IAAP – Municipal Employees Chapter

Municipal Employees Chapter members continue to give back to our community.  Over the holidays, Debbie Boyd and Donna Mitchell CPS/CAP took time out of their busy schedules to be “ice cream scoopers” for a local nursing home.  Doris Davis CPS/CAP had the job of Christmas shopping for the chapter’s Toys for Tots donations.  Tough job but someone had to do it!

As we start into the New Year we each need to be reminded of the things we have and have a willing heart to help others.  In helping others we also get blessed.  Honoring our comittments to the chapter and each other should be every member’s desire.

Congratulations to Mary Beth Bender CPS for successfully passing her CPS exam in November 2009.  She got a pleasant Christmas present when her notificiation came in the mail over the holidays. 

Mary Beth joined the Municiapal Employees chapter in March of 2009 and has jumped right in.  Way to go Mary Beth.

This year our chapter wanted to give of ourselves back to our community.  Times are hard now for everyone so we chose two projects that directly impact senior citizens and families struggling to keep food on the table.

During the months of August, September, and October we collected non-perishable food items to give to a local food bank, The Quinn House.  You can learn more about this ministry’s mission and needs at their website www.thequinnhouse.com.  They are a licensed food bank and have been established in Lawrenceville for over 25 years.

 Our members also wanted to do a “hands on” project.  As a group we signed up to volunteer at Life Care Center in Lawrenceville.  Over the next 6 months we committed to provide ice cream scoopers one Saturday a month.  Jody and I took the first month of October.  I have to say it was a lot of fun for us to work in the Ice Cream Shop and meet the residents.  Brusters watch out!

When was the last time you stopped to admire the sunrise? How about the sunset? Did you look at all the different colors? Did you admire how the colors washed through the clouds? Did you notice the shapes of the clouds or how the buildings or trees looked against the horizon? Too often in today’s world we forget to stop and take time to admire the sunrise or the sunset. We forget to be thankful for what we have; instead we gripe and complain about what we don’t have.

 You may wonder – how do I do this? How do I be thankful instead of complaining? One example is the rain. We have been very blessed, especially the last few months, with rain. How many of you have complained about it raining or wished it would stop? How many of you were praying for rain last year and at the beginning of this year? Yet when we got it, did you start complaining about it instead of being thankful that we were getting enough to fill the lakes back up?

 This same philosophy can be applied to any situation – instead of complaining, look for something to be thankful for. It may mean taking a totally opposite view of how you normally look at something – stepping outside your comfort zone and looking at things totally different. This can be very hard to do and it takes lots of practice but it can be done. When you start to complain or think/speak negatively, stop yourself. Instead think about what you can be thankful for about the situation or person.

 With the holiday season fast approaching and the biggest shopping day of the year drawing closer (the Black Friday ads have started appearing), it is important to remember to take the time to be thankful and appreciative of what we have instead of being resentful of what we don’t. There is enough stress in all of our lives without us creating more. So next time you are up early enough, take time to watch the sunrise, admire the colors and how the reflect in the clouds. Look at the horizon and see how the trees and/or buildings look against it. Or, when you are out and about coming home from work or running errands, take the time to admire the sunset and be thankful for the opportunity to watch the sunset, for the completion of another day, for being able to run errands or to have a job to come home from.

Municipal Employees Chapter will be collecting food  for a local co-op.  Bring your non-perishable food items with you to our meetings in August, September & October.

Our August meeting will be held on the 4th Thursday, August 27th.  This is for the month of August only.  Please join us as GA Division President Donna Mitchell CPS/CAP is our guest speaker. For more information, see the link to the meeting notice at the right.

We will resume our regular schedule of meeting on the 3rd Thursday evening in September.

Please also note, starting with the August meeting our new time.  Networking will be from 5:45 pm with the program beginning at 6:00 pm.  The location has stayed the same. 

On June 30, 2009 the 2009-2010 Officers for Municipal Employees Chapter were installed. Georgia Division President Donna Mitchell CPS/CAP conducted the installation ceremony.

In keeping with doing something different, this year’s installation ceremony was a Book Installation Ceremony. President Mitchell chose a John Maxwell Leadership book to present to each incoming officer. Each book represented a skill or knowledge set that would assist the incoming officer in their new duties and responsibilities.

The 2009-2010 officers are:

            President                     Rena Blackstock CPS/CAP

            Vice-President             Jody Jones

            Secretary                     Lorraine Powell CPS/CAP

            Treasurer                    Cheryl Goodwin CAP

Good luck to these officers as we embark on a new year and new challenges as well as opportunities.  

Cheryl, Lorraine, Jody, Rena

At the June 30 Installation Meeting, our Chapter decided to do something a little different….we held an Outstall Ceremony for the 2008-2009 outgoing officers.

The ceremony was a way to express our appreciation to these officers for their dedication and commitment to IAAP and to Municipal Employees Chapter. Each outgoing officer was presented with a copy of the poem read during the ceremony. The copy of the poem also contained a picture of the American flag.

The outgoing officers are:

            President                     Doris Davis CPS/CAP

            Vice-President             Jody Jones

            Secretary                     Debbie Boyd

            Treasurer                     Rena Blackstock CPS/CAP

Doris, Jody, Debbie, Rena

Thank you members of the Municipal Employees Chapter for all your support and encouragement since I’ve been on the Georgia Division Board of Directors. Thank you also for the beautiful President’s Reception you gave me after my installation banquet. Everything was beautiful and so elegant. And I absolutely loved my clock! You are all awesome and I am so very blessed to have you as my home chapter!

POWER or Commitment, Professionals Achieving the Extraordinary is the theme I chose for Georgia Division this year and boy does that describe the Municipal Employees Chapter! You have always gone above and beyond what was asked of you and you have always succeeded! Our members posses a variety of talents and you all work so well together as a team. St. Francis of Assisi once said All getting separates you from others; all giving unites to others. You have especially been a strong united team the past two years. This past year as you prepared for the President’s Reception and the year before as you hosted the 2008 Georgia Division Annual Meeting. Those were two huge undertakings for a small chapter, but you did an outstanding job on both. Your selfless actions over these past two years speak very highly of you as individuals and as a chapter.

Thank you again for all you have done and for setting the example for others to follow!