Connections by Region of Waterloo

EmployEE nEwslEttEr ITS Technology Day

Waterloo Region Museum

Rowing for charity

The 9th Annual Sunnyside Foundation Golf Tournament was held at Conestoga Golf and Country Club on September 12, 2011. From left: Colleen Sargeant (Chair’s Office) and Kristen Dajka (Corporate Publishing), Bob Theisz (Finance) and Kevin Fox (Children’s Services), Cyndi Dienesch (Sunnyside Home), Oriana Sharp (Council and Admin.). See page 2. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds (top) and a T-33 at the Waterloo Air Show in August. See page 5.

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sunnyside Foundation Golf tournament a success! Wellness Centre

Wellness Expo Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 Sunnyside Campus 247 Franklin St. N., Kitchener 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Admission is free! There will be 25 display booths and educational sessions on dental hygiene, osteoporosis, foot care, medications and falls, chiropractic care, day programs, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Tours of the Sunnyside Wellness Centre and trial massages will be offered throughout the day. For more information call Laura-Lee Spaetzel, H.BSc. Wellness Centre Coordinator 519-896-0805

The 9th Annual Sunnyside Foundation Golf Tournament was held at Conestoga Golf & Country Club on Sept. 12, 2011. This year was the most successful tournament to date and raised $18,030 for Sunnyside Seniors’ Services. The Sunnyside Foundation and Seniors’ Services would like to thank the Region of Waterloo employees who volunteered their time to organize this annual event and the employees who golfed in the tournament. Together we have made a difference in the lives of the seniors who utilize Seniors’ Services long term care, supportive housing, wellness centre and community Alzheimer programs.

Above from left: Pauline Wasowicz-Adams, Teresa Trott, Glennis Cook, Heather Wilson (Social Services)

Mark Your Calendars Sunnyside Foundation Annual Bazaar Saturday, Nov. 5 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sunnyside Seniors’ Services, Heritage Hall, 247 Franklin St. N. Unique craft items from over 35 vendors! For more information, call Heather Walden Beitz at 519-893-8494 ext. 6377 or Janice Klassen at 519-893-8494 ext. 6372.

The Regional Family Christmas Party will be on Sat. Dec. 3, 2011. Come out to the Aud to skate, play games and visit with Santa. Stay tuned for details.

Top left: Paul Boone (Finance) and Paul Schnarr (Finance, retired) Bottom left: Heather Beitz (Sunnyside Home) and Mike Schuster (Social Services)

learning at work 2011 Fall is a great time of year to focus on learning and development. The Region’s Learning at Work calendar has a full schedule of learning options for you to review, and select based on your learning and development goals. Course information and registration can be accessed learning at work through the Region’s online Training Registration System (TRS). Access is through the portal’s green Quicklinks on the left side of the home page. Here are some of the exciting fall training offerings to consider: Employee Development • Conducting high performance meetings • Plain language writing • Dealing with challenging customers Leadership (Manager and Supervisor specific) • Leader as trust builder • Performance Development Program (PDP) workshop for managers

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what do you consider the biggest challenge in your job? what is the most rewarding?

One of the biggest challenges working on this monumental project is to understand and manage expectations. It is critical to find the right balance because healthy expectations lead to effective performance. The most rewarding part is working with an exceptional team of professionals who are passionate about their work and want to improve the world we share.

Darshpreet Bhatti Darshpreet is the Manager of Rapid Transit Engineering, responsible for the planning, engineering and implementation of the system. He lives with his family in Brampton.

United way: Change starts here

what personal skills are essential to the work you do?

The ability to listen, understand, plan and act to meet the needs is essential for my daily work.

what do you do to relax after a long day?

Spending time with my family (e.g. at the dinner table, evening walks) allows me to relax and recharge for the next day. what is your favourite meal?

I enjoy many cuisines from different regions and cultures. what is your favourite holiday and why?

I prefer summer holidays because I love to travel and experience the beauty of Canada. If you could travel to one place, where would you go?

Space travel only if I can afford it.

Do you know someone who would like to be spotlighted? Do you have suggestions for new Spotlight questions? Email your ideas to connections@regionofwaterloo.ca Our days are a flurry of phone calls and emails; job demands balanced with home-life demands. We are asked to give time, energy and talents towards the jobs for which we’re hired and yes, every year we’re asked for just a bit for charity too. Why?

This year’s United Way Campaign blitz runs Friday, Oct. 21 through Friday, Nov. 4. Be a hero every day; please give to United Way.

Change starts here. In the blink of an eye, any one of us could have our circumstances change, leaving us struggling to make ends meet, struggling to keep our families afloat, or struggling to maintain hope. As a collective, we’ve got what it takes to affect change. If every Regional employee would donate just $1 per day, we would raise well over $1 million for United Way. Please consider the impact your donation has on this community and those in need.

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Arran Rowles Arran is the Manager of the Immigration Partnership. She lives in Guelph with her husband Cal, and sons Chris and Adam.

what do you consider the biggest challenge in your job? what is the most rewarding? The biggest challenge in my job is helping to create an understanding that making big changes to a system is complex and takes time. It involves creating new partnerships and relationships and the evidence of change is often slower than most people would like! We need to engage many people in working towards making the system better (in this case, for immigrants within Waterloo Region). The most rewarding part of my job is that I get to work with many, many passionate and knowledgeable people. It is always exciting to be a part of a process that identifies a problem and through the collective efforts of many people, creative solutions are found. It is certainly true that the “sum is greater than its parts” and we can achieve more by working together. what personal skills are essential to the work you do? I think it is important to be able to envision “the big picture” and be able to get others interested in participating; therefore, relationshipbuilding skills are very important. Strong communication skills, both verbal and written are needed. It also

helps if you enjoy facilitating meetings with many diverse groups. Additionally, it is essential to be flexible, creative and very well organized. what do you do to relax after a long day? After a long day I like to listen to audio books on my drive home, particularly mysteries and thrillers. Once I arrive home, I like to relax with my family and to enjoy a family meal together. On days when I am particularly motivated, a walk is always a good stress reliever! what is your favourite meal? Michael’s on the Thames in London, Ontario makes a fabulous Caesar salad. It pairs perfectly with just about everything else on their menu. what is your favourite holiday and why? I would have to say that Christmas is my favourite holiday. I like the preparations; shopping, baking, and decorating. We make a point of staying home at Christmas and enjoy spending time with family and friends. If you could travel to one place, where would you go? I would love to take a trip to Europe, specifically to France, England, and Italy.

Its technology Day This year’s Technology Day event showcased new options in technology and service. Employees leading the improved service structure were on hand to explain quicker and more helpful service features. Stay tuned to learn more about how ITS is here to help.

(L to R) Mohammed Faheemuddin, Fazil Rasheed, Terry Yantzi, Katrina Howald, Craig Crawford, Arlene McDonald, Ray Trask, John Thomson and Chris Horton (ITS).

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waterloo Air show thrills audiences By Stacey Ferris They laughed, they cried, they covered their ears. The third and largest Waterloo Air Show to date took place at the Region of Waterloo International Airport in August and thrilled audiences with all the elements of true entertainment: humorous acrobatics; death-defying stunts; classic favourites and a touching tribute to vets. The newest, fastest and loudest addition to the show was the F-16 Fighting Falcon also known as the ‘Viper’. The agility and speed of the aircraft amazed the crowd. Children and grown-ups alike enjoyed the colourful acrobatic planes and their humorous yet spellbinding stunts like landing on a moving ice cream truck. The all-time favourite Canadian Forces Snowbirds offered a perfect finale, demonstrating the impeccable skill and grace they’re famous for.

The popular Jelly Belly plane

The Canadian Forces Snow Birds

Crowds line up to get a closer look at the airport’s fire truck

Every year the show adds new performers, vendors and activities. Be sure to get your employee tickets early next year.

Accessing the region by phone will become simpler By Ann Derry In our continuous efforts to better serve the public by making access to Regional services simpler, more consistent and convenient, the Region will be creating a consolidated call centre that can be reached through one easy-to-recognize telephone number, 24/7. This decision was approved by Council on Aug. 25, 2011. Feedback received from the public and staff over the past couple years has shown that we need to improve

how we handle calls. We acted on that feedback and, in June 2010, began an extensive, year-long study that spanned across our organization. The creation of the call centre was subsequently recommended as the single most significant change we could make to achieve this goal. The call centre will be completed and launched to the public in spring 2014. Establishing a call centre is a lengthy and complex process that requires detailed planning, consultation and organization-wide collaboration. It is

significant change for us at the Region, but one that comes with great benefits to the public, individual program areas and our organization as a whole. As we move forward with this initiative, staff from across the organization will be involved and we will communicate regularly on our progress and next steps. Visit the employee Portal for updates or contact Deb Bergey at ext. 4097 or dbergey@regionofwaterloo.ca.

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A champion in our midst

Bringing comfort to people with cancer

Sunnyside Home’s Mara Markovic-Siladi displays her judo medals

By Kelly Buxton There are very few lives that have not been affected in some way by cancer. After being involved in creating two group-quilts for colleagues living with cancer, Sheila Goldsworthy (Labour Relations Advisor) took caring for people living with cancer to a whole new level by establishing the WaterlooWellington branch of Victoria’s Quilts Canada. Victoria’s Quilts Canada is a charitable organization that provides quilts to people living with cancer at no cost to either the recipient or the requester in hopes of providing both physical and spiritual comfort. Since its establishment in January 2011, the Waterloo Wellington Branch has delivered 30 quilts and has 15 active volunteers. Key volunteers include Anne Schlorff (Public Health) and Kelly Buxton (Social Services). Recipients have included women and men of all ages as well as children. “I want to mobilize the huge quilting community in K-W to meet the needs of our community. My hope and prayer is this tangible expression of love and caring will comfort, sustain, and bring warmth to the recipients,” said Sheila. If you would like to request a quilt for someone living with cancer, go to www.victoriasquiltscanada.com. If you are interested in becoming involved, contact Sheila at vqbecausewecare@gmail.com.

APPLAUSE

Mara Markovic-Siladi is a restorative care assistant at Sunnyside Home, but in her spare time, she’s a world champion judoka. Mara won two gold medals at the recent Grand Masters World Championship in Frankfurt, Germany. She has a 6th-degree black belt and currently coaches the SouthWest Ontario Judo Team. “My life over the five to six months leading to the World Championships consisted of going to work, practicing, eating and sleeping,” said Mara. “But all of that is forgotten when you are fighting on an International stage.” This fall, Mara will represent Canada at the Pan-American Grand Masters Championship in Brazil. The Region wishes her all the best as she competes for gold!

Collaborating to serve people in need By Wilma Schultz

distribution centres work.

When Canada Post employees went on strike in June, E&IS had 4,000 Ontario Works cheques that needed to be distributed manually. We ran two distribution centres; one in Cambridge and one in Kitchener. Staff volunteers sorted the cheques, recorded them in our database and boxed them up. It took 40 staff volunteers in Kitchener and 28 in Cambridge to make the

In addition to E&IS staff, we had volunteers from ITS, Social Planning Policy and Program Administration and Children’s Services. Corporate Resources arranged for extra security guards and Treasury Services notified banks in the area. Corporate Communications staff ensured the word got out to clients through local media and on our corporate website: a true example of collaboration!

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rowing for charity By Kathleen Barsoum Staff members from Waste Management rowed for charity this summer. All novices, these rowers spent eight weeks on the Grand River learning bow from stern and a variety of rowing techniques under the tutelage of the coxswain (a very patient and experienced rower) from the K-W Rowing Club. These new-found skills were put to the test at a Regatta on Aug. 13. Although our teams did not take first place, sprint racing across Laurel Creek was nothing short of thrilling. Staff fundraising efforts like watermelon sales and raffles showed the amazing generosity of the entire waste management staff in supporting our teams. Combined with the other teams at this event, over $26,000 was raised for Heart and Stroke. We challenge you all dockside next year!

Photo from left to right: Linda Churchill, Kathleen Barsoum, Sue White, Jenn Stewart, April Yochim, Eileen Knowles, Yvonne Kohlmetz.

Volunteer group given community policing award In June 2011, the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) and the Cambridge Community Partners Group received a community policing award from the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police for their work on a tunnel revitalization project meant to reduce violence. In order to address escalating violence targeted at the Children help paint over graffiti as Muslim community in part of a tunnel revitalization Cambridge, WRPS partnered project in Cambridge. with representatives from the Cambridge YMCA, the Alison Neighbourhood Community Centre, leaders within the Muslim community and Waterloo Region Housing (represented by Lorraine Eisenporth). In addition to undertaking other projects, this team of community leaders worked with the City of Cambridge and community residents to revitalize a footpath tunnel underneath railway tracks that was identified as a focal point for much of the violence in the neighbourhood. The tunnel was painted, weeds were cleared and the surrounding area was landscaped.

Join the salt-free diet By Colleen Brown When winter arrives, it’s important to stay safe, but throwing large amounts of salt on our walkways and driveways isn’t the answer. By using less salt you will: • Reduce salt corrosion damage to your walkways • Decrease salty build-up that can ruin your boots and clothing • Reduce health risks to your pets from salt trapped on paws or ingested • Protect your plants and grass from unwanted salt when snow melts • Help protect our drinking water Let’s all do our part to manage our salt use: • Wear proper outdoor footwear and make use of snow tires • Shovel snow as soon as possible after a snowfall • Redirect downspouts away from walkways and driveways to eliminate ice build-up • Use salt sparingly and only when required • Hire a smart about salt certified contractor For more information, visit www.smartaboutsalt.com.

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Since the election of the new Regional Council late last year, the Region has been working on developing a new strategic plan for the 2011-2014 Council term. This has given us a unique opportunity to include and engage employees, council, residents, community partners, advisory committees and other orders of government, in identifying key issues and priorities for the next four years. The process highlighted important issues and identified new initiatives. With all the rich information provided by staff and citizens, combined with leadership from Regional council, we have a strategic plan that will guide the Region towards its vision of being an inclusive, thriving and sustainable community committed to maintaining harmony between rural and urban areas and fostering opportunities for current and future generations. From this process, Regional Council has developed five focus areas that will ensure Region programs and services meet the needs of our community. They are: • Environmental Sustainability • Growth Management and Prosperity • Sustainable Transportation • Healthy and Inclusive Communities • Service Excellence In each Focus Area, we have identified a number of specific objectives and actions that will help address our

passport to play! While you’re at Waterloo Region Museum, pick up a Passport to Play. Visit participating museums and cultural attractions in Waterloo Region and get your passport stamped for chances to win great prizes. Visit www.PassportToPlay.ca for details.

community priorities. On behalf of the Region’s Corporate Leadership Team, I’d like to thank everyone who helped in various ways to develop this vision, as well as those who worked to determine the objectives and actions included in the plan. In addition to delivering all our ongoing programs and services, those involved managed to share their energy and dedication in identifying creative new solutions to the community’s most critical needs. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the Corporate Leadership Team and Senior Management Team for their role in the strategic planning and implementation process. The Region is committed to informing employees and residents about strategic plan progress. As part of our effort to protect and enhance the environment, we are significantly reducing the number of printed materials used and will communicate plan progress through an interactive web-based tool. I encourage you to stay connected as we begin to implement the 2011-2014 Strategic Plan so you know how you, as a Region employee, can make a difference every day.

Do you have a question for mike? send it to connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

Come discover the history of waterloo region This November, Waterloo Region Museum’s long-term exhibit opens. Come out and discover a world of history in your own backyard! The exhibit traces the human history of Waterloo Region from approximately 12,000 years ago, through European settlement at the start of the 19th century, through the manufacturing heydays of the 20th century, to the high tech sector boom of the 21st century. From telegraphs and Conestoga Wagons to the BlackBerry and Toyota Corollas, the exhibit contains many historical artifacts that will help you understand this community and the many reasons why people from around the world have immigrated to this region of Canada.

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