MTAS Mustard for week ended 6/12/20

 

Good Wednesday afternoon MTAS,
 
Welcome to another week. What great things are you doing/going to do this week that will help our customers?
 
Here is an update on how we are progressing in returning people to offices: in the Knoxville, Johnson City, and Martin offices, we planned to be at 100% staffing capacity in the office this week. While we’re not there completely, we’ve got more staff in the office than we’ve had in a long time. It sure is nice to really see people, and not just on screen. In Chattanooga, Jackson, and Memphis, we’re going forward as planned with the gradual increases to get to 100% returning to the office. In Nashville, due to the hot spot in the southern end of Davidson County, we are in a bit of a holding pattern. There are several agencies in Nashville, and I’m working with the other directors to make sure we’re being consistent in our COVID operations in terms of personnel in the office.
 
Last week we had two birthdays that I’d like to celebrate: Melissa on the 8^th and Rex on the 11^th. If I remember correctly, Rex and his wife have the same birthday. They also have the same anniversary… Speaking of anniversaries, Johanna celebrated the two year mark with us on the 11^th. Congratulations to the three of you! I hope that the upcoming year has many pleasant surprises (if you like surprises).
 
Also last week I attended the penultimate session of this year’s UT Executive Leadership Institute. I had a couple of take-aways that I’d like to share with you. The first was an “aha” moment when I heard Dr. Tim Cross’ team speak about the Institute of Agriculture. The breadth of what they do is truly amazing, and it makes sense to me now when I reflect on presentations where I’ve heard President Boyd speak of IPS in similar veins to UTIA. The second take-away came from an open discussion period at the end of the second day to talk about current events with the murder of George Floyd, protests and civil unrest. One of my cohort members said “This doesn’t get resolved until it’s a problem for everyone.” This really struck me, and prompted me to action. I’ll share the results with you after I’ve had time to take a few more steps; but in the meantime, I want to plant the seed with you as well. If you think racial inequities don’t affect you, you’re wrong. If you don’t understand this last sentence, then I challenge you to reach out to someone else and begin a conversation to better understand.
 
Stay healthy and well,
Margaret