MTAS Mustard for week ended 5/1/20

 

Hi there MTAS,
 
It sure was great to see so many of you yesterday for our town hall meeting on returning to the office. I appreciate you joining in, and asking so many questions. I am a firm believer in the saying that “the only stupid question is the one that doesn’t get asked.” If you missed the session, and want to watch a recording of the 24 minute meeting, here is a link: https://tinyurl.com/Townhall5-4-20. If you don’t have that much time, and want a one-page synopsis, Armintha did a great job of taking notes, and her work is attached. Thank you Armintha!
 
The big news from last week was the announcement that we will begin a return to office schedule. Also last week the IPS leadership team met, and so did the MTAS leadership team. The main topics of both meetings was how to begin the process of bringing employees back to offices. A highlight was President Boyd joining the IPS leadership team meeting. He shared his beliefs on being communicative and transparent as we work through the coronavirus pandemic (we need to do a lot of both).
 

	5/4/2020	5/18/2020	6/1/2020	6/15/2020	6/22/2020	7/6/2020
Knoxville	6	12	18	23	23	23
Johnson City	0	0	0	1	1	1
Martin	1	2	3	4	4	4
Field Office	2	2	2	2	2	2
Nashville		3	6	9	11	11
Chattanooga		0	0	0	1	1
Jackson		1	2	3	4	4
Memphis			1	2	3	3

  If you are a visual person, then having a chart with the various start dates and the approximate number of employees in each office will be helpful. To the left is what I plotted out.
 
  I want to stress again that these dates are tentative and will change if the virus changes course. Also, if I don’t have the minimum number of volunteers for a location, I will not force you to return just so I can have a certain percent. I care about you, your physical health and your mental health. I hope you know and understand this!
 
 
Let’s have some fun now shall we? If you recall about three weeks ago, I created a MTAS MadLib. I had one submission that I’d like to share with you from Brad and Yolanda:
 
Long, long ago, in a boring state called Tennessee, an agency called MTAS was created.
 
This MTAS was a colorful and crazy place where people helped people. A former executive director of the agency was known for saying, we’re from the
government and we’re here to social distance you.
 
One day, the agency received a call from a city called bright light.
 
This city was having difficulty with hiring engineers. MTAS was up to the job and Ronnie Neill sprang into action. This person wasn’t about to let a customer be let down and he called in for reinforcement from Armintha Loveday.
 
Together these two people got all the engineers that the city needed and helped the city recorder to save the day. In gratitude, she would forever call MTAS “My bestie” and pledge never ending love to the agency. Everyone lived happily ever after.
 
I’d also like to celebrate a bit. Last week Brad Harris had a work anniversary. Happy Anniversary Brad, and thank you for those wonderful years of service to us and your customers (and thanks for playing my game too!).
 
Here is some new news… Eric Spencer has changed office locations, effective May 4. He moved from Jackson to Martin. His new desk phone number is (731) 881-7568 and his address is 478 Clement Hall, 210 Hurt Street, Martin, TN 38237.
 
Thanks to all of you for making this new work scenario “work.” You are a dedicated group of individuals, and I’m proud to work with you.
Margaret

[Attached: MTAS Zoom Call Notes 5-4-20]