HOTV YMCA Employee E-Newsletter

YMCA OF THE FOX CITIES

EMPLOYEE E-NEWSLETTER

Heart of The Valley YMCA

June - 2016

	WELCOME:

	Welcome to the Heart of the Valley YMCA monthly employee E-Newsletter.

REGISTRATION FOR PROGRAMS:

16SUM2 (July 18 - August 21)

YMCA Members: Monday, July 11
Silver Sneakers: Wednesday, July 13
General Public: Thursday, July 14

SESSION EXCEPTIONS:

HVY Gymnastics Classes - Gymnastics Summer Session is 9 weeks from June 6 - Aug 21. (No classes the week of July 4-10 or the week of July 25-31 due to gymnastics camps.)
HVY Fitness Classes - Fitness classes run 10 weeks beginning the week of June 6 (Bonus weeks normally held in July and August will not be held this summer so construction projects can be completed.)

16FAL1 (September 6 - October 23 - No classes on Labor Day - Monday classes will be prorated)

Gymnastics Members: Thursday, August 11
YMCA Members: Monday, August 15
Silver Sneakers: Wednesday, August 17
General Public: Thursday, August 18

	ANNUAL CAMPAIGN:

	As of June 8, we are at 95% of our staff Annual Campaign goal of $23,365! There is still time for you to help us reach our goal and help those children and families in our community who cannot afford YMCA programs and services. Please check with your supervisor if you want to make a difference in the life of a child or family in need!!!

	CONSTRUCTION UPDATE:

	Construction is well underway at the Heart of the Valley YMCA and we are starting to see some very drastic changes both in and outside our YMCA. Below are some new photos of our new addition as well as the renovation to our Family Locker Room. I continue to be very excited about our new changes and look forward to having everything open and ready for use for fall programs on September 6. Thank you for your support and encouragement as we go through a little discomfort during construction. It will all be well worth everyone's efforts when we are providing expanded services and programs to our community! FAMILY LOCKER ROOM RENOVATION MAIN HALLWAY IN THE NEW ADDITION AEROBICS STUDIO IN THE NEW ADDITION CYCLING STUDIO IN THE NEW ADDITION

	TRAINING REMINDER:

	CLICK HERE to review the trainings that are scheduled for the year along with the process for registering for all trainings. The trainings for all staff are as follows: Trainings that can be taken at any branch: CPR - Required annually for all staff in aquatics and fitness as well as building supervisors. All other departments must re-certify every 2 years. (i.e. If you took CPR in 2015, you do not need to take it again until 2017.) First Aid - Required for all employees and must be renewed every 2 years. Child Abuse Prevention - Required for all employees. ALL staff are required to complete an online certification (follow the "CLICK HERE" link above to be directed to the website). Trainings that must be taken at HVY: Emergency Response - Required for all employees annually. New for 2016 a TEST-OUT option is available for anyone who took the classroom training in 2015. You may TEST-OUT in the alternate year of the classroom training. You can check out a book and test from the HVY Member Service Desk. **IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE TRAINING YOU SIGNED UP FOR, YOU MUST CALL THE BRANCH WHERE THE TRAINING IS BEING HELD WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE TRAINING TO CANCEL YOUR SPOT. IF YOU DO NOT CALL OR SHOW FOR THE TRAINING, IT IS CONSIDERED A MISSED SHIFT AND YOU WILL BE GIVEN A VERBAL OR WRITTEN WARNING BY YOUR SUPERVISOR.

	QUARTERLY CUSTOMER SERVICE:

	Mark your calendars for the 2016 Quarterly Customer Service Meetings: (All employees are required to attend at least 2 meetings annually.) Thursday, September 1 - 1:00 or 6:15 PM - HVY Wednesday, December 14 - 1:00 or 6:15 PM - HVY Thank you for your support of these vital informational meetings.

	BELINDA'S GARDENING TIP:

	WEEDS- Pulling weeds is a blessing and a curse. Who doesn't have weeds in their garden? We've had a bit of rain lately that's been great for getting the grass nice and green and the flowers and vegetable gardens off to a great start, AND the weeds. Listed below are a few options to help control the beast. MULCH: Mulch is a covering that blocks daylight and inhibits growth under it. Cover the soil between your plants and along rows. Keep the mulch a few inches from the base of your plants to discourage insect invasions. Wheat straw, shredded leaves, or other organic matter are a few choices to consider. Layer it on the ground about 2 inches thick to deter weed growth. For persistent weeds, try covering the area with dampened newspaper (black ink only) and then cover with 2 inches of mulch. Around the bases of trees and shrubs, consider covering the ground with landscape fabric and then mulch. Before you mulch you should try your best to remove the weeds first, then mulching will be more successful. Note: DO NOT use treated wood chip mulch around vegetable gardens, like the color treated mulch. PULL: For better or worse, you need to manually pull out most weeds. Wearing rubber gloves like you would use for washing dishes will help you grip the little buggers. The trick to pulling weeds is to get the root out as well. Weeds will slide out of the soil easier when the soil is wet and when the weeds are young. Pull the weed from its base, close to the soil line. If you miss the root, try using a fork to gently pry the plant out of the ground, roots and all. DIG: If your weeds regrow, then you have a persistent root that you need to dig out. Use a spade or digging fork to dig up persistent weeds by the roots. Remove as many root pieces as you can. CHOP: If digging out weeds is difficult for you, at least keep them from setting seed. Chop off their heads once a week! Dandelions beware! (Don't wait until they have those white seeds heads, it's too late). Don't be that neighbor who waits until all the dandelions go to seed and then mow the grass. MINIMIZE SOIL DISRUPTION: Gardeners use to advocate cultivation, by using a hoe or small tiller to stir the top one or two inches of soil to damage weeds' roots and tops, causing them to die. However, unless you are able to fully remove the roots from the soil, cultivation simply exposes dormant weed seeds to light and air, waking them up. It might be best to preserve the natural soil layers. TRIM: When you drive by houses in your neighborhood look at the edges of the lawns where it meets the driveway or curb. By keeping the edges of your yard and garden trimmed this will help prevent a weed invasion creeping into the lawn. CLOSE RANKS: If your soil is rich and well tilled, plant your plants closer together. This will cut down weed growth. Please email me at bpricedajany@ymcafoxcities.org and let me know if you have a subject you would like more information on. Enjoy your garden!

	JOIN IN OUR DEPARTMENT CHALLENGE:

	Congratulations to the Maintenance and Membership Departments who won our readership challenge for the May newsletter. Please encourage your coworkers to register their e-mail address with their supervisor and then just simply open, read and log your name and department and hopefully your department will be the big winner!!! Thank you for your support and "CLICK HERE" to log your readership for this month!

	EMPLOYEE DRESS CODE:

	With the warmer weather comes shorts and lighter clothing so it is probably a great time to send out a friendly reminder about our dress code policy. Please "CLICK HERE" to read our policy and ask your supervisor if you have any dress code related questions. Thank you!

	GYMNASTICS TEAM:

	Please join me in supporting Ashlyn Roskowski, Brooke Pilkington, Lucy Krieg and Alex Malsavage who will be representing our YMCA at the National Gymnastics competition being held in Long Beach, CA June 30-July 3. Good luck to all YMCA gymnasts!!

EMPLOYMENT ANNIVERSARY:

Please join me in congratulating the following employees who are celebrating an employment anniversary this month:

Andrea	Aragon	8 years
Lindsey	Beaman	5 years
Paula	Beyer	16 years
Tina	DeBoer	1 year
Cristina	Flores	2 years
Sandra	Giannoni	1 year
Kathie	Hacker	9 years
Dylan	Hagmann	2 years
Lindsey	Jacques	2 years
Michaela	Laing-Janssen	1 year
Francis	Liesch	1 year
Kristen	Linzmeier	3 years
Steven	Lodl	1 year
Connor	Mason	7 years
Meghan	McKeithan	8 years
Kathryn	Moyle	1 year
Jennifer	Nash	5 years
Michael	Nugent	18 years
Catherine	Pfister	4 years
Claire	Rebman	5 years
Kaitlen	Sokel	2 years
Julie	Stoegbauer	6 years
Jada	Van Ark-Miller	9 years
Emily	Vanderhoof	10 years
Laura	Waurio	3 years
Marguarita	Zuniga	2 years
Denise	Zwirschitz	1 year

	DAY CAMP:

	Our 9th Annual Camp Kimber Y Day Camp program began on Monday, June 6 and will be an exciting opportunity for many families in our community this summer. Day Camp runs June - August. We have approximately 310 children registered with a daily average of around 200!! As you can imagine, that large number will create some room conflicts across our facility. Please be aware that the Endries Gymnasium will be Day Camp's home Monday through Friday 6:30 AM-6:00 PM all summer long. The Endries Gym will be closed at all times except for Day Camp. Van Hoof Gymnasium will hold many of our usual gymnasium programs so please check our room schedule regularly for gymnasium availability. Keep in mind that during construction, the only access to the Endries Gym is through the Van Hoof gym and access enclosure. Many of our rooms are heavily programmed throughout the summer so please check availability before using any room. In addition, our restrooms at the front of the facility (near the café) and on the 2nd floor can get very busy when it's bathroom time for day campers so please use our locker room restrooms when day camp is taking their bathroom breaks. Lastly, if it is raining or storming outside, Day Camp must remain indoors so all available rooms will be used to keep Day Campers safe and entertained. Thank you for supporting our Day Camp program!

	YMCA ACTIVITIES ON JUNE 23:

	HEALTHY PETS DAY: Healthy Pets Day at the Heart of the Valley YMCA from 9:00 - 11:30 AM. I'm sorry, you can't actually bring your pet to the YMCA but you can learn about different animals and pet related topics through the many vendors and displays that will be available. Please stop by, bring your kids and check out all the fun animal information that will be available that day. BADGER BASH: Badger Sports Park is hosting an Annual Campaign fundraiser for the Heart of the Valley YMCA. Tickets are $10.50 including tax (a $32.55 value) and will be available for purchase at each Member Service desk at each of the five YMCA of the Fox Cities locations or at Badger Sports Park on June 23, 2016. Tickets are available for three hours of unlimited fun that include: go-karts, mini-golf, batting cages, mini bowling, inflatables (ages 2-10) laser tag (limited 1 session) and non-ticket giving video games. Only valid June 23, 2016 and not valid with any other offers. You can start your 3-hour time slot anytime during the hours of 10:00 AM-7:00 PM. It's a great way to have fun, be active and support a great cause. Proceeds benefit the YMCA of the Fox Cities Annual Campaign. The Annual Campaign ensures everyone regardless of age, income or background has the opportunity to access Y membership and programs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

Happy Birthday to the following employees who are celebrating this month:

Jonathan	Andrew
Lindsey	Beaman
Paula	Beyer
Christopher	Beyer
Susan	Brockman
Nellie	Broeksteeg
Margaret	Collett
Katie	Fuller
Mary	Godin
Amy	Habeck
Brady	Heimer
Benjamin	Jahnke
Amy	Jansen
Connor	Mason
Sarah	McElroy
Kari	Mignon
Michelle	Miller
Terry	Moore
Michael	Nugent
Elizabeth	Peters
Adrienne	Rickman
Shelli	Roovers
Brenda	Russell
Erin	Ruys
Teara	Sommerfeldt
Jessica	Van Lannen
Jacob	Vander Wyst
Dolores	Verkuilen
Luke	Vosters
Denise	Whitworth
Denise	Zwirschitz

	JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL:

	JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL - SUNDAY, JUNE 19 - NOON-6:00 PM CITY PARK, APPLETON We are in need of volunteers for this year's Juneteenth Festival held on Sunday, June 19th from NOON to 6:00 PM at City Park. The YMCA will be responsible for a booth in the Children's Village. Our main activity will be Face Painting, but may also have a simple art activity or game. We are in need of 4-6 staff from 11:30 AM-2:30 PM and 2:30-5:30 PM Please contact Brian Rammer, brammer@ymcafoxcities.org or 209-5979 if you are interested in volunteering. JUNETEENTH HISTORY From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of Juneteenth as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond and is the oldest African American celebration in our history! Today Juneteenth is commemorated in 42 states and in December 2009, Governor Doyle signed the resolution to include Wisconsin as one of the states commemorating Juneteenth.

	THE HISTORY OF FATHER'S DAY AT THE Y:

	Father's Day in its present form was dreamed up by Sonora Louise Smart Dodd. She wanted to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who had raised her and her five siblings alone. Presenting her idea at a meeting in June 1910, Sonora petitioned the Spokane Ministerial Alliance and the Spokane YMCA to recognize and celebrate Father's Day. They enthusiastically endorsed the idea, hosting the first Father's Day celebration on June 19, 1910. President Wilson spoke at a Father's Day celebration in 1916, and President Coolidge recommended that Congress recognize the day in 1924. But it wasn't until 1971 that President Nixon and Congress officially created Father's Day as a permanent national holiday. The influence of a father (or a strong father-figure) is incredibly effective in helping a child face the challenges of growing up. A good father or father-figure more than halves a child's risk of becoming addicted to drugs, and reduces a child's likelihood of being involved in crime by approximately 90%. It also has a profound effect on depression. Other studies show kids with a positive father or father-figure also achieve better grades. YMCA's across the country offer several programs to strengthen this important relationship. From Adventure Guides to Family Camp, Little Guides, Pathfinders and more, there are lots of ways for kids to spend time with dads, or the great men who serve as father-figures to them. This Father's Day, take time to honor the wonderful men who are responsible for nurturing strong, confident and connected kids. To all of our fathers, I wish you a very Happy Father's Day!! Sharon Johnson Heart of the Valley YMCA Executive Director