April 2013
T H E C O M M U N I C AT O R
MONTGOMERY COUNTY EMPLOYEES’ COMMITTEE 2013
Employee Committee
Board Members

Dianne Killingsworth
Chairman

Melissa Baker
Vice Chairman

Terri Strozier
Recording Secretary

Patti Werner
Treasurer

Tina Solomon
Secret Pal
Coordinator

Lera Barker
Social Secretary
M o t h e r’ s a n d fa t h e r’ s
day e xtr avaganza online
auction
The 2nd Annual Mother’s and Father’s Day Extravaganza online auction will take place Wednesday, May 1 through Wednesday, May 8, 2013.
We will be gathering donations from businesses in and around Montgomery County. Auction items may include flower bouquets, restaurant and
shopping gift cards, spa and salon gift certificates, and entertainment tickets. We will also be requesting donations of decorated cakes from some of
our employees that bake.
In addition to placing bids for the auction items, Montgomery County
employees can also participate by donating items. If you would like to donate an item to the silent auction, please contact Lera Barker from Environmental Health Services at ext. 8096. Donations are being accepted through
Monday, April 22nd.
I N S I D E TH I S
I S S U E :
Special Announcements
2
Texas A&M AgriLife
4
Spring Creek Greenway
5
Convention Center
6
Employee of the Month
8
Family Law Clinic
8
County Court at Law 3
8
Library
9
United Way Campaign
10
Sheriff’s Office
Communications
11
Bulletin Board
12
Secret Pal
12
The auction raises funds for scholarships, the Christmas Luncheon,
and employee recognition. Thanks to a huge level of participation from
Montgomery County employees, last year’s auction was a major success.
We hope this year’s auction will be even more fun. The auction will take
place via the Montgomery County Employees’ Committee website at http://
www.mctx.org/employee_committee. Happy bidding!
SCHOL ARSHIP
APPLICATIONS
Montgomery County Employees’ Committee Scholarship applications will be available soon! Any Montgomery County employee or dependent of a Montgomery County employee is encouraged to apply. When applications are available, an email notification will be sent. Your participation in the Committee’s fundraising efforts help to make these scholarships possible. Thank you for your continued support! P a g e 2
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pictured to the left is Sandy Bernard's oldest son, Cameron.
Cameron pitched a perfect game for the Conroe Tigers in their match
against the Channelview Falcons on Thursday, March 7, 2013. The
County Clerk’s office staff is SO PROUD of Cameron! Keep up the good
work! COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Grandbaby #5 for Donna Walters:
Photo By: Jason Fochtman Someone special, Someone dear
Someone new to love is here!
Announcing the arrival of
Autumn Hope
Born 02.22.13
8 lbs., 5oz. and 20 3/4” long
(Right)
A gift from Heaven!
Our little Cupcake has finally arrived.
Dianne and Rusty Killingsworth are proud to introduce their first
Grandbaby,
Bae Leann Wood
Born 03.07.13
7 lbs., 2 oz.
The proud parents are Kaci Killingsworth and Cody Wood.
(Left)
If you would like to see your office birthdays, birth announcements, accomplishments,
retirements, etc in The Communicator, please submit them to employee.committee@mctx.org.
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations to Melody Wilson. She recently received a letter from Lone Star College-Kingwood congratulating her on her outstanding academic performance for Fall 2012. She has also been placed on the President’s Honor List. Melody is the daughter of Wanda Wilson, Deputy County Clerk.
LIBRARY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Congratulations to Terry Melton on her retirement! Terry was the Circulation Coordinator at Central Library
branch in Conroe for 24 years. She retired on January 31, 2013.
Congratulations to yet another library employee, Doris Ramon. Doris retired on February 28th after working
as a Circulation Assistant at the Central Library branch in Conroe for over 20 years.
Thank you for years of service!
Mat Wilson, the Assistant Branch Manager at the Stewart Branch Library in Montgomery has welcomed a new baby boy. Leo Patrick Wilson was born on December 28, 2012 at 4:36 am. He weighed in at 6
lbs., 4 oz. and was 18.75” long. Welcome, Leo!
Laci Martinez with the Library also welcomed a baby boy. Augustus
“Augie” Gray Martinez was born at 1:30 pm on November 20, 2013.
He was 9 lbs., 9 oz. and 21” long. Congratulations on your new baby,
Laci!
Congratulations to Dax Nichols, Computer/Training Tech of the Library.
Penelope Jane Nichols was born at 2:57 pm on February 27, 2013.
Penelope was 4 lbs., 4 oz. and 17” long.
Meetings of the Montgomery County Employees’ Committee are held the 3rd
Thursday of every month at 1:30pm in the Commissioners’ Courtroom. We
encourage each department to send one representative to each meeting.
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4-H NEWS & UPDATES
Montgomery County 4-H’ers have been busy the past few
months! Some have competed in livestock shows and judging contests, while others are gearing up for District and State 4-H Roundup.
Currently, 4-H’ers are collecting bicycles for the District community
service project “100 Bikes for 100 Kids.” This project supports Operation: Military Kids, which helps children who have a parent serving
in the military.
Would you like to join 4-H in
honoring military families? It’s as simple as the color you wear! April 15th is
“Purple Up! For Military Kids.” Everybody is encouraged to wear purple,
which is the combination of the colors
that symbolize the different branches
of the military. This is a simple way to
show support for military youth for
their strength and sacrifices. If your department participates in
“Purple Up! For Military Kids” please email pictures to April Fagan at
amfagan@ag.tamu.edu.
4-H PLEDGE
I Pledge My HEAD to clearer thinking My HEART to greater loyalty My HANDS to larger service, and My HEALTH to be er living, for my club, my community, my country and my world. 4-H is for youth ages 8 and in the 3rd grade or 9 years old
through 18. For more information on 4-H, call 936-539-7823.
EXTENSION OFFICE WELCOMES
N E W FA M I LY & CON S U M E R
SCIENCES
AGENT!
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - Montgomery County would like to
welcome Amy Ressler, County Extension Agent-Family and Consumer
Sciences. Amy has worked for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service since
1993, serving in Hale, Stephens, and Bowie Counties, before working in a
special nutrition program, then to Burleson County, and recently transferred
to Montgomery County. Amy earned her Bachelors degree from Texas Tech
University in Human Development/Family Studies, and a Masters degree
from Texas A & M - Texarkana in Interdisciplinary Studies. Amy thoroughly
enjoys working for Extension and is known for creative and innovative
programming approaches. Welcome aboard, Amy!
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Walk Across Texas is a FREE online fitness tracking program offered through Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension. You can sign up in teams of 8 (you don’t have to walk each time with your team,
you can get miles solo and add them to your team’s total), or track your progress as an individual. You can also earn miles for other activities like gardening, riding a bike, jogging, swimming, and
many more. There is a handy activity calculator to convert different activities to miles. Visit our
website http://walkacrosstexas.tamu.edu to sign up and register and get ready to Walk Across Texas!
Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mondays ‐ Saturdays Closed Sundays and County holidays Gates are open for trails, parking and pavilion: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays ‐ Sundays 1300 Riley Fuzzel Road Spring, Texas 77386 (281) 364‐4225 The Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center is the first of its kind in Montgomery County. It is
located in south county (Precinct 3.) Residents can visit the center to learn more about nature
through a variety of events. A listing of scheduled programs is available by visiting the Facebook
page at: www.facebook.com/springcreekgreenwaynaturecenter and clicking on the “Events” tab.
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Upcoming Events at
the Convention Center
APRIL DATE
4/4/2013
4/5/2013
4/5-6/2013
4/5-6/2013
(These events are subject to change. You can also access the Public Events at www.thelonestar.org)
EVENT-OCCUPANT
PTO Today's Parent Group Expo
CONTACT
FACILITY
INFORMATION
800/644-3561 x 204
www.ptotoday.com/
events/index.html
Convention
Center
Remarkable Communication
Convention
Skills
936/760-6914
Center
Dispute Resolution
Mighty Marriages Enrichment
Weekend
Convention
The Center for Mighty Marriages www.mightymarriages.org
Center
& Families
Rodeo
936/760-FAIR
Expo/
Mont. Co. Fair Assoc.
www.mcfa.org
Fairgrounds
GENERAL
INFORMATION
(K - 8th Grade PTO/PTA
Leaders only)
Registration: 8:30 am
Expo: 9 am - 2 pm
10 am - 3 pm
Fri: 6:30 pm - 9 pm
Sat: 8 am - 4:30 pm
6:30 pm
4/5-14/2013
Fair & Rodeo
Mont. Co. Fair Assoc.
936/760-FAIR
www.mcfa.org
Expo/
Fairgrounds
4/7/2013
Ranch Rodeo
Mont. Co. Fair Assoc.
936/760-FAIR
www.mcfa.org
Expo/
Fairgrounds
1:30 pm
4/8/2013
Board Meeting
Lone Star Executive Airport
936/788-8311
Convention
Center
4:30 pm
4/9/2013
Senior Citizens Day
Mont. Co. Fair Assoc.
936/760-FAIR
www.mcfa.org
Convention
Center
9 am - 3 pm
4/12-13/2013
BBQ Cook-Off
Mont. Co. Fair Assoc.
936/760-FAIR
www.mcfa.org
Fairgrounds
Fri: 2 pm - 12 am
Sat: 8 am - 1 am
4/14/2013
El Dia de la Familia Hispana
Mont. Co. Fair Assoc.
936/760-FAIR
www.mcfa.org
Fairgrounds
12 pm - 12 am
4/20/2013
Horse Gymkhana
TX AgriLife Extension
936/539-7822
Expo
9 am - 3 pm
4/23-25/2013
MCCD Public Hearing
936/538-8060 or
936/442-7752
Convention
Center
6 pm
4/24/2013
Open Ride Night
TX AgriLife Extension
936/539-7822
Expo
5 pm - 7 pm
4/25/2013
Community Health Screening
Life Line Screening
4/25/2013
Banquet & Auction
San Jacinto Friends of NRA
www.friendsofnra.org
Convention
Center
6 pm - 10 pm
4/27-28/2013
High Caliber Gun Show
HC Gun & Knife Shows, Inc.
www.texasgunshows.com
Convention
Center
Sat: 9 am - 5 pm
Sun: 10 am - 4 pm
800/897-9177 x 1286 Convention
www.lifelinescreening.com
Center
(Must Pre-Register)
9 am - 4 pm
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Upcoming Events at
the Convention Center
MAY (These events are subject to change. You can also access the Public Events at www.thelonestar.org)
CONTACT
FACILITY
INFORMATION
GENERAL
INFORMATION
DATE
EVENT-OCCUPANT
5/3-4/2013
BBQ Cook-Off
Mont. Co., City of Conroe, & CISD
Scholarship Assoc.
936/520-1006
Expo
Fri: 4 pm - 12 am
Sat: 10 am - 3 pm
5/5/2013
Tradin' Days
936/597-6860
Fairgrounds
8 am - 5 pm
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
5/7/2013
5/9/2013
5/11/2013
5/13/2013
5/13/2013
5/14/2013
5/18-19/2013
Horsemanship Trail Clinic
TX AgriLife Extension
Tastefest
GCLCA Chamber of Commerce
936/539-7822
Expo
936/756-6644
www.conroe.org
Box 44 - Joint Election
936/539-7843
Convention
Center
Convention
Center
Convention
Center
Convention
Center
Indoctrination Screening
Crown & Covenant Church
Board Meeting
Lone Star Executive Airport
Horsemanship Trail Clinic
TX AgriLife Extension
Spring Retreat
Gulf Coast Woodturners
877/712-6348
936/788-8311
5 pm - 8 pm
7 am - 7 pm
7 pm - 10 pm
4:30 pm
936/539-7822
Expo
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
www.gulfcoastwood
turners.org
Fairgrounds
(Guided tours of Exhibits
ONLY)
9 am - 4 pm
936/539-7822
Eq. Ctr.
5 pm - 7 pm
Branding Clinic
TX AgriLife Extension
Scholastic Book Fairs Remote
Sale
Open Ride Night
TX AgriLife Extension
800/792-2002 x 314
936/539-7822
Expo
5 pm - 7 pm
6/8-9/2013
High Caliber Gun Show
HC Gun & Knife Shows, Inc.
www.texasgunshows.com
Convention
Center
Sat: 9 am - 5 pm
Sun: 10 am - 4 pm
6/8-9/2013
Swap Meet
Hot Rods of Texas
Fairgrounds
7:30 am - 5:30 pm
6/10/2013
Board Meeting
Lone Star Executive Airport
936/788-8311
6/15/2013
Danzco Dance Academy Recital
936/582-1722
5/21/2013
5/21-23/2013
5/29/2013
Convention Tue & Wed: 10 am - 8 pm
Center
Thu: 10 am - 6 pm
JUNE 6/24/2013
6/26/2013
State Steer, Swine, Sheep & Goat
Validation
TX AgriLife Extension
Open Ride Night
TX AgriLife Extension
337/249-7667
www.hotrodsoftexas.com
Convention
Center
Convention
Center
4:30 pm
5 pm
936/539-7822
Expo
(4-H/FFA Members only)
4 pm - 7 pm
936/539-7822
Expo
5 pm - 7 pm
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EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to each of these Employees of the Month. Each monthly winner is eligible to be
named Employee of the Year at the Christmas Luncheon.
Thanks for your hard
work!
JANUARY
Detective Vince Hatfield
Sheriff’s Department
FEBRUARY
Remi Rose Lopez
Dispatch
If you would like to nominate someone for Employee of the Month,
please send a nomination letter to Tina Solomon at
tina.solomon@mctx.org. Tina can also be reached at Ext. 7419.
FAMILY LAW CLINIC
The Montgomery County Law Library wishes to announce the “Family Law Clinic.” It is
presented by Lone Star Legal Aid, Montgomery County Women’s Center, Equal Justice Works and
the United Way. This clinic will provide FREE legal information on Texas Family Law. Everybody is
welcome and encouraged to attend.
When:
Thursday, April 25 at 2:00 pm
Flyer:
http://www.mctx.org/departments_d-k/departments_l-p/law_library/Flyer_for_Pro_Se_Clinic___revised_form.pdf
New location (and staff!) for
County Court at Law 3
County Court at Law Three is now located in the main courthouse on the first floor. We are now an all family law court. CCL 3 welcomed three new employees (doubling our staff) to handle our case load:  Associate Judge Amy Atkinson  Assistant Court Coordinator, Debbie Womack  Court Reporter for Ancillary Courtroom, Kimberly Holzwarth Come by and say hello! P a g e
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NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
Tullis Adult Book Club - Wednesday, April 10th from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.
Join us for coffee and conversation as we discuss “Behind The Beautiful
Forevers” by Katherine Boo.
South Montgomery County Friends of Conroe Spring Book Sale - April 11-13.
Get heavily discounted books, movies, music and games at the Spring Book
Sale! The sale will take place at the Community Center next to the library.
For times and details, visit http://www.smcfriendsofthelibrary.org/
smcfriendsofthelibrary/Book_Sales.html
South Branch - Tween’s Learn How to Basket Weave - Wednesday, April
17th at 4:30 p.m. Tweens will learn the fine art of basket weaving and
create their own small baskets to be finished at home. This is open to all tweens, ages 9-12. To
sign up call or visit the Children's Desk 936-442-7727 ext.6363. For more information contact
Natasha Benway at 936-442-7277 ext. 6370.
Stewart Branch Spring Book Sale - Thursday, May 16, starting at 9:00 a.m. Friends of Charles B.
Stewart Library will be hosting their annual book sale. Don’t miss out!
Tullis - Estates, Probate, Wills, and Family Law - Thursday, May 16 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.
Kingwood Attorney Steven Byers will be discussing Estates, Probate, Wills, and Family Law. If you
have questions about different types of Wills, Power of Attorney, divorce, alimony, etc., this is a
program you will want to attend! For details and to sign up, call 936-442-7705.
Tullis - Raising Backyard Chickens - Saturday, June 15 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Mike
Heimer, with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - Montgomery County, teaches you everything you
need to know to about raising chickens as a hobby. Learn how to properly care and house your
backyard chickens, and join the trend of getting back to basics.
Central - Texas Snakes and More - Monday, June 24 beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Educational Snake and Reptile Show, sponsored by Adult Summer Reading
For more library
SiteID=7689
events,
visit:
Interactive
http://www.engagedpatrons.org/EventsCalendar.cfm?
Visit www.facebook.com/mcmlsTX and "like" MCMLS today! The Library also publishes a monthly email newsletter called E-News, which you can sign
up for on the Library homepage at www.countylibrary.org. Now you can stay
connected and up-to-date on all the new, exciting services that the
Library has to offer!”
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2012 MONTGOMERY COUNTY EMPLOYEES
UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN
United Way tells us there are over 900 homeless kids under the age of 18 in Montgomery
County. They are couch surfing, living out of cars, in the woods, and in shelters around the county.
They are still attending school as best they can but do not have the permanency of a place to live or
even know where they will be next. This campaign allowed all of us to make a difference. This year
with your contributions, we were able to present United Way a commitment of $59,089 from
Montgomery County employees.
Thank you to the members of the County Employee Campaign Committee that volunteered to
work on the campaign and contact all our county departments:
Jeri Williams and Melissa Baker - Montgomery County Library
Darin Bailey –County Clerk’s Office
Wayne Mack – Custodial
Juanita Stanley – Dept. of Infrastructure
Marie Moore-Hermansen – County Engineers Dept.
Cathy Cain – Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4
Ranae Saur – IT Department
Jeanie Stewart – Sheriff’s Department
Deborah Arrazate – Commissioner, Precinct 3 Office
Sylvia Olszowy and Lori Stafford – Judge Sadler’s Office
Congratulations to the $$ winners!
Many thanks to longtime residents Jim and Nelda Blair for sponsoring the cash drawing for
the employee’s that participated in donating to United Way. Winners of the money drawings were:
Darin Bailey – County Clerk’s office
Frank Barnett – District Attorney’s office
Amanda Winborn – Custodial Department
Donna Dunn – South Regional Library Branch in the Woodlands
Susan Brasseaux – Tullis Library Branch in New Caney
The United Way 2012 Traveling Trophy County Departments winners are:
County Court at Law #3
Justice of the Peace Precinct 4
Constable Precinct 3
Custodial
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Con nued from previous page Ms. Debbie Glenn, co-owner of the Red Brick Tavern located here in Conroe on Simonton
Street donated a gift certificate for 6 guests to dine at her restaurant. Commissioner Craig Doyal also
donated a gift certificate for 6 guests to the Red Brick Tavern. All county employees that donated to
United Way were given a chance to be entered in a drawing to win the restaurant gift certificates or
for some real fun, throwing a pie in the face of a member of Commissioners Court. Names drawn for
the restaurant gift certificates were Sharon Watson of Infrastructure and anonymous from Building
Maintenance.
Pie in the Face – what more can we say?
As Wayne Mack put it “It was nice working with you Jamie!”
Thank you Judge Sadler for being a good sport about this and thank you Jamie Nash (JP, Pct.
4) for choosing him!
Many thanks again to all for participating with the United Way program. We are lending a
helping hand to the citizens of our great County.
MEETING AND EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division is proud to announce completion of the remodel of their Communications Center. An open house will be scheduled soon. The
hard-working men and women in the Communications Center, under the leadership of Captain Peggy
Frankhouser, answered over 395,000 calls for service in 2012, more than 1000 calls per day.
The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) sets standards within which calls for service should be answered within a set number of seconds. This NENA standard has been met or exceeded for 165 consecutive days, a testament to the dedication and effort of the Sheriff’s Office
Communication Center employees.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY EMPLOYEE
BULLETIN BOARD
Looking for some great deals? Visit the Montgomery County Employee Bulletin Board.
The Bulletin Board contains special discounts on entertainment tickets and other activities or
products. To access the Bulletin Board, visit the Montgomery County Employees Intranet, Click
on Bulletin Board, and Employee Specials. http://intranet.mctx.org/
Secret pal
The Secret Pal program is a way to get to know more about the employees that work for
Montgomery County. Anybody can become a Secret Pal. To get signed up, all you have to do is
send in an information sheet that can be found by going to the Montgomery County website and
clicking on Employee Committee (on the right hand side.) The form and informational letter are
on the left side of the page. Complete the form and send it to Tina Solomon at
tina.solomon@mctx.org. Each month, you can send a card or small token gift to let your secret
pal know that you are thinking about them. Secret Pals are encouraged to recognize birthdays,
anniversaries, and special holidays. Gifts should be delivered to the mail room with your Secret
Pal’s name, department and extension number on the package. (Do not put your name on the
package.) At the Employee Christmas Luncheon in December, you can finally reveal yourself to
the employee that you have been sending gifts to all year long.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Montgomery County Employees’ Committee
exists to bring the dedicated employees that serve
Montgomery County together as a team. Collectively, we strive to provide fellowship and unity among
all departments throughout the county.
We encourage each County department to have a
representative sit on the Committee.