HUMAN RESOURCES
NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2019
A pair of wild horses clash briefly after 26 are released by the Bureau of Land Management onto the 11,000 acre Sands Basin Herd Management Area southwest of Homedale, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. The mustangs are being returned home after nearly all of the Sands Basin HMA was burned by the 279,144-acre Soda Fire in 2015. Photo by Brian Myrick, The Idaho Press
AskHR!
Have a question, but don’t know whom to ask? The Human Resources staff is listening! You can always send an email to Ask HR if you have questions or concerns. Emails will be kept confidential and, if we print your question in the APG newsletter, we will not use your name. Questions may be emailed to AskHR@adamspg.com or sent interoffice to your regional HR representative.
DON’T KNOW WHOM TO CALL? CONTACT HUMAN RESOURCES. JO ANN HOPSON, PHR, SHRM-CP, CEBS
CHARLENE VOLD
APG Vice President of Human Resources All states, Based in Tennessee/North Carolina joann.hopson@adamspg.com | 423.620.8771
HR Manager – APG Media Central Division, Minnesota, Wisconsin 763.712.2412
TOM CLOUTIER
HR Manager - Greenville, Rocky Mount, Elizabeth City,NC and Key West, FL gdavis@apgenc.com | 252.366.8139
DEB BROOKS
APG Media of Southern Wisconsin HR Generalist – APG Janesville, Antigo and Beloit, Wisconsin sluebke@gazetteextra.com
Talent Acquisition Director for APG HR Manager – APG Maryland/Ohio tcloutier@adamspg.com | 410.770.4159 HR Manager – APG Midwestern Division, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Utah dbrooks@skagitpublishing.com | 360.416.2187
GWEN DAVIS
STEPHANIE LUEBKE
HUMAN
VOYA INSIGHTS
FUNERAL PLANNING AND CONCIERAGE SERVICES
Life has one certain outcome... and while no one can predict it, Voya Employee Benefits can help your clients and their employees prepare for it. Voya Employee Benefits offers employees an opportunity to discuss and obtain information from independent experts regarding the planning of a funeral for themselves and eligible family members. This service is available with our group life insurance contracts and is provided by Everest Funeral Package, LLC, an independent consumer advocate, which helps consumers prepare for and deal with all aspects of a funeral.
PLAN LEVELS
ADP UPDATE REMINDER: Has your personal information changed this year? Make sure to look over your personal information on ADP to make sure your personal information is up to date. Any discrepancies in your Social Security Number, Lived In/Worked and/or state/local spellings can prevent your W-2 for 2019 from going out to you on time. UPDATE DEADLINE: 12/21/2019
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE TEXT BREAKING NEWS
TEXT ADAMSPG TO 41411 TO SIGN UP 2
Employers can choose one of the following: • Level 1: Employee, spouse and children • Level 2: Employee, spouse, children, and parents of employee and spouse
PROGRAM FEATURES
Employees will receive the following benefits when the funeral planning and concierge service is added to the group life insurance: 24 X 7 ADVISOR PLANNING ASSISTANCE FROM HIGHLY-TRAINED ADVISORS • Assistance to discuss funeral planning issues • Help creating a personal funeral plan PRICEFINDER RESEARCH REPORTS • Detailed, local funeral home price comparisons • Available on demand via Everest’s website NEGOTIATION ASSISTANCE • Pricing information presented to employees in an easy-to-read format • Negotiate funeral service pricing with local funeral homes Help family compare prices of funeral planning services
ONLINE FUNERAL PLANNING TOOLS • Tools include: - Personal profile - “10 key decisions” planner - “My Wishes” planning guide - Reference guide • Plans accessed via an online profile • Information stored and maintained in a secure data warehouse FAMILY ASSISTANCE AND PLAN IMPLEMENTATION • At-need family support includes assistance throughout the funeral process • Communicate personal funeral plan to funeral home, removing family from sales-focused environment • Provide 24-hour assistance throughout the funeral process EXPEDITED LIFE INSURANCE CLAIM PROCESSING IS AVAILABLE • Eligible beneficiaries may have access to a portion of their life insurance funds in as little as two business days following receipt of the claim form
RESOURCES
THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME TO DRIVE Shorter days, fatigue, compromised night vision, rush hour and impaired drivers are some of the risks we face when driving at night. When Daylight Saving Time ends – for 2019, that’s 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 – many people will find themselves spending more time driving in the dark. Depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision can be compromised in the dark, and the glare of headlights from an oncoming vehicle can temporarily blind a driver.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO COMBAT DARKNESS? Aim your headlights correctly, and make sure they’re clean Dim your dashboard Look away from oncoming lights If you wear glasses, make sure they’re anti-reflective Clean the windshield to eliminate streaks Slow down to compensate for limited visibility and reduced stopping time
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AS WE ‘FALL BACK’ TO SHORTER DAYS, TAKE EXTRA CARE ON THE ROAD COMPROMISED NIGHT VISION
Night vision is the ability to see well in lowlight conditions. As we age, we have greater difficulty seeing at night. A 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year-old. At age 60 and older, driving can become even more difficult, according to the American Optometric Association. Some older drivers also may have compromised vision due to cataracts and degenerative eye diseases.
ZZZ FATIGUE
A National Sleep Foundation poll says 60% of adults have driven while they were tired, and another 37%, or 103 million people, have fallen asleep at the wheel. Drowsy driving puts everyone on the road at risk. Losing two hours of sleep has the same effect on driving as having three beers, and tired drivers are three times more likely to be in a car crash if they are fatigued.
RUSH HOUR
Evening rush hour is a dangerous time to drive due to crowded roadways and drivers eager to get home after work. In winter, it’s dark during rush hour, compounding an already dangerous driving situation.
IMPAIRED DRIVERS
Nearly 30 people die every day in crashes that involve a driver impaired by alcohol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drivers impaired by prescription medicines and other drugs increase that number significantly. Impaired drivers are most frequently on the road after dark – particularly between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. on weekends. While drunk driving has declined by about onethird since 2007, the number of drivers under the influence of drugs has increased.
STAY ALERT, STAY ALIVE
While we do only one quarter of our driving at night, 50% of traffic deaths happen at night. It doesn’t matter whether the road is familiar or not, driving at night is always more dangerous. More than 40,000 people were killed in car crashes in 2016, according to Injury Facts. By taking some extra precautions, we can all contribute to reducing these numbers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/ night-driving 3
MOVIE NIGHT
MOVIE NIGHT NOW PLAYING: BEETLEJUICE
For your chance to be the lucky winner of an APG Swag and Movie Bag, answer the trivia question below correctly:
IN “BEETLEJUICE,” WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE BOOK THAT YOU ARE GIVEN WHEN YOU DIE? All answers should be submitted to AskHR@adamspg.com. The winner will be drawn on Friday, October 15, 2019.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SEPTEMBER WINNER – KELLY PICKERING, THE GREENEVILLE SUN The Question: in “You’ve Got Mail,” which of the shoes books is Kathleeen’s favorite? *Contents of winner’s prize pack may vary.
The Answer Was: The Ballet Shoes
DO YOU HAVE A BRIGHT IDEA FOR OUR COMPANY NEWSLETTER?
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Send your thoughts, suggestions, ideas for future newsletters to AskHR@adamspg.com.
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