NRCS Alaska News

December 23, 2005

In this Issue:

Recap of NRCS Employee Training

Two NRCS Employee Associations Join Forces for 2006 Training in Alaska

Conservation Photo Contest Winners

Earth Team Forms Now on eForms

State Office Potluck Benefits Local Charities

Add Your Cell Phone to Do Not Call List

Alaska Employee Calendar

Personnel Actions

Recap of NRCS Employee Training

I want to thank everyone for taking time out of your busy-year end and holiday schedules to come together for the NRCS staff training last week. I am glad to have had opportunity to finally meet all NRCS Alaska employees. I’m pleased with the overall atmosphere of the gathering and believe that the opportunity for interaction and discussion – both formally and informally – is important to the cohesion of the agency. 

I realize that the meeting might not have taken place at the most convenient time of year for some, but I do think it is important that we find a time to get together, especially with so many new employees joining the agency during the past year and a half.

I especially enjoyed the Q&A session and am happy to answer any questions you might have as we proceed into 2006 together.

I do ask that you take time to provide feedback for future meetings.  Yvonne Magnuson has created an on-line survey that you can access at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=105381334E43117.   Please provide your input by January 13 so that we can continue to improve these events.

And finally, I want to wish all of you and your families a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and productive 2006.

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Two NRCS Employee Associations Join Forces for 2006 Training in Alaska

NRCS’  American Indian Alaska Native Employees Association (AIANEA) and Asian Pacific Islanders Organization (APIO) will partner to hold their annual training event in Anchorage at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel during the week of August 14th, 2006.

This is the first time any of NRCS' employee organizations will meet jointly.  It's also the first time an employee organization will meet in Alaska.  Both APIO and AIANEA were encouraged by Bruce Knight, NRCS Chief, at their 2005 events to join forces.  Knight also encouraged the groups to put more emphasis on employee training.  As a result, members of both groups met December 12th in Little Rock, Ark, at the National Organization of Professional Black NRCS Employees (NOPBNRCSE) event to draft an agenda.  They focused their energy on drafting a training event that will be out of the ordinary for both groups' typical agendas.

The groups are working on providing "real training," which Clyde Goodman of the National Employee Development Center says is "acquiring a new skill or ability that you did not previously have."  The groups will offer technical, professional, and cultural training opportunities relevant to a wide cross section of NRCS employees.  The organizations will honor recipients of USDA's scholars programs at the event, and featuring Alaska's agriculture, geography, and natural resource topics.  Another great feature that is offered every year is the opportunity for NRCS employees to share success stories through poster presentations.  The event planners are hoping to attract NRCS employees and leaders from across the nation and are working hard to accommodate a wide variety of needs for training and sharing.

For more information, and updates on the conference, see the employee organizations' web sites: www.aianea.com or www.apio.org

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Conservation Photo Contest Winners

Congratulations to Ryan Maroney for submitting the Grand Prize Winning Photo for the First Annual NRCS Conservation Photo Contest. Ryan’s photo featured skiffs on a serene Goodnews Bay. 

The second place photo was taken by Jeff Knutson and featured a fiery sunrise in Delta Junction.  And the third place photo was also taken by Ryan Maroney and highlighted a cloud bank rolling over Beluga Point.

Three photos tied for fourth place: Soil Survey Near Lake Iliamna by Joe Moore; High Bluffs by Mike Mungoven; and Chester Creek Rehabilitation Project by Bill Wood.

In addition to the winners, I would like to thank all of those who entered photos in the contest. They are: Catherine Hadley, Mark Clark, Crystal Leonetti, Ronnie Maurer, Rick McClure, Mitch Michaud, Andy Oxford, Jane Standifer Trenton, Trudy Pink, Arlene Rosenkrans, Karin Sonnen, Meg Mueller, Dan Fisher, Dennis Moore, Dennis Mulligan, and Brant Dallas.

I would also like to thank the judges: Phil Naegele, Gene Schock, Pam Taber, Tom Hedt and Vicki Naegele.

Unfortunately, the hotel staff disassembled and disposed of the photo display that I had set up in the meeting room during the all employees training. If there is interest among staff in viewing all the entries, I can create a temporary
folder on the shared drive.

Now that we had a photo refresher course at the staff training, we can break out those cameras and start preparing our entries for the 2006 Conservation Photo Contest.

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Earth Team Forms Now on eForms

All forms for signing up Earth Team volunteers and monitoring hours are now available on the eForms website https://formsadmin.sc.egov.usda.gov/eformsadmin/formsearchservlet. NRCS employees may access this site by using their CAMS ID and password. 

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State Office Potluck Benefits Local Charities

A December 12 holiday potluck coordinated by NRCS and Rural Development netted $238 to the Palmer Food Bank and $175 and 30 toys to the Special Santa Program. With all the great food provided by staff, chances are we netted a few holiday pounds as well. 

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Add your Cell Phone to Do Not Call List

In January cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketing companies. These telemarketing calls might impact your free minutes and/or cost you money. You can add your cell phone number to the National Do Not Call list by calling the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222, or by registering your phone number online at: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx . It blocks your number for five (5) years.

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Alaska Employee Calendar

The Alaska employee’s calendar in online at
http://207.202.158.15/alaskanrcs/d01/01/2006authenticate=TFIFPJTXVNEXESUQSFUZS&display=M&style=B .
Please send items to Yvonne Magnuson for posting.

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Personnel Actions

Additions

• Jeffrey Rypka, civil engineer, Kenai. Jeff comes from NRCS Minnesota and reports February 5.

• Helen Denniston, agronomist, State Office. Helen comes from from NRCS Arkansas and reports February 5.

 Really New Additions

• Cameron Drake Maurer, 6 lbs  2 oz, baby, Homer.  Cameron comes from proud parents Ronnie and Angela Maurer and reported December 19.

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