01/29/2018

Hello MTAS Family,

Greetings on this sunny Monday (well, it was sunny in Knoxville at least).

Oh, I’ve got great things to share with you; where do I begin? If you’re a follower of Steven Covey, then you begin with the end in mind (strategic planning). So, using that as inspiration, let me share with you that the TNCPE feedback report for IPS is in. The IPS leadership team is in receipt of the report and is going to begin working through the feedback (aka gift) that we received as a result of our application and field visit from the examiners. It is chock full of OFIs,(I pronounce that oh-fees) and that stands for Opportunities for Improvement. As Herb often says “you don’t have to be sick to get better” and this gives us a roadmap to “better.”

Next, here is a status report on filling various MTAS position vacancies:
· Coordinator I, training and development position in Nashville (formerly held by Patrick)– interviewing phase
· Business Manager position in Knoxville (formerly held by Dale) – recruiting/screening phase
· IPS Consultant II, Training position in Knoxville (formerly held by PJ) - recruiting/screening phase
· IPS Consultant III, Municipal Management Consultant position in Nashville (formerly held by Jeff) - recruiting/screening phase
· Administrative Support Assistant II in Knoxville (held by Alana until early February when she leaves us for amazing opportunities in NV) – we are exploring temp options as recruiting/screening phase gets ready to start

As is the case for our customers, it’s about to be budget time in Tennessee. The UT president is giving his state of the university address February 28 at 2:30 at the Nashville Public Library. This will be webcast live, so you can listen in from anywhere. Be on the lookout in the TN Today for more information and links to the webcast. You can be sure that I’ll be tuned in to the speech, if not there in person.

If you remember, last week I gave you a puzzle. It made me happy to know that at least one person solved it. Congratulations to John Grubbs on solving the cryptograph. The quote is:
I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I woke and saw that life was Duty.
I acted, and behold, Duty was Joy.
This is credited to Rabindranath Tagore.

Finally, happiest of birthday wishes to Pat who celebrated on January 24.

I wish you all a productive week ahead,
Margaret