2012For Employees, By Employees

Cover Story “No Kill” Poster Child & Employee of the Year

Nicki Bentley

Other HeadlinesRising Stars are Taking Off! Wellness Champions Awards BanquetCleaning Up Your LotusNotes CalendarCommon Speaker Pitfalls

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Cover StoryEmployee of the Year & “No Kill” Poster Child, Nicki BentleyBy Nicholas Azzara, Information OutreachManatee County Animal Services staff had a clear and challenging goal at the onset of 2012: find a way to save 90 percent of the adoptable animals coming into county shelters within a year. What followed was a blitz of ideas to find healthy pets homes and to pro-mote No Kill Manatee, the state’s first community wide effort to save shelter animals. There were adoption specials, newspaper columns, professional “glamour shots” of dogs and cats, spay and neuter events and a groundswell of support from the community in the form of hundreds of animal loving volunteers.

As we approach the end of 2012, Animal Services has nearly reached its 90 percent save rate, a challenge that would’ve been unthinkable two or three years ago. Animal Services Chief Weiskopf and Animal Services Supervisor Joel Richmond say a successful No Kill program wouldn’t have been possible without 2012 Manatee County Employee of the Year Nicki Bentley helping to lead the way.

Nicki was hired as an animal care special-ist in 2003 and slowly worked her way through the ranks. In 2012 she was pro-moted to Shelter Supervisor. She was recognized for her outstanding efforts at the Dec. 11 County Commission meeting where No Kill champion and Commis-sioner Carol Whitmore said Nicki has accomplished “things I’ve never seen before” by pulling people together for a common cause.

Chief Weiskopf calls Nicki a poster child for the No Kill effort and says she’s earned the respect of everyone she works with on a daily basis. Part of her role is organizing the hundreds of volunteers who are eager to help in any way to save local shelter pets, a challenge Nicki calls fun, exciting and rewarding. Nicki’s supervisors rave about her work ethic and positive outlook she brings to the office every day.

“Nicki just has a great attitude all the time,” her boss Joel Richmond says. “She’s really positive and outgoing. She’s never satisfied and she’s always looking for new and better ways to do things.”

Case in point: before becoming shelter supervisor Nicki was already looking for new programs and projects to boost the county’s save rate for shelter pets. Nicki visited Hills-borough County and inquired about their pit bull program. She returned brimming with ideas, then organized volunteers and launched “Adopt A Bulls,” a group of volunteers that works with a dog trainer to help pit bulls to be more people friendly pets.

She also visited Sarasota County, took basic animal handling training classes and implemented them here.

“Nicki brings fresh and innovative ideas to the No Kill effort,” Christian says. “Plus, she’s got the type of attitude that everyone needs to succeed in our goals. She leads by setting an example

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to the rest of her staff as to how to approach the everyday issues and conflicts that come with the challenge of No Kill.”

Nicki said the Employee of the Year award was a complete surprise, and one she never could have imagined when she was hired nearly 10 years ago. Her boss Joel Richmond said Nicki’s Employee of the Year recognition is a great honor for Animal Services and the Public Safety Department.

“Too many employees become complacent in their jobs, just doing the day-to-day stuff,” he said. “This past year Nicki has been full of energy and has not only taken on many projects but also spearheaded many of her own ideas and programs.”

Nicki loves the fact that she can come to work every day to a wonderful group of people and animals. She says she’s “extremely motivated to succeed” because she sees the No Kill effort succeeding every day, not only the animals’ lives but also in the community and beyond.

“It helps to know that at the end of the day I’ve helped save the lives and find homes for some really wonderful fur-kids,” she says. “I firmly believe there is no set black and white answer to any solu-tion, and I am constantly found ‘outside the box’ coming up with new solutions to the daily problems that arise. I also consume far too much caffeine!”

Calendar of EventsJanuary 2013To view Parks & Recreation programs and activities, click here.

To view Natural Resources events and activities, click here.

To view Agriculture & Resource Conservation events and activities, click here.

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Neighborhood Services Plays SantaCheri Coryea, Neighborhood ServicesAll Manatee County Government Departments are generous and caring throughout the year but especially at Christmas time. Many departments participated in the “Adopt-a-Family” program for the holidays. The Neighborhood Services Department adopted the Edwards family of Bradenton. The Department met the family during the storm season when Tropical Storm Debbie threatened the County and they needed to evacuate from their home.

Since meeting the Edwards, staff from both Neighborhood Services and the Whole Child Project Manatee have mentored the parents and their three children through the maze of social services provided by the community and the County. That can be a daunting task during everyday life but add job loss, health issues, school needs and no transportation and you have a family in crisis. Staff purchased items that the children dreamed of having for Christmas and also provided necessities.

Over the next year we hope that employment returns for them and that the Edwards family can begin to save for their own home. Christmas is a special time for children but this year the Neighborhood Services Department staff have a warm feeling for helping a family in need.

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Employee Health BenefitsWellness Champions Awards BanquetBy Natalie Johnson, EHB/Manatee YourChoiceThe 2012 Wellness Champions Banquet was held on Dec. 19 at the County Administration Building. All of the Wellness Champions were honored for their efforts with awards and a lun-cheon. Highlights from the banquet include opening remarks and thanks from Ed Hunzeker and six different awards given to very deserving Wellness Champions. Wellness Champions are employees who volunteer to be the Wellness Liaison in their respec-tive areas. They assist with communicating Wellness programs and information, as well as implement specialized programming as needed in their departments. Below is a list of this year’s Award Winners.

Jane Casey has become a Wellness Facilitator in a va-riety of programs such as Stretching for Stamina, the Gym-Free Workout, Blood Pressure Health, Maintain Your Weight Campaign and Exercise Management. She is able to offer these programs to the employees at times that work for them with small group and in-dividual appointments. Jane also wrote an article this year in “The Deputy” publication titled “Fit for Duty.” The article was written in response to an article in the Sarasota newspaper that highlighted a few depu-ties who were unfit for duty. Her article highlights how important it is to stay fit physically, mentally and spiritually. Also in response to the article Jane created a program for the Sheriff’s Department called “Fit for Duty,” which awards points to employees who partici-pate in a variety of healthy events including fitness, nutrition, financial counseling, races and a variety of other programs that help to make employees well-rounded and “Fit for Duty.” The squads were awarded two weeks ago with the winning teams being:

First Place – Sgt. Kelley’s Squad (#2)Second Place – COPS West (#8)Third Place – Traffic Unit (#9)

Ernie McFarland created an internal Biggest Loser Competition at Public Safety in 2012 that resulted in a total of 403 pounds lost. His top weight loss losers lost more than 100 pounds! Participants paid an entry fee with the winners receiving the monetary award at the end of the competition. He has now created a new program for 2013 titled “Y Weight Rewards” where participants pay an entry fee and compete all year long to lose weight or they become an “encour-ager” whose goal is to maintain a healthy weight and encourage those who are trying to lose. The inten-tion of this program is to provide the motivation and accountability for Public Safety employees to achieve Yweight rewards. Ernie is a participant and motivator! As stated by YourChoice Fitness Coordinator, Jenna Dodge, “Without a doubt Ernie has been the driving wellness force at Public Safety. I cannot tell you how

2012 Wellness Champion of the Year – Deputy Jane Casey Manatee Sheriff’s office District 2

2012 Wellness Champion of the Year –Ernie McFarland – ECC Technical Coordinator –

Public Safety

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many people sign up for our programs and I hear ‘Ernie told me about it.’ He leads by example and without a doubt he is the inspiration to the YourChoice kickball team. He works from all angles to motivate people and helps hold them accountable. Every encounter I have had with him, he has been extremely organized, thoughtful and thorough. If there were a class on Well-ness Champions, Ernie should teach it!

The Wellness Champion Recognition of Excellence Award was given to Wellness Champions who made extra efforts with their own internal staff so that programs were not only more ac-cessible but specific to what works for that location/shift/work force. These Wellness Champi-ons were creative, innovative and respected by their own employees as well as the other Well-ness Champions for their dedication to a healthy work force.

The Wellness Champion Recognition of Excellence went to:

2012 Great American Smokeout Winners!Submitted by Julie Wilson, LAMP Advocate, Manatee YourChoice2012 Great American Smokeout winners are DanaMae Catlett and Bob Bowling, from 66th Street Utilities. Bob supported his coworker DanaMae to walk away from tobacco for a day as another step to becoming nicotine-free. Sponsored by the American Can-cer Society, both received an On a Shoestring store gift certificate. Thanks, Bob for the caring support of your colleague and congratu-lations, DanaMae for taking the best, first step toward a healthier and happier life! You will love being tobacco-free!

Sandra Zabriskie – MSO – CPID Allyson Karlicharan – BCC – MCAT

Marion Hayes – BCC – Neighborhood Services Catherine Clontz – BCC – Utilities

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Remember, LAMP is here to helpWith the tragic school shooting that recently took place in Newtown, Conn., the LAMP Pro-gram of Manatee YourChoice Health Plan would like to share a reminder that all members of the health plan have a behavioral health benefit which includes psychotherapy (counseling) and psychiatric services. LAMP also offers case management support in seeking assistance with behavioral health concerns for yourself or a family member.

The LAMP staff can provide guidance and support before a crisis occurs. For strictly confiden-tial information about the Manatee YourChoice Health Plan Behavioral Health Benefit or LAMP case management services please call (941) 741-2995.

Tech TipsCleaning up Your LotusNotes CalendarSchedule regular Calendar Clean up Reminders to delete old Calendar entries along with To Do items that are no longer needed.

Like all PC maintenance, deleting unnecessary entries frees up memory and speeds up pro-cessing by removing excess entries, ultimately improving the performance of your computer.

Task Description

Delete a Calendar Entry or To Do item from the Calendar or To Do list

Once you delete a Calendar entry or To Do item from the calendar or to do list, you cannot get it back. 1. In the Calendar or To Do list, select a calendar entry or to do item to delete. 2. Press Delete. 3. If the entry is a repeating entry, select which instances of the entry to delete.

Delete past Calendar entries or To Do items

1. Click More > Calendar Cleanup at the top of the calendar. 2. Select Entries older than and specify a time range, or select Entries occurring before and specify a date. 3. Select Calendar entries, To Do entries, or both. 4. Click OK.

Remove a Calendar or To Do notice from a mail view without permanently deleting it

1. In the mail view, select the Calendar or To Do notice. 2. Press Delete. This removes the Calendar or To Do notice from the mail view, but the notice remains in Calendar list views or the To Do list.

Tip: To be prompted to remove or permanently delete notices each time you delete them from mail views, click More > Preferences at the top of your mail, and then set the When I delete a calendar document from any view or folder option to Ask me if I want to remove or delete.

Here is a video that walks through the Calendar Cleanup options:

Please Note: Once it is deleted, it is gone! The county does NOT archive Calendar or To Do Entries. Make sure you don’t accidentally delete something you might still need. Notes will NOT delete Calendar entries that you or anyone else has edited in the past year, or a repeating meeting if any of those meetings occurred or were edited in the past year.

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Toastmasters TidbitCommon Speaker Pitfalls By Craig Valentine As a speaker, you may have the greatest content in the world, but if you do not connect with your audience, it can all go to waste. It’s like being on the phone and having some-thing important to say, but there is static on the line and you can’t hear the other person. No matter what you have to say, your message won’t get through.

By understanding what stands in the way of connecting with an audience, you can make small adjustments that will lead to deeper and greater connections. Below are 20 reasons many speakers fail to connect.

1. The audience does not relate to the speaker. When the speaker talks about success after success after success, audience members may think to themselves, Well, of course these strategies work for him. He’s special. These strategies would never work for me. Whenever audience members feel the speaker is too special, they tend to cast off his or her advice.

2. Audience members are not sold on why they should listen to the speaker. Your biogra-phy, speech description and introduction should clearly show how the audience will benefit from your presentation. They should be excited before you even take the stage.

3. Audience members are not sold on why they should take the next step the speaker suggests. If you do not sell the results that people can gain by following your advice (e.g., happiness, joy, recognition, money, saving time, reducing effort or doing more with less), they will not act on it.

4. The audience is given too many steps to take. “A confused mind says no” is an old saying. I’ve added to it: “A clear mind says go.” Giving one exact next step to take helps you connect with your audience during and after your speech. For example, in one of my speeches I ask people to visit my website, and I stay connected with them. Because I

Craig Valentine is Toastmasters’

1999 World Cham-pion of Public

Speaking and a member of theRandallstown

Network Toastmastersin Pikesville,

Maryland. He isa professional

speaker, author andspeech coach.

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don’t give several next steps, I can use my entire speech to build the case for getting them to take that one step. That’s a powerful and clear message.

5. The audience does not feel involved. I remember watching the movie Lean On Me decades ago and hear-ing the line “No involvement, no commitment.” Hearing that line has produced change in every aspect of my life. People buy into what they help create, so in speaking it pays to make them part of the speech creation. How? By asking questions. Engage your audience members in quick activities. Listen to them as you speak. Involve them in your stories. Jump on spontaneous moments. Find ways to get and keep audience members involved.

6. The audience does not feel this is the only time you have given your speech. In other words, they don’t feel it’s fresh. Instead, they feel like it’s something you have rehashed time and time again. Perhaps it is, but your audience shouldn’t get that impression. As a speaker, it’s important to find ways to make the speech fresh for you so it will be fresh for your audi-ence.

I use what I call the Fabric Softener Approach. When you include a fabric softener sheet while doing the laundry, it refreshes the entire load. In speaking, I rarely give a speech without trying out at least one new line or story. In doing so, that new piece becomes like the sheet of fabric soft-ener—it actually makes the entire speech fresh for me, and that helps keep it fresh for my audience. I also dedicate every speech I give to some-

one somewhere so that it’s just as important every time I give it.

7. The speaker is not all there. If you are not emotionally involved in your stories during your speech, you do not stand a chance in connecting with your audience.

8. The speaker has not done the pre-speech research necessary to meet audience mem-bers where they are. Too many speakers give what they want to say rather than what the audience needs to hear. That’s a recipe for trouble.

9. The speaker does not match the energy of the audience. Have you ever seen a speaker come out way too energetic and loud for the laid back audience in front of him? Have you ever been that speaker? It’s not about bouncing off the walls. It’s about matching your energy to the energy of your audience members, and then moving them to where you want them to be.

10. The speaker does not tease audience members before sharing the message. Get your audience to thirst for your message before you quench their thirst. Otherwise they won’t value what you’re saying as much, and they won’t have enough curiosity to stay connected.

11. The speaker favors a side of the room and does not look at everyone in the audience. Ihave seen so many speakers turn slightly and face one side of the room for most of their speech. Each person must feel you are speaking to him or her, or you will not connect. Look at everyone throughout the entire speech.

12. The speaker does not respond (at least visually) to the audience’s reactions. There will be many moments during your speech where audience

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members will react in certain ways. If you keep talking without at least visually acknowl-edging their reactions, you will not connect with them. Instead, it will seem as if you could give the same exact speech without your audience even being there. Speaking involves a back-and-forth flow of energy. Blocking that energy is like blocking the blood flow in a person’s body. The results are disastrous.

13. The speaker “tells us” instead of taking us back to her story. Don’t tell a story from the past; let your audience experience your story in the present. You can do that with dia-logue, expressions, reactions and involvement.

14. The speaker does not use relatable characters. If your stories are about climbing Mount Everest and doing things your audience has never done and never wants to do, you might have a problem connecting, unless you use journey-related universal prin-ciples that can bridge that gap.

I remember speaking to a group in a nursing home early in my career and wondering, How will these older folks relate to me? The answer is they didn’t have to. I told stories about advice I received from my grandfather and they, being grandparents and great-grandparents, related to him. So they related to me indirectly through my characters.

15. The speech is a verbal autobiography that leaves audience members wondering what they should get out of it. Don’t make people work that hard. They need to know what they’ll get out of your speech from the beginning—not just at the end. The speech can’t be, “I did this and I did that and I did this other thing … and you can do it too.” That’s not audience-focused enough to connect. You need to be audience-focused from the very beginning.

16. The speaker does not come out with a bang. Audience members realize in 30 seconds whether or not they want to hear more. Make those 30 seconds count.

17. The speaker sounds like someone else. You must be yourself or you’ll never connect. I remember watching a speaker who had great content—but there was a problem with his delivery. He faked a Southern accent. It seemed as though he was trying to have a Zig Ziglar-type drawl. This completely destroyed his connection. Why? Be-cause it wasn’t his way; it was Ziglar’s way. Only Zig Ziglar can be Zig Ziglar. The rest of us need to be our-selves on stage.

18. The content is not original enough. As soon as someone starts talking about the starfish or the bricklayer, many people will think they have heard this before, and they will tune out.

19. The speaker’s stories don’t stir anything in the audience. If a speak-er’s stories are one-dimensional and flat, he will not provoke any emo-tion (tears and regret, happiness and joy, etc.) in the audience and, therefore, the speaker will not connect.

20. The speaker does not get the audience to reflect. If the audience does not reflect, the speaker will not connect.

Perhaps you have been guilty of some of the above-mentioned mistakes. I know I have. This list is in no way exhaustive—there are many other reasons speakers fail to connect with their audiences.

Toastmasters Events

All events and meetings are on

Fridays from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

January 11Place: Public Works

January 18Place: Public Works

January 25Place: Public Works

Learn about Toastmasters by

visiting us on the iNet!

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Rising Stars Taking Off!By Simone Peterson, Neighborhood ServicesThe Rising Stars are preparing fun, exciting and informative events for 2013! For those not familiar with the Rising Stars, this group connects employees throughout the organization with programs and events to develop leaders who are dedicated to the long-term success of Manatee County. The group takes tours of county facilities, hosts periodic networking events, coordi-nates leadership lunches and assists on fundraising projects. The group is free and open to everyone to attend.

The next social event is Thursday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. The Rising Stars will be meeting at O’Bricks (427 12th Street West Bradenton) to network with fellow employees. Future socials include our annual Crosley Meet & Greet as well as Manatee Miles that will be held on May 11 at Robinson Preserve.

Leadership Lunches, a one hour lunch session with a prominent leader in Manatee County, are held quarterly. The dates for the next two lunches are February 14 and May 16 at noon. Speak-ers and locations will be announced soon!

The Stars would like to hear from you! A survey will be released sometime in January asking Rising Stars participants to weigh in on what times and dates work best for them, so the focus group can plan events that cater to the larger majority. A suggestion form also will be published on the Rising Stars iNet page for ideas for socials, Leadership Lunches, or other team building, networking events.

Visit the Stars on the iNet!

Library Nook$AVE money in 2013!A valuable New Year’s Resolution provided by the Mana-tee County Public LibraryBy Madelene Rathbun Barnard, Neighborhood ServicesAs the holiday bills and car payments pile up, here is one way to fulfill a new year’s resolution:Save money in 2013 with the Manatee County Public Library System

$ For every tax dollar invested in the Library the community receives a $8.32 return(Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public Libraries). What a great investment!

$ We have six library savings institution. These library locations are: Central Library, Braden River, Palmetto, Island, Rocky Bluff, South Manatee

$ In addition, we have a library nook available for staff at the Administration Building 4th floor. A new library nook will be opening soon at Utilities 66th St. W.

$ You do not need a charge card. All you need is a (free!) Manatee County Public Library Card. The card registration form can be found on the inet site under the forms tab.

$ To calculate how much you are saving, visit What is your Library Worth to You? Here is a sample New Year’s resolution to save money:

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Personal Savings CalculatorProvided by the State Library and Archives of Florida What is Your Library Worth to you?

How much would you pay for your library services? • Enter in the left-hand column the number of times per month you or your family use each service. • Estimated retail value of each service will be calculated on the right. • Total value of your library use is shown at the bottom of the worksheet. • Tip: Use the “Tab” key to move between entries. Enter numbers into the form only, and do not use commas.

Visit the Library today it is “Sunshine for the Mind”…and you don’t have to use too many taxpayer’s dimes.

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Florida Women in Government Meeting

Wednesday, Jan. 9 @ noon

Manatee RoomSpeaker:

Karen McGee from Self Employment

Specialists, Inc Topic: Supplementing your

income and following your

passion.

Kudos CornerTo view the kudos information, click on the link which will take you to the PDF file on the iNet. November 2012

Building & Development ServicesBarbara French, Permitting Tech I Brock Rice, Inspections OfficerDiana Lonergan, Construction Review Specialist Brenda Dillard, Sr. Construction Review SpecialistSally Cook, Construction Review Specialist-Flood Stephen Tetlak, Plans ExaminerHal Wolfe, Plans Examiner Cindi Blake, Permitting Services Div. Mgr.Kathie Baker, Customer Service Team SupervisorSally Dillard, Fiscal AnalystTammy Boggs, Cust. Service Support Manager

Community ServicesAndy Huffman, Veterans Services Officer

Human ResourcesJohnny Campbell, Community Development Specialist

Parks & RecreationRalph Becker, Parks Maintenance GroundskeeperMarcus Francis, Recreation Supervisor Ashley D’Arpino, Recreation Coordinator Bert Mastin, Recreation Coordinator

Public SafetyLt. Dave Byington, EMS Division

Public WorksPaul Hull, Engineering Tech III

UtilitiesAdrienne Oberg, Customer Service Representative I

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The Final Word“I am proud to work with such talented and dedicated people.” Dear County employees,

With the holiday season upon us and the year drawing to a close, I want-ed to say how appreciative I am of all that you’ve done for Manatee County over the past year. We have accomplished much, but none of it would have been possible without your commitment to this organiza-tion and the people of our community.

I am proud to work with such talented and dedicated people. I hope you never forget that your contributions make this a truly great local government that impacts peoples’ lives here every day of the year.

In closing, let me say once again how grateful I am for your hard work, loyalty, and perseverance in 2012 and always. Have a peaceful holiday break. I send you my sincere wishes for a joy-ful holiday season with family, friends and loved ones.

Ed HunzekerCounty Administrator