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Year 4: 2017-2018

1st Rotation

Newsletter

Our Fourth Year is in Full

Swing!

It is hard to believe, but we are already well into our fourth year of Project SEARCH in Johnson County. We have our 4th class of interns at Johnson County Government, while the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center is having their 2nd year. We had interns come up with some great articles: we hope you enjoy them!

In this issue

Page First Rotation Internships 2,3

Old Settlers Days 4

Autumn Open House 4

Admin Building History 5

Disability Mentoring Day 5

Employee Interview: Leslie Davis 6

Tips for Dealing with Difficult People 7

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2017-2018 Project SEARCH Interns

These are the Interns this year with the Project Search classes

Learn about them below!

This is information about each intern’s first internship rotation.

They are currently in their second rotation, so look forward to updates on those next time!

My name is Michael Gabbert. My

first rotation was interning at

Johnson County Clerk of the

District Court. My duties were

preparing files, scanning, and

quality self-checking.

My name is Desirae Long. My

first rotation was at the Sheriff

Records. My duties are filing,

scanning, and looking up

peoples booking numbers and

then scanning them into the

computer.

My name is Marcail Dickerman.

My first Rotation was at Court

Services. My duties were quality

checking documents, delivering

mail, and stocking probation

papers for people.

My name is Jennifer Kesler.

My first rotation was at the

Clerk of the District Court.

Some of my duties are

retrieving files from the

Archives, preparing files, and

scanning.

My name is Emerson Cho. My first

rotation was at the Johnson

County Facilities Department. My

duties were sweeping the floors

and cleaning the

stairwell/booth/door glass

windows.

My name is Benjamin Levin.

My first rotation was at

Planning and Codes. My duties

were scanning and stamping

closed files, filling and, folding

leaflets.

My name is Shelly Forshay. My first

rotation was at the Court

Administration. My duties were

recycling, scanning, checking

newspaper/articles, and intending

court cases.

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2017-2018 Project SEARCH Interns

My name is Cheyenne Walter.

My first rotation was at the

Sunflower Cafe. My duties

were washing dishes, putting

them away, recycling, making

cookies, and cutting food for

the salad bar.

My name is Connor Vinnage. My first

internship at Project SEARCH was at the

County Manager's Office, Human

Resources, and Emergency

Management Services. My duties were

typing excel data, filling printers and fax

machines with papers, emptying

recycling, scanning, and laminating

paper.

My name is Lexi Davis and I am an intern at Project SEARCH/Embassy Suites. My first rotation was at Greenwood Terrace. My duties there were setting tables in the dining room, filling the server carts with condiments, helping out with other various duties for the Chef.

I am Connor Specht. I am an intern with Project SEARCH/Embassy Suites. For my first rotation I was a Public Area Associate. My duties were cleaning guest bathrooms, pool/fitness area, windows and guest laundry.

I am Connor Robinson and I am an intern at Project SEARCH/Embassy Suites. My first rotation was Comp Breakfast. My duties were busing and cleaning tables in the Comp Breakfast area. Putting away food and panning up food for the next day. An interesting fact about myself is that I am humble and trustful.

I am Matt Cooley. I am an intern at Project SEARCH/Embassy Suites. My first rotation was as a Laundry Associate. My duties were sorting/washing/drying laundry, folding towels, and ironing pillow cases. An interesting fact about myself is that I am taller than my older brother.

I am Erika Wagner. I am an intern with Project SEARCH/Embassy Suites. My first rotation was as a Housekeeping Assistant. My duties are collecting housekeeping glasses and running them through the dishwasher, collecting food trays, and clearing the service elevators.

I am Dave Mahon and I am an intern with Project SEARCH/Embassy Suites. My first rotation was as a Front Desk Assistant. My duties were cleaning luggage carts, getting the mail and putting labels on key card holders. I also made "My Way" bags and delivered them to rooms.

Each Intern wrote their own information.

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Old Settlers Days

On sunny September 8th, we, the Project SEARCH interns stationed at the Administration building and Embassy Suites, spent the entire day at the Old Settlers fair. We had all separated into three groups of three and walked around the fair, while checking back with the skill trainers at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. We also had the option to do a photo-based scavenger hunt by logging into IMGUR on our phones while we walked around. While walking around, we noticed some of the things that were being sold, such as paintings, dog treats, puppets, wind chimes, and home-made jam. Some of the vendors even gave out some free items, such as candy, pamphlets, pencils, and other small objects. After we had checked-in with the skill trainers at 12:00 p.m., we looked around “Food Vendor Lane” for something to have for lunch. There were burgers, fries, funnel cake, corn dogs, grange pups, chicken fingers, and other meals, some of which were really tasty. One of us even said that they had found a vendor giving out free slices of pizza, though it turned out to be a hoax. Overall, the Old Settlers Fair was a very nice experience.

Photo by Forrest Austin Written by Ben Levin

Autumn Open House

We had an Open House that was Friday November 3rd. We had two committees that had been working on different things for this event. The groups worked on invitations, music, food, and, games. We invited all of the departments that are part of Project SEARCH and some of the other departments in the administration building. We had a lot of fun with the Open House: we met new people from other departments. We had a potluck so we each brought different things to the Open House. This was an opportunity for us to get to know other people in the administration building and in various county departments. We got to know how they like their jobs and who we are working with at Johnson County better. This was a good way to get to know what departments we might want to work in later, and this was also a great way for us to bring things and follow through on commitments: we couldn’t forget to do our part because then we would let a lot of people down. We had a lot of fun games! We played headbands: players came in and they would come to the person that was helping out at that game table and choose hard or easy card that had a county department on the card. They had to put a band on their forehead so they could not see what was on the card and they would have to get clues from other people that could read the card on the headband. They would then have to guess what department was on their forehead!

Written by Desirae Long

Photo by Forrest Austin

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History of the Johnson County

Administration Building In honor of the Johnson County Admin Building’s 25th anniversary, we thought it would be interesting to look into the buildings history. The Johnson County Administration Building was built in 1992. Before 1992 there was no Johnson County Administration Building: instead departments were either in the Courthouse or in rental spaces in Johnson County. The Johnson County Admin building was built to fix the space issues county departments were having. The KS, JOCO Administration Building was designed and built by Peckham Guyton Albers & Viets, Inc. (PGAV) Architecture, Universal Construction Company. The original offices in the Johnson County Admin Building were: the County Clerk’s Office, the Register of Deeds, the Treasurer’s Office, the Office of Financial Management, the Budget Office, the Purchasing Department, the County Archives, the Printing Shop, Johnson County Med Act, Emergency Management, Facilities, Data Services, Planning & Code’s, the County Administrator’s Office, the Board of County Commissioners and the Appraiser’s Office. Some of these departments have either left the building or operate in a different capacity, while some are still here to this day.

The Administration building was built to resemble the old 1892 Johnson County Courthouse (which was demolished in 1952 for the current courthouse.) If you compare these photos of the 1892 Courthouse (left) and the Johnson County Administration Building (right,) you can see some of the architectural similarities.

Written by Emerson Cho and Forrest Austin

Disability Mentoring Day

Disability Mentoring Day is designed to promote career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration. It was started by a White House Initiative in 1999 with job shadowing and mentee/mentor relationships. In Johnson County, a mentoring event was held this year on November 2nd. During the presentations, we learned about what not to do while you are in an interview, such as chewing gum and talking on the phone, and some good things to do, like following dress code, having good body language, and making eye contact. Visit dmdinkc.org for more information!

Written by Connor Vinnage Photo by Forrest Austin

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Employee Interview – Leslie Davis Department: Planning and Codes Location: Johnson County Administration Building Position: Administrative Assistant: Planning

Biography

Planning and Codes is responsible for ensuring the safety of the public, whenever new buildings are being built and giving licensing. Leslie Davis is one of the Administrative Assistants for the Planning Department and has been working with Johnson County for 12 years. One of our interns sat down with her and talked with her about her job, her personal life and goals, and about Project SEARCH.

Photo by Jennifer Kesler

I: What drew you to the job that you have now? The opportunity for growth and the impact my department has on the public.

II: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I like to read, do yoga, swimming, cooking, and playing with my dogs and my son.

III: What was the biggest challenge in your career and how have you overcome it? To tell people “No” sometimes. I’ve overcome it by not letting that stop my ability to help them get to a “Yes”.

IV: Where did you work before you came to Johnson County? When I graduated from high school, I worked at several restaurants; like Steak ‘n’ Shake.

V: What are your goals in life? To raise my son to be a successful young man, open a Bed and Breakfast, and to retire stress free.

VI: What kind of work environment do you like to be in? My ideal work environment is one that is team oriented, personable, fun, laid back, and driven.

VII: What about Project SEARCH interested you? My eagerness to help others build skills and to gain knowledge about employment early on, like I wish I have had the opportunity to do so.

Biography by Jennifer Kesler - Interview conducted by Jennifer Kesler

By Michael Gabbert

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Tips for Dealing with Difficult People

I choose this topic to have all the information needed for dealing with difficult people at work. This could be used at any time you might have to work with difficult people! Tips for dealing with difficult people: Be Calm When you lose your temper, you may get angry at who you are trying to collaborate with. This is hazardous to the situation in many ways, as it will be hard to persuade someone you're yelling at. So being calm is the best way to convince someone; this way you're seen as being in control, centered, understanding, and willing to accept ideas. Understand the Person’s Intentions If you try to identify the person’s reasons for being upset, it could help you understand why they're acting in that manner and that way you can help them in their needs. Get some Perspective from Others People can see things from different angle and they can offer a different take on the situation. You can share your story and/or listen to what they may have to tell you. Let the Person Know Where You’re Coming From While in your work area, you may want to let an upset coworker know your intentions behind what you’re doing. By letting them know the reason behind your actions and the points of reasoning, you will help them to understand your situation. Build a Rapport Using human connections when connecting with your colleagues, will build friendships, trusts, and bonds on a personal level. You can talk at lunch or break room to establish these connections. Treat People with Respect “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Focus on What Can be Acted Upon Focus on the steps you can take to forward yourself in the situation. Ignore If you have already tried everything above and the person is still not being receptive, the best way of action might be to just ignore them. Escalate to Higher Authority for a Resolution. When all else fails, you could talk with your manager.

Check out this article for more tips! http://www.businessinsider.com/9-useful-strategies-to-dealing-with-

difficult-people-at-work-2011-6

Thanks for Reading! Written by Marcail Dickerman

Photo by Forrest Austin Photo by Bernadette Russ-Cohen

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Kim Perry Project SEARCH Team Leader 913-826-2340 kim.perry@jocogov.org

Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center Johnson County Government Jo Duncan Charmaine Elven Project SEARCH Instructor Project SEARCH Instructor 913-826-2314 913-826-2650 jo.duncan@jocogov.org charmaine.elven@jocogov.org

Bernadette Russ-Cohen Forrest Austin Project SEARCH Skills Trainer Project SEARCH Skills Trainer 816-655-1872 913-826-2278 bernadette.russ-cohen@jocogov.org forrest.austin@jocogov.org

Tina Howard Suzie Kary Project SEARCH Skills Trainer Project SEARCH Skills Trainer 913-278-7733 Olathe School District tina.howard@jocogov.org smkary@olatheschools.org

Thanks to our interns for taking part in writing this newsletter.

Front page photo credits: Tina Howard and Char Elven

Front page article written by Forrest Austin Intern photo credits: Bernadette Russ-Cohen, Charmaine Elven, Jo Duncan, Tina Howard, Suzanne Kary and Forrest Austin

Editing and Formatting: Forrest Austin, Tina Howard, Jody Hanson, Michael Gabbert