Your Electrical Connection

December 2017

Volume 15, Issue 12

Inside this issue:

Breakfast Cont. 2

Roger’s World 3

Wellness, Why The Effort? 4

4th Quarter Lunch and Learn

4

Inspired Energy Award Recipient—Jesse Beard

5

Wellness Corner 5

Wellness Corner Cont. 6

Upcoming Events 6

January Anniversaries & Birthdays

6

Breakfast With Santa ...Vita Kistner

On December 12, we had breakfast with Santa at the plant. Retirees and employees were invited to the breakfast where they could also donate to Lily Drake, a winter wear drive and canned goods drive. Santa handed out candy canes and/or “coal” to those who attended. Martin’s IGA provided breakfast which consisted of biscuits and gravy, hash browns, scram-bled eggs and bacon. A fruit bowl was provided by Homemade Delights. The retirees that attended were Twyla Harvey, Harry Smith, Randy Johnson, David Sidwell, George Rice and Roger Bass. The Jasper County CEO group arrived in their ugly Christmas sweaters and presented Casey gift cards in the amount of $100 plus a few scratch off lottery tickets which they wanted to go to the Drake family. I explained why Alan couldn’t be at the breakfast but he did send out a challenge in his ab-sence. If anyone would wear the diaper that I had, sit on Santa’s lap and have a picture tak-en, he would donate $100 to the Drake family. Twyla volunteered. I then told the second part of Alan’s challenge. If we could raise $600 this morning, not counting his $100, he would wear the diaper when he got back to work and sit on Santa’s lap and get a photo taken. Roger had another idea. He bought an elf costume for Alan to wear. After passing the hat, we raised $1722. It was decided that Alan would have two pictures taken….one with a diaper and one with the elf costume - both sitting on Santa’s lap. Santa also auctioned off a cake made by Homemade Delights. The cake was won by Mark Williams. (not sure on price??) Santa had novelty hats which could be purchased for $5 each. All money raised went towards Lily Drake. A good time was had by all and the food was very good! We raised a total of $2330 for Lily and her family. Thank you to everyone who donated.

Number of Days Since Last...

First Aid 30

Recordable 412

Lost Time 600

Numbers based on December 19, 2017, includes plant and contractors.

Safety Stats:

Your Electrical Connection Volume 15, Issue 12

Page 2

Breakfast (cont.)

Your Electrical Connection Volume 15, Issue 12

Page 3

Roger’s World ...Roger Bass

I recently received a phone call from Alan Bogardus inviting me to come out to the plant for a breakfast get-together with plant employees and retirees. Since I am retired and on a fixed income, it is hard to turn down a free meal, so I eagerly ac-cepted. The plant was having a fundraiser for a few worthy causes, and Alan was hoping Santa would be there. At the time, I didn’t realize he wanted me to contact Santa. Santa is really busy this time of year, but he happened to have some free time and told me he would be happy to attend. Santa picked up some candy canes to give to the good boys and girls and had a few lumps of coal to give to those who might need to work on getting on the nice list.

When Santa arrived at the plant, he was told that Alan would not be able to be at the breakfast due to a conflict. Alan did leave some money to get things started. Santa had a few goodies in his bag to sell to help raise some money. One of San-ta’s helpers brought a cake so Santa could auction it off to the highest bidder. Santa even bid on the cake, but there were a couple of others that really wanted it. Santa thanks Mark Williams for being the high bidder on the cake. I am sure it was delicious.

I am fairly certain that the money raised during the breakfast exceeded all expectations and Santa was invited back to give Alan a special surprise. Santa returned to the plant and met with Alan in the control room. A few pictures were taken of Alan sitting on Santa’s lap and then Santa gave Alan his surprise. Alan was made an honorary elf. It was complete with the uni-form. Alan put on his elf outfit and several more pictures were taken.

Santa would like to thank all of those who donated money, food items and coats. He would also like to thank Alan for being a good sport. Alan looked really good in his elf uniform and if he ever needs work, Santa would be glad to have him at the North Pole.

In the past, Newton Power Station employees have been known to help others when asked. This tradition continues today. There may not be as many people at power plant as there used to be, but they still have big hearts and step up when asked. Santa is very proud of the people at Newton Power Station and so am I.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and may good things happen to all in the New Year.

Till next time, please be safe.

Your Electrical Connection Volume 15, Issue 12

Page 4

Wellness, Why The Effort? ...Alan Bogardus

Often companies see the value in making wellness pro-grams because it is a fact of life that appreciating your employees doesn’t stop at the end of shift. Taking the time to care about your team’s wellbeing is the difference between a job done and a job well done.

So why do they all start and usually burn out? In my opin-ion, it is because of two reasons: 1) The program isn’t flexible enough for everyone to participate in or 2) The program wasn’t built for the long haul.

I am happy to say our program the “wellness challenge” directly touched the lives of 50 of our 84 members at the station. So far, the program has shown a success at some level for most of the participants. So what’s next? The Wellness Team struggled with that question. As I sat in the room listening to the team feel defeated because 34 people were left out. I thought wow, what a great team we have that cares so much for everyone.

I then thought maybe we shouldn’t give up on this just yet. 52 people joined the program! A number other stations would never have seen for a challenge. Sure we can get more by saying sign here on the dot; but, we have a chal-

4th Quarter Lunch & Learn ...Julie Matson

lenge. One that is designed to really show we care through an investment on both sides. A program designed to last an entire year and allow families to be a part of the journey as well and we did it in a way that was non-intrusive or offensive. Wow that is a great start!

Let’s work on making it better and not give up on it. I think

the team could now see that with the input from others

maybe we can get more involvement. So, we did that, we

made adjustments to how to join and when you can join.

We made some tweaks to support blood drive initiatives to

satisfy one of the line items. We didn’t limit it to those who

could or couldn’t; but, instead those who try for fairness. I

think we have a great program that we will adjust to fit

every shift and every person. It will still take an invest-

ment from you; but, aren’t you worth it. Join the program,

take some long walks with your family or maybe just bring

them for a fun walk at the park with us once a quarter.

There are so many ways you can make this program work,

just give it a try! We are excited to see you reach your

goals!

On, Wednesday, December 20, Scott Bloomberg from Bloomberg Chiropractic was the guest speaker for our fourth quarter lunch and learn.

Scott has practiced chiropractic care for 30 years. He and his wife Linda live in Newton and have three children. They are expecting their first grandchild in a few short weeks.

He discussed soft tissue injury prevention with the group. Sprains and strains have 3 degrees of severity. He treats those with 1st and 2nd degree while a 3rd degree issue would result in a visit to a surgeon. Scott gave us tips on what to do if we are experiencing inflammation. The best thing to do is ice the injured area and take an anti-inflammatory. Heat is not recom-mended as this can cause more swelling.

The best thing you can do to help prevent injury is stretching and a low impact exercise program.

Scott offers several areas of treatment from manipulation to acupuncture. Vita was gracious enough to receive acupuncture treatment during our lunch and learn program.

Scott Bloomberg & Vita Kistner Scott Bloomberg &Alan Bogardus

Your Electrical Connection Volume 15, Issue 12

Page 5

Inspired Energy Award Recipient—Jesse Beard

Wellness Corner

The 2017 Inspired Energy Awards dinner was a night to cele-brate those who best exemplify Dynegy’s Inspired Energy cul-tural qualities. The annual honor recognizes employees for HOW they do their jobs rather than for just WHAT they do. Robert C. Flexon, President and CEO, and Pat Wood, III, Chairman of the Board, presented the awards to the winners and their guests. Jesse Beard, Operator Helper, has been at Newton for just three years but he has made quite a difference during his rela-tively short tenure. A welder by training, Jesse is leader, both in title and action. Jesse’s nomination said “he is a role model to everyone at the station and lives and breathes safety, account-ability and a ‘can do spirit’. He is the embodiment of the phrase, “Anyone can make a difference.”

Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting What is Intermittent Fasting and Why Would You Do It? Intermittent fasting is not a diet. It's a pattern of eating. It's a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them. Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat. Why is it worthwhile to change when you’re eating? Well, most notably, it’s a great way to get lean without going on a crazy diet or cutting your calories down to nothing. In fact, most of the time you'll try to keep your calories the same when you start intermittent fasting. (Most people eat bigger meals during a shorter time frame.) Additionally, intermittent fasting is a good way to keep muscle mass on while getting lean. With all that said, the main reason people try intermittent fasting is to lose fat. Perhaps most importantly, intermittent fasting is one of the simplest strategies we have for taking bad weight off while keeping good weight on because it requires very little behavior change. This is a very good thing because it means intermittent fasting falls into the category of “simple enough that you'll actually do it, but meaningful enough that it will actually make a difference.” Most popular schedules are 16/8 (two meals) and 20/4 (one meal). Example of the 16/8 is sixteen hours of not eating from your last meal and eating two (healthy) meals in an eight hour period. Eat till your full! Studies have shown that it can have powerful benefits for weight control and the health of your body and brain. It may even help you live longer Here are the main health benefits of intermittent fasting:

Weight loss: Intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and belly fat, without having to consciously restrict calories Insulin resistance: Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar by 3-6% and fasting insulin

levels by 20-31%. This should protect against type2 diabetes. Inflammation: Some studies show reductions in markers of inflammation, a key driver of many chronic diseases. Heart health: Intermittent fasting may reduce LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers, blood sugar

and insulin resistance. These are all risk factors for heart disease. Cancer: Animal studies suggest that intermittent fasting may help prevent cancer. Brain health: Intermittent fasting increases a brain hormone called BDNF, and may aid the growth of new nerve cells. It

may also protect against Alzheimer's disease. Anti-aging: Intermittent fasting can extend lifespan in rats. Studies showed that fasted rats live as much as 36-83%

longer

How Does Intermittent Fasting Work? To understand how intermittent fasting leads to fat loss we first need to understand the difference between the fed state and the fasted state. Your body is in the fed state when it is digesting and absorbing food. Typically, the fed state starts when you begin eating and lasts for three to five hours as your body digests and absorbs the food you just ate. When you are in the fed state, it's

Pat Wood, III, Jesse Beard & Bob Flexon

Your Electrical Connection Volume 15, Issue 12

Page 6

* Any omissions in this section are entirely unintentional.

1/4 John Marschewski

1/11 Mike Moyers

1/18 Terry Hanratty

1/21 Anita Griffith

1/22 Ron Combs

1/24 Josh Fehrenbacher

1/26 Bill Tennyson

1/27 Cheryl Walters

1/29 Scott Cummins

Upcoming Events January Anniversaries & Birthdays

12/24 Christmas Eve

12/25 Christmas

12/31 New Year’s Eve

12/31 New Year’s Day

2/16 Blood Drive

Wellness Corner (Cont.)

Safety...Always In Season!

very hard for your body to burn fat because your insulin levels are high. After that timespan, your body goes into what is known as the post–absorptive state, which is just a fancy way of saying that your body isn’t processing a meal. The post–absorptive state lasts until 8 to 12 hours after your last meal, which is when you enter the fasted state. It is much easier for your body to burn fat in the fasted state because your insulin levels are low. When you're in the fasted state your body can burn fat that has been inaccessible during the fed state. Because we don't enter the fasted state until 12 hours after our last meal, it's rare that our bodies are in this fat burning state. This is one of the reasons why many people who start intermittent fasting will lose fat without changing what they eat, how much they eat, or how often they exercise. Fasting puts your body in a fat burning state that you rarely make it to during a normal eating schedule. Fasting appears to not only reduce the risk of cancer, but also cardiovascular disease.

Intermittent fasting is much easier than dieting. The reason most diets fail isn’t because we switch to the wrong foods, it’s because we don’t actually follow the diet over the long term. It's not a nutrition problem; it's a behavior change problem. This is where intermittent fasting shines because it's remarkably easy to implement once you get over the idea that you need to eat all the time. I like the quote below from Dr. Michael Eades, who has tried intermittent fasting himself, on the difference between trying a diet and trying intermittent fasting. “Diets are easy in the contemplation, difficult in the execution. Intermittent fasting is just the opposite — it’s difficult in the contemplation but easy in the execution. Most of us have contemplated going on a diet. When we find a diet that appeals to us, it seems as if it will be a breeze to do. But when we get into the nitty gritty of it, it becomes tough. For example, I stay on a low–carb diet almost all the time. But if I think about going on a low–fat diet, it looks easy. I think about bagels, whole wheat bread and jelly, mashed potatoes, corn, bananas by the dozen, etc. — all of which sound appealing. But, were I to embark on such a low–fat diet I would soon tire of it and wish I could have meat and eggs. So a diet is easy in contemplation, but not so easy in the long–term execution. Intermittent fasting is hard in the contemplation, of that there is no doubt. “You go without food for 24 hours?” people would ask, incredulously when we explained what we were doing. “I could never do that.” But once started, it’s a snap. No worries about what and where to eat for one or two out of the three meals per day. It’s a great liberation. Your food expenditures plummet. And you’re not particularly hungry. … Although it’s tough to overcome the idea of going without food, once you begin the regimen, nothing could be easier.”— Dr. Michael Eades

Bob Rohr 40 Years