Week Ending: September 12, 2008 A Glowing “Thank You” Letter Received Vance Teel received a “Thank You” letter from John De Gennaro, President of Patronato, INCA - CGIL, USA, acknowledging Gisele Johnson (BET, Mod 3), Natalie Hamlett (Module Manager, Mod 3) and Loretta Terry (RFBO, Rome) for their commendable assistance. The letter reads: “It is not my character to thank anyone for doing the job for which he or she is compensated. However, I do feel acknowledgement is necessary when an employee surpasses expectations, taking their responsibilities to a higher level. Gisele and Natalie are fine people who are clearly capable in their profession. They should be commended for their competence, personal character and overall demeanor. Years ago, I adapted the acronym QLC to mean: Quality, Loyalty, and Consistency. Ms. Johnson and Ms. Hamlett fit the acronym perfectly; delivering quality service, maintaining loyalty to the OIO, and for displaying consistency in the service they provide. They commit and deliver every time. Our experience with them was refreshing. They are a valuable asset to your organization. In addition, we would once again like to impose on your kindness in asking you to deliver a message of appreciation to Ms. Loretta M. Terry (RFBO, Rome), who is to be credited for planning the last month’s meeting, as well as for being a formidable moderator.” Special Visitors to the San Jose Region Assistant Associate Commissioner, Vance Teel; Regional Federal Benefits Officer for the San Jose Region, Jane McEntee; and DIO Module Manager, Roberto Pena are visiting the San Jose region this week. To-date, they conducted an Operations Review at the Buenos Aires FBU. They have also held meetings with the Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Mission, Consul General and other Embassy Officials. FFO Field Visit - Calabria John Paul Maresca (FR, Naples) conducted a “coast-to-coast” trip in Calabria, Italy, during the week of September 8th. He drove almost 1,800 km in five days, visiting people at their homes and paying a half-day visit to a Patronato office in Marina di Gioiosa Jonica, RC, which contains a large pool of SSA beneficiaries and U.S. Citizens. During John’s visit he processed the following SSA workloads: 4 Nonagenarians, 13 Age 85 study cases, 6 Claims, 1 Rep Payee application, 2 FEQs reinstatements, and 6 enumerations. 1
During a visit with a Nonagenarian and while requesting an ID, the beneficiary showed her first passport which was issued when she was age 18, back in 1929. This historical document was issued during the reign of King Vittorio Emanuele III who reined Italy from 1900 through 1946. He was the King who ruled Italy during the two world wars. Rome Age 85 Study - Update As of August 15, 2008, the Rome region completed approximately 70% of the sample cases, and found overpayments totaling a just over $11,000.00. The "unreported death" rate is at less than 2%. Paris Post Visit Rome RFBO, Loretta M. Terry, conducted a post visit at the Paris FBU during the week of August 28, 2008. Along with Operations Supervisor, Massimo DeFeo, Loretta met with the staff and reviewed some of the work processes. Loretta also welcomed the new staff person, Paolo Muratore, who transferred from the Naples FBU. Loretta shared SSA’s goal which is to continue to move towards more and more electronic services (eServices) stating, “Before much longer, someone ready to retire can take and complete all actions on the Internet, not even having to submit a hard copy of a form, or a ‘wet’ signature!” Above and Beyond OIO’s Staff Assistant, Rosalie “Rose” Colvin, assisted the Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs) with a bank transition on behalf of the Veterans’ Administration (VA). VA Foreign Service Program Manager, Robert Connor, contacted SSA to find an alternative solution. Rose contacted the Securityplus Credit Union and spoke directly with the Tim Carney (Vice President) and Jack Schaffer (CEO), who agreed to resolve the bank issue. As a result, the FSNs and the VA were grateful for Rose’s intervention. SSA was also grateful for Tim’s and Jack’s assistance, but more importantly, we recognize that Rose went ‘above and beyond’ to resolve this issue. Thank you Rose for your exemplary customer service. Onset Date Checklist and Self-Employment SGA Decision Guide A useful one-page Onset Date Checklist can be used to ensure that all the necessary forms, issues and development are completed. The three-step Self-Employment SGA Decision Guide applies mostly to domestic FO’s. However, the test 2 – comparability does apply to the FFO’s and should be considered when making an SGA decision.
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