Good afternoon MTAS,

I hope that your last week of February is going well for you. I am amazed that it’s already time to start writing “March.” I know February is a short month, but golly it flew by.

Here are some highlights from last week:
· The family campaign continues, but you are about to run out of time. The campaign wraps up on the 5 ^th . We are focusing on 100% participation, and I need eleven more of you to be a part of this to succeed. To all who have contributed, THANK YOU!!! and to the few that haven’t yet, here is the link to join in:
http://journey.utk.edu/s/1341/alumni/17campaign/interior.aspx?sid=1341&gid=2&pgid=10082 . I will personally talk to any/all of you who have questions about why it’s a fantastic idea to give to MTAS/IPS/UT.
· IPS was awarded the Commitment Level award from the TN Center for Performance Excellence – congratulations to the team who wrote and submitted the applications!
· Annual Performance Reviews – supervisors began meeting with employees last week and meetings should conclude by Friday this week.

In other news, Dr. DiPietro delivered his state of the university address yesterday in Nashville. I felt very proud to work for UT and IPS during the presentation that highlighted IPS and particularly LEIC’s training on active shooters and their efforts on opioid abuse. Here’s a link to the address:
https://news.tennessee.edu/2018/02/28/ut-focuses-its-might-on-solving-the-opioid-crisis/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=UT&utm_campaign=tntoday . I’d love it if MTAS was the highlighted IPS agency next year.

Speaking of working with UT, we had a work anniversary last week – Dawn McMillian just hit her two year mark with us on the 22 ^nd . Congratulations Dawn! Another celebration is Stephanie’s birthday on the 21 ^st . Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Lastly, I want to call your attention to our social media efforts. Frances has been working diligently to heighten our social media presence. Below is some information she’s shared with me to share with you. Please consider adding a line to your email signature that encourages customers to Follow and Like us.

Did you know that MTAS has an active social media presence on Facebook and Twitter?
Throughout 2018, MTAS is undertaking a campaign to raise awareness about our social media presence. Social media is one of the integral tools we have to connect and share information with customers. Facebook and Twitter provide a quick way to see what is going on at MTAS and to check out our latest offerings.

So, what can you do to be part of the campaign?
ü Check out the MTAS Facebook and Twitter accounts. Let Dawn or me know what you think.
ü Send us items to post. We post jobs, class notices, conference announcements, news of interest, and much more.
ü Encourage our customers to follow us. One easy way you can help is to add the little graphics shown below, with the links, to your email signature line for a few months.

Thank you! Look for more activities and events that are part of the campaign throughout calendar year 2018.


Happy Friday tomorrow, and I hope that you get a chance to dry out over the weekend. In looking at the weather reports, I think just about the entire state was under a flood watch between yesterday and today.

Take care Team,
Margaret