MTAS Mustard for weeks ended 2-8 and 2-15-19

Happy Wednesday MTAS,

Please accept my apologies for being delayed in my communication with you. I’ve been out of the office and haven’t yet figured out a solution to do both simultaneously. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to find an answer however!

Here are a few announcements:

• Please remember to sign up for two factor authentication. I did it, and have used it, and it’s quite easy. I thought it might take a lot of additional time to do my work, but that just isn’t the case. Our computer safety and security is vitally important, and this is an easy preventative measure. At this point, signing up is voluntary and I’ve been told that we have a high number of volunteers – go MTAS! If you haven’t yet registered and are ready to move ahead, here is the link to the OIT page: https://oit.utk.edu/accounts/2fa/
• Speaking of voluntary, we are in the middle of the UT Family Campaign. This is where UT employees give to UT. Yes, it’s voluntary, and I would really love to see us reach 100% participation. I believe in UT; I truly appreciate the job it pays me to do; and I absolutely take advantage of the benefits it provides me. In addition, I spend more waking hours at work than I do at home. You all are my through-the-week family; and how could I not support my family? Any amount is accepted and greatly appreciated. There is a new donation opportunity this year for IPS employees. It has been mentioned in the IPS Catch Up (2/4/19 edition) but I want to give a shout out to the MTAS members of the IPS Leadership Academy that made this a reality: Gary, Chris, Elisha and Abb. The name of the fund is the Employee Assistance Fund. Here is a link to a video the Leadership Academy produced to tell you more about it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMfjo2nzbnI It lasts four minutes and is a powerful story. If you are moved to give to the Employee Assistance Fund (or any of the 36 other IPS funds - seven of which are specific to MTAS) or even other campuses/departments, you can do so by clicking this link: https://alumni.tennessee.edu/s/1341/17/interior.aspx?sid=1341&gid=1&pgid=10805. The easiest way to find the list of IPS funds is to select “IPS” under either “Make a Gift Online” or “Make a Gift Via Payroll Deduction” from this link. Thank you for considering making a donation, and to those of you who already have THANK YOU! Armintha is our cheerleader for this campaign so she might encourage you between now and March 8, the end of the campaign. I appreciate her being willing to serve in this role.
• As we often do with the associations we help support, we are making a rotation in the TAMCAR assignment. Thanks to Dana who has championed for the clerks and recorders since 2011. I know this group holds a special place in his heart. Honna will be rotating in and the two of them will work together on the spring conference. Thanks to Dana and to Honna for supporting this association (and for all the others, who through the years have loaned their talents to an association). I know they appreciate your assistance.
• As many of you have heard, the ICMA Annual Conference is coming this fall to Nashville from October 19-23. The association is expecting around 4,000 guests. As you might imagine, a conference this large doesn’t happen with just a few folks involved. Angie is co-chair for the host committee, and she sent an email out to all of IPS on the 18^th. She is looking for volunteers, and you can sign up using this link: http://signup.com/go/jhELHCD. The last time this group’s annual conference was in Nashville, in 1993, MTAS was all hands on deck. If you’d like to volunteer (but not register for the conference), and will need a hotel room, after checking with your supervisor, please go ahead and reserve a room at the state rate. When you click on the sign-up link, you’ll see which hotels are close to the convention center. The housing for the conference opens in June, but right now I’m not sure if nonmembers and/or non-registrants will be offered the conference rate so let’s just go ahead and book a room at state rate.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve had a couple of birthdays: Sharon and Michelle T. both share February 9 as a birthday. How cool is that? Happy birthday ladies!

Another cool thing happened on February 11. I received an unsolicited complimentary email (wahoo!) from the city recorder in Sweetwater. Here’s what she shared with me:
I spent most of last week in Nashville. Wednesday was UT Day on the Hill. I was so pleasantly surprised by the amount of orange I saw that day. The legislators and their staff donned their orange to support the university. It really was humbling to see the love and to hear their stories of what UT means/has meant to them. Indeed – Everywhere You Look, UT! Also last week I helped deliver the new employee orientation to the TLC folks. It was with great pride that I explained to them what the collective “we” do. We do it together, all forty-seven (current number) of us working toward improving the lives of our municipal customers and having TN cities and towns be the national model of good governance. Each of you makes a difference and I’m proud of you.

Please let me, or your supervisor, know if there is anything we can to do help you as you create positive impacts for others.

Sincerely,
Margaret`