11/04/2016

· Spring forward. Fall back. You know the drill. We get an extra hour sleep tomorrow night (Really? Do we?). Set those clocks back tomorrow night or you’ll be really early for anything you have scheduled Sunday.

· I know Halloween was earlier this week, but take a look at this photo…from Knoxville…




· Well, I’m unsure as to what could / should be said about this. Armintha, great blend of colors! Dawn, well………. PJ, looking a little jaundiced there. Ab, perhaps the scariest costume of them all…and I also want to wish you all the best on your job search!

· The steering committee working on the IPS strategic plan has been working the last two days at Fall Creek Falls State Park. More good work complketed. Some more needed to get to the finish. Good progress is being made. I appreciate Lisa, Rick and macel being part of this important project.

· Those bells you hear ringing? Yep! Wedding bells! Elisha and Ricardo will marry November 12 ^th …and we wish them only the best. Congratulations, Elisha!

· Kay and I had a very productive meeting at UT Martin last week concerning CMFO and the possibilyty of it qualifying for academic credit. Like anything else that has the potential for a good outcome, there are quite a few details to work out but the work will be well directed to providing some additional education opportunities to those who have and will complete CMFO and kept their certification active. We’ll keep you advised of progress.

· Dern, it’s November already. Yep! Count ‘em! Only 50 shopping days left ‘til Christmas.

· Quite a few service anniversaries around this time. Michelle Buckner joined MTAS on October 29 ^th , 2007. Melissa Ashburn came on board on November 1, 2001. Patrick Mills started on November 3, 2014. Kelley Myers Joined us on November 4, 2013. Sherri Brown moved to MTAS on November 5, 2012. What each of you have given us and our customers is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your service.

· Being a little serious about this time change thing, Dennis sent me this about something else we should all do tomoorw… Working smoke alarms save lives. Is your smoke alarm working? Don't forget to check your smoke alarm and change your batteries this weekend. If your smoke alarm is more than ten years old, replace it with a 10-year smoke alarm, which has non-replaceable batteries that last ten years. That ten-year old thing probably applies to a bunch of us. Does at my house for sure. Thanks, Dennis.

· Happy birthday to Sharee (November 9^th) and Dawn (November 11^th) next week. Gosh, thirty nine years old! Amazing!

· IPS Leadership Team meets in Cookeville next Tuesday, November 8^th.

· Lastly, remember a few things…
o What each of you do every day for our customers and each other is recognized and appreciated. Really! It is!
o “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
o Golf Digest reports that during the summer, most golf courses in Iceland are open and playable 24 hours a day. Thought you needed to know this as you plan next summer’s vacation.

· A little cooler today than it has been in several weeks. Is fall finally here? Hope so…and hope it’s a comfortable weekend for each of you.

Jim Thomas, Executive Director
(O) 615. 532.4950 (C) 615.972.9219

jim.thomas@tennessee.edu

www.mtas.tennessee.edu