Your Future Leaders by Nancy Upchurch
The annual IAWP Leadership Training was held on Saturday afternoon. It was attended by in-coming
District Directors, International Committee Chairs, Coordinators and Liaisons along with Chapter
Presidents and other members holding IAWP leadership positions.
The training started off with a presentation on IAWP Leaders developed and presented by Mikell Fryer
who is the current Chapter Development Chair and candidate for Vice President. This was followed by
an overview of the goals for the year presented by President Elect, Nancy Upchurch and ethics training
presented by Vice President, Ray Cabrera.
The attendees were given an overview of each International Committee – Education (Sharon Mike,
Chair with Lorraine Faulds providing info on WPDP and CWS), Communication (Harold Kretzer, Chair
with Lorraine Faulds giving an overview of IAWPONLINE.org and IAWP Page on Facebook), Chapter
Development (Jeanette Vest, Chair), Recognition (Tom Meyer, Chair), Marketing (Mikell Fryer, Chair),
International Development (George Faithful, Chair) and 2013 Conference (George Barthalow, Chair).
The session ended with information about the activities going on in preparation for the IAWP Centennial
celebration in Chicago and a review of the resources available in the Handbook for Administration and
Organization.
Meet Kayo Rokumoto, IAWP District Director from Japan by Ben Takesh’ta (CA)
It is my pleasure to introduce to attendees of the 99th International IAWP Conference, Ms. Kayo
Rokumoto, and the newly designated International District Director for the Japan Chapter. Although
Kayo has been assigned to the Washington, DC Japanese Embassy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
since June 2011; this will be her first time to attend our International IAWP Conferences.
Ms. Rokumoto was born in Chiba Prefecture, east of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. She received her
Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Tokyo in 1996 and entered the Ministry of Labor (which
is now a part of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor). She has served in a variety of positions in
the Ministry, including the Employment Security Bureau, Equal Employment Opportunity Division, Labor
Standards Bureau and the International Affairs Division. From 2000 to 2002, she studied at the London
School of Economics and received her LLM degree in Labor Law and a degree in Politics from the
University of Essex.
You can tell from the information above that we are very privileged to have Ms. Kayo Rokumoto in
attendance at our 99th International Conference. Please feel free to introduce yourself to her and
welcome her to our IAWP Conference. She will be participating in the International Cultural Event on
Sunday from 5 – 7 PM in Skyline I and II and again in the International Panel on Monday at the 10:15
AM General Session. The various representatives from our overseas countries and Canada will be
“Responding to Workforce Needs as Changes Occur.” Please participate in these events to keep the “I”
in IAWP.
Commissioner Trause Welcomes Attendees by Judy Johnson (WA)
Paul Trause, Washington State’s Commissioner of the Employment Security Department, welcomed
conference attendees to Washington and shared some really amazing facts and stories about the
programs that are so near and dear to our hearts – the workforce development system.
Our system has changed dramatically in recent years with the Great Recession, an influx of federal
stimulus money, funding reductions, and technology challenges have kept us on our toes. Paul offered
that our conference this week gives us a chance to catch our breath and catch up on all the changes.
Commissioner Trause said the nation owes us deep gratitude for all we’ve done to help our citizens
through these interesting economic times. With unemployment rate that nearly doubled to almost
10.0%, we experienced the same dramatically increased workload of people needing unemployment
insurance and employment and training services.
From 2008-2011, the nation paid out more than $434 Billion dollars in unemployment benefits. A
majority of states needed to borrow to pay these benefits. Similar increases occurred in the need for job
search services and retraining opportunities. While workload has remained high, the funding has been
declining since 2004. All while it is more expensive to provide our services. The President and
Congress proved they value and understand the need for our services, passing bills like HR 3630 which
helps businesses and unemployed workers that are still struggling to recover. It is more work for us, but
it helps our customers. And it is a powerful mandate to us.
Commissioner Trause believes strongly that connecting customers to the One-Stop system helps get
them jobs. Studies prove that jobseekers who use our services return to work faster and earn more
money. He said that strengthening the bridge between unemployment insurance and employment and
training services is the right path to take, and that we’ll see even tighter connections in the future.
Technology is another challenge – both in the systems we use to deliver services, and in the way that
job seekers are looking for work, many of our systems were unavailable a mere 10-25 years ago.
Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist, summarized this change. “Facebook didn’t exist,” he
said. “Twitter was a sound. The cloud was in the sky, 4G was a parking place, LinkedIn was a prison.
Applications were what you sent to college. And Skype – for most people – was a typo.” Now these
tools are integral to everything we do. We must continue to adjust to the reality of less funding and a
faster pace of change.
According to Commissioner Trause, “We must conserve our most important resource – our face time
with customers.’ We have to remain agile, acquire new skills and polish the skills we have. That’s why it
is so important that we’re here today. There is no more important contribution we can make to
economic wellbeing and our communities than to improve our skills as workforce professionals.
Extracting Excellence: Corey Geffre by Sheila Johnson Teeter (WA)
Past President Rich Vincent introduced our keynote speaker, Corey Geffre, President /CEO of
Common Success. He started by explaining how he came to coach his children’s soccer team ---- not
because he knew so much about soccer, but because he felt he had to be better than the coach from
the previous year. These philosophies lead him to realize that everything in life is all about being the
best you can be.
In order to accomplish this you must first extract excellence in your personal life. You need to take care
of yourself so you can take care of others. To maximize your excellence you need to identify your
weaknesses and your strengths. You need to be creative ---- sharing ideas with your boss and not
giving up. You also need to know who to trust.
Now how can we make our organization the best it can be? The organization needs make allowances
for networking among colleagues, mentoring, education, and service. While we were identifying with the
help of those sitting next to us, Corey passed around two soccer balls for us to sign. We were to put
some short encouraging message that might inspire someone’s child to be the best they can be. These
balls will be given to someone who wouldn’t have one otherwise and who needs to know that they can
achieve excellence.
International Cultural Event: Chocolates, Tea, Origami and Then Some by Larry Ludwig
(WA)
IAWP’s long standing tradition of International cultural events and fairs is alive and well. Yesterday’s
gathering in the Red Lions Skyline Towers featured not only an awesome view of the swollen Spokane
River rapids, but also participants from seven nations: Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Columbia,
Republic of China and Ukraine. The Chinese table, manned by Vincent Yau Tsang Huang, featured
brochures and a variety of Chinese teas. Japan had Kayo Rokumoto creating origami frog, turtle and
bird creations along with seaweed tea guaranteed, says Kayo, to turn your hair black or blacker.
Columbia, manned by Rocio Lopez and her daughter Yvette, offered Columbian candies, wood
carvings, dolls and jewelry. Poland represented by Richard Vitkay and Karen Karkula proffered
Polish world famous and super delicious “Delicje” biscuit-cookies and bread sticks. Ukraine covered by
Ihor Tsvilynyuk and his lovely interpreter offered handicrafts and chocolates. Latvia, manned by Nils
Freivalds, Rita and Ojars Repins, featured amber jewelry, dolls, refrigerator magnets, postcards and
chocolates. Lithuania worked by Liongina Beinoraviciene and Juanita Harbot offered cookies, amber
jewelry, leather handicrafts, and chocolates. Chocoholic Paradise!!
The Cultural Event was attended by over 80 conference attendees and guests, including President
David Slimp, Vice President Ray Cabrera, Past President Rich Vincent, Parliamentarian Richard Brown
and President-elect Nancy Upchurch (who oversaw the first “modern 1990’s era” International Fair at
the 1993 Portland Oregon conference when then President Nick Guarriello coined the phrase, “ put the
‘I’ back into IAPES)”. Attendees were treated to brief remarks by all seven international delegates with
information about their countries together with personal and often humorous vignettes. The
presentations were followed by drawings for “door prizes” donated by each of the seven countries. And
a good time was had by all, thanks to event organizer and mistress of ceremonies International
Development Chair, Verna Wade.
IAWP Foundation Board Meeting by Ron Sohnrey (OR)
The 2011-12 IAWP Foundation met this morning. They discussed the possible termination of the
Foundation and the implications of this action on the various grant programs. There was a motion
made, seconded, and ultimately passed to disband the program by June 30, 2013.
The consensus of the group was that the purposes that the Foundation was created for back in 1997
are not being met and ultimately the Foundation is a drain on the Association. It is also felt that the
functions that the Foundation was created for can be handled by the Association. There is basically
one issue that remains to be addressed.
The Nelson Trust Fund has some stipulations that the monies are to be used for specific
activities/reasons. We will investigate this matter further, but basically the understanding is that the
monies can be transferred to another 501c3, which can then use the monies for the purposes they were
donated for, which is International Development. There was a motion made, seconded, and ultimately
passed to transfer the monies to the IAWP California Chapter with the condition that the monies be
used for International Development for the 2013 IAWP Conference in Chicago.
The following individuals have been nominated by the Foundation Board to serve as the 2012-13
Foundation Board if approved by the IAWP Board of Directors (this will be brought to the IAWP Board
of Directors meeting this Thursday, June 14, 2012):
 Ron Sohnrey – President
 George Barthalow; Vice President
 Vicki Zimmerlee; Secretary/Treasurer
 Representatives: Kathy Bilanko; Thomas Buescher; Ray Cabrera; George Faithful; Mikell
Fryer; Nancy Jinks; Sharon Mike; Val Moeller; David Slimp; Nancy Upchurch and Verna Wade.
Glimpse into the Political Picture from Lee Foley’s Perspective by Veronica Champayne
(IL)
Lee Foley is always one of the highlights of the IAWP Conference. With nearly three decades of
experience working in legislative advocacy he is able to shed a light on the development of today’s
legislative issues. Lee has a talent for taking you on a verbal journey that makes it easy to understand.
Mr. Foley started this session’s journey during the Nixon administration. He shared the many decisions
made by legislators that brought us to this point, such as President Nixon’s desire to not fund antipoverty programs eventually developing into the Budget Control Act which gave us sequestration. This
process that allows for the automatic reduction of appropriated funds (may be used in January 2012, for
the first time.)
Nixon’s administration was just the beginning of the internal battle between the Republicans and
Democrats to fund domestic programs for workforce development. Next was Reagan’s Reconciliation
Act, he believed government was too immersed in areas that should be the responsibility of the people.
During the Bush era there were 43 tax cuts resulting in a 43 trillion dollar revenue reduction.
These are just some of the issues that Mr. Foley touched on as to how we journeyed to the federal
deficit problems and the war on the workforce development funding. He also gave kudos to workforce
employees. The work we do is why the battle wages on. Each year legislators cannot deny the good
work done by these programs. During this recession seventy percent of individuals that walked into our
offices for services have returned to work. Those are fantastic numbers; because of work like this,
legislators must deal with us and our funds have not been eliminated.
Lee went on to share how world changes have impacted the United States. Nations have modeled
themselves after us increasing their ability to compete with the United States. He shared two insights
an analysis of Upward Mobility and the broadband speed issue. The US is no longer the leader in
workforce upward mobility; they have been displaced by France and Great Britain. US was the number
one for high speed broadband. We now barely sit at 18th; slightly ahead of Slovakia with the common
thread between these leaders being broadband has been made public.
Many people especially legislators believe that we are an opportunity society and in need of less
government. This may not be the case when we get results such as those. Do we need government to
be involved at some level? Are political leaders concerned with these revelations? The United States is
still number one in education, best trained and most nimble workforce in the world. In large
metropolitan areas the focus is on a skilled workforce. These areas provide the best schools, housing,
transportation, parks and clean air. Are all of these components a part of a strong workforce?
He shared that the political system is not going to fix the issues that are drawing voters to come to the
polls. Lee shared scenarios for the different versions of the presidential campaign.
The issues of funding won’t be decided till after the 2012 elections. Today our annual federal revenue is
going straight up. It isn’t evident because of the soaring unemployment insurance extensions and the
payroll tax holiday funds. We will see if the Members of Congress will allow the budget to be repaired
through sequestration. If it does it could generate a lot of funds at the expense of many programs.
This year, when you step up to vote, you will be deciding on the next leg of our journey.
Labor Market Information - Numbers and Charts and Statistics – Oh My! How to Make
Sense of LMI by Linda Chapman (NY)
The alphabet soup that we deal with on a daily basis in our jobs is front and center in this session on
LMI. Lorraine Faulds’ title is Workforce Intelligence Coordinator, for the South Carolina Department of
Employment and Workforce. The operative word in her title is intelligence; Lorraine took a somewhat
complicated subject and brought it down to a level that a novice could understand. The group was
enthusiastic about the tools that she presented and after a brief question and answer session,
Lorraine championed the internet and with one finger on the trigger, she whipped through the sites of
various states exposing or applauding the usefulness and ease of access, to the excitement of the
group. The group was excited about their new found toys and eager to get back to their perspective
states to put the tools to use. This workshop was a hit, but how could it be otherwise with Lorraine
Faulds at the helm, after all she is extra intelligent, where do you think her boss got the title.
Congratulations Lorraine for a successful presentation.
Lean Management – A Radical Enhancement to Workforce Utilization by Irma E. Kong
and Yvette Quevedo, (CA)
John Dickson, Area Director for the Spokane Region of the Washington Employment Security
Department, defined being “lean” as a systematic way to consistently deliver high value services to your
customers through the relentless elimination of wasteful, non-value-added processes. The main key
point is continuously planning easy-to-follow processes and making improvements in the eyes of the
customers, not staff.
In defining the differences between value-added and non-value-added activities, Mr. Dickson stated
that organizations only focus on the former, which accounts for only five percent of quantity services
delivered. Therefore, they are not looking at the quality of service provided through the non-valueadded activities; we are not looking at the reason why the customer is there, but only at the numbers.
This disconnect is the reason why many organizations fail to succeed in this area and creates eight
“deadly” wastes that lead to DOWNTIME:

Defects/corrections

Overproduction

Waiting

Not utilizing staff talent

Transportation/moving

Inventory

Motion

Excessive Processing
So, how can we improve our system processes to better service the customers? Some suggested
solutions are for management to:

Study situations themselves rather than relying on rumors and reports

Challenge staff rather than command

Teach rather than tell

Focus their organizations on “real” customer needs rather than “perceived” customer needs

Look at things that are solution-based rather than problem-focused

Encourage learning by “doing” rather than “knowing”

Model a proactive rather than a reactive culture

Be comfortable admitting to being wrong rather than being afraid of it

Be “energy-givers” rather than “energy-sappers”
When participating in the “Lean Simulation” activity as a job seeker, I felt disconnected from the staff;
the focus was more on them and their organizational goals. I was also confused about what their role
would be in helping me to reach my goal of gainful employment. John, as the supervisor of the
organization, asked for suggestions on creating improvements. A participant in the workshop suggested
that the waiting time can be easily rectified by having the job seeker go from the front desk to the intake
staff, which then sends them directly to the coaching staff, then to the career advisor, and finally back to
the front desk for completion of services. The elimination of the waiting time in between each referral,
which is a wasteful process, can increase the value-added experience of the customer on a more
personal level.
Wounded Warrior Program by Gerri Jimenez (NM)
Norbert Lara was in the Army. He was on a convoy in 2004. He was told to make a right turn and when
he made that right turn he saw a flash and heard an explosion. His ears started ringing really bad. He
knew people were talking to him but he couldn’t understand them. He had another soldier in the other
seat and he decided to open the door. He reached for the door with his right arm and nothing was
happening. He then realized his arm was completely amputated by the explosion. He couldn’t believe it
and he went into shock. The door of the vehicle was still intact. He was then transported in the
ambulance which was the same one he was guarding in the previous days. He was placed in a
medically induced coma. He suffered a brain injury and (PTSD) Post traumatic stress disorder. Mr. Lara
was fully rehabilitated at the Walter Reed. He is now helping other wounded warriors return to civilian
life to be successful.
Wounded warrior program serves active duty soldiers and veterans. All services provided with no
government funding enables them to do what they want with the money to serve wounded warriors.
Eight four cents of every dollar donated goes toward programs. The main focus is to rehabilitate the
mind, body and spirit and to engage these warriors together to help each other with rehabilitation.
Wounded Warrior program provides backpacks with clothing items and sometimes entertainment. To
donate or volunteer you can go on the website at WWW.woundedwarriorproject.com. To follow Norbert
story got to facebook.com\norbielara. Support our troops if you can’t stand behind them feel free to
stand in front of them.
Transitions New Leaf Bakery Job Training Program by James Thomas (CA)
We had the pleasure of having two great presenters. The training was given by Jamie Borgan who is
the Program Director for the New Leaf Bakery Café, and Dia Maurer, the Executive Director of Mission
and Services for Transitional Programs for Women since 2007.
The program was created to help single mothers with children get a new start on life. The women
would start off in the Miryam’s House that was the first step of the process to get their life back on track,
The house would provide alarm clocks, bus passes, blankets, dental check-ups, dental work, pillows,
thumb drive, toilet paper, twin sheets sets, and a place to live for one year. The women would then be
sent to the transitional Living Center where they could take school classes, and enter into a drug
continuation program if needed. The single mothers were provided with childcare directly across the
street for easy transition.
The last step in the program was to have the women get ready to enter back into society. The New Leaf
Bakery Café provided that avenue. The house provided solid work ethics, communication and conflict
resolution skills, stress management, interpersonal and teamwork. The complete program gave these
women the tools and knowledge to start a new life. The program is the alternative process of giving
back what these women felt society had taken away.
UI Roundtable by Harold Kretzer (VA)
Nancy Fink (MD) did a masterful job of facilitating a wide-open, and far reaching, roundtable discussion
of all things UI. Participants were urged to share something they would celebrate related to their state’s
UI program, as well as challenges they have encountered.
Among the celebrations were:
 KY passed the DOL Audit guidelines and is ending EB
 NY has virtual agents at home
 NE has a 4.2% Unemployment Rate
 VA has implemented a “Training Tip of the Week”
 ID has completed a highly-successful automation transformation for both staff and customers
 WA’s virtual hold technology has demonstrated a high return on investment
 FL is dropping UI for RA (Reemployment Assistance)
 MD, MT, WA, and WY have healthy UI Trust Funds
 WA has one of the nation’s best “shared work” programs
 MD has most of their UI processes totally automated and has begun UI Mod #3
 CA’s staff training programs are going very well.
Among the challenges are: limited funds for hiring new staff and developing appropriate training
programs; need to minimize the Workforce Services “alphabet soup”; upgraded technology needs to be
more user-friendly; and getting NC people to pay attention to written instructions. Also there are many
states dealing with EUC issues, costly and labor-intensive UI Mods, sluggish mail delivery, language
issues, UI integrity issues, and challenges in implementing changes to individual state UI laws.
Many states also have scores of computer-illiterate claimants, and must continue to provide at least
some face-to-face assistance. Finally, mass numbers of employee retirements have negatively-affected
all states, and have left a serious void in UI institutional knowledge.
Ms. Fink shared a quote that helped to sum up the afternoon session: “If you don’t like change, you’ll
like irrelevance even less!” Thanks, Nancy, for guiding us in a most-informative discussion on a topic
that we could all relate to. Well done!
Creating Organizations That Help Individuals Learn and Development for Experience by
James Thomas (CA)
The speaker Connan Campbell; delivered a dynamic presentation. Connan Campbell is a 20 year
veteran in higher education. He works with and advised individuals and organizations. Cannon teaches
leadership classes. He conducted more than 500 workshops on topics ranging from team building and
strategic planning. He is in the process of obtaining a PhD in higher Education Administration.
The training started off with information about the events surrounding Spokane. His topic of discussion
was on adult learning. He solicited information from the audience on challenges for the adult learner.
The audience came up the following: lack of communication, information management, information
services, mentoring/coaching and shared vision.
Connan gave us a thought for the day which was, what, so what, now what as the three concepts of
experimental learning. He wrapped up the presentation with the learning circle which included:
experience, reflect, concepts, and apply. He also explained that managers needed to know their staff
strengths, weakness, and triggers. The group agreed that adult learners would only: 1) learn when they
are ready to learn, 2) what they can apply, 3) because they want to, 4) via experience, and 5) to solve
problems. Connan gave everyone a new perspective on adult learning.
Keeping the “I” in IAWP by Ann Seifert
An International panel presented “Responding to Workforce Needs as Changes Occur”. Speakers from
Latvia, Japan, Republic of China (Taiwan), Ukraine and Lithuania, joined Roger Madsen, Director of
Idaho Department of Labor in discussing the world wide labor market.
Youth unemployment is great and growing in Latvia and the rest of the EU countries. Unfortunately, the
skills of the unemployed do not match job openings. Per capita expenditures per unemployed person
have consistently fallen since 2007. Retraining funds have increased especially for young workers who
are able to “try” a job for 3 weeks, with pay. Challenges to full employment include outward migration
and moving people within Latvia to job locations.
Japan has been busy responding to dual natural disasters: an earthquake and a tsunami. Providing
both support services such as UI claims and job placements through the Hello Work offices which are
one stop locations for Health, Labor and Welfare Services. This name was introduced in 1990 to make
the employment offices more user-friendly. Like in the U.S. there is pressure to downsize government
and also efforts to bring services to where they are needed through area job fairs and training services
in constructions areas.
Republic of China – Taiwan has a very dense population, a long life expectancy and a low birth rate.
Most employment is in high tech industries. But, there are employment programs especially for middleaged women such vinegar, scarf and marble making which are offered locally. This free and
subsidized vocational training program encourages entrepreneurship and offer up to $100 US for
business start-up. Micro financing is available for up to $30,000 with 7 years repayment plan. There
are partnerships formed between non-governmental organizations and private enterprises.
Ukraine has experienced gradually improving markets and job force conditions but 60% of the economy
is “illegal” and this corruption limits positive economic growth. The unemployment rate is 41% but the
Work Seeks You career fairs are aimed at youth to encourage them to train for IT careers with the
potential to earn $6000 a month. The country is looking forward to the coming international soccer
competition to create many jobs. Currently there are 60,000 job openings with 8 people per job
opening.
Lithuania has lower unemployment than that of the European Union but the 2008 economic crisis had a
big impact especially in construction and manufacturing. There is a 32% youth unemployment rate and
a great need for skilled workers. Higher education rates are higher for women (14%) than men (7%).
There are 411 projects to support unemployment, eleven of them funded by European social funds.
These jobs are subsidized work experience positions and the employer cannot dismiss the workers
from these positions because of the funding.
Commissioner Madsen of the Idaho agency provided the US perspective. He described dealing with
employment programs, customer service training and how his agency became a problem solver for
both employers and the job seekers. By limiting the time that staff is available to the public, they were
able to develop new programs to fulfill the needs of a changing applicant base.
All panelists agreed that each agency MUST work to ensure the survival of their economies in a
changing world.
Voting Results
2012-2013 IAWP Officers
Nancy Upchurch (ID) – President
Mikell Fryer (GA) – Vice-President
Linda Barnes (KY) – Secretary/Treasurer
Best of the Best
Verletta (Val) Moeller (CA) was named as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. California
was named as the Chapter Achievement award winner. New Jersey was named the Most Improved
Chapter. For the second year in a row Oregon was named the only High 5 recipient.
President David Slimp presented his discretionary awards to several ladies that were instrumental in
making his year as president a success. The recipients of the President’s Award for 2012 are Verna
Wade (NC), Patricia Garner (OK), Mechelle Bryant (OK), and Mary Kay Krisman (OH).
“Celebrating a Century, Charting Our Future” by President Nancy Upchurch
I am thrilled to be assuming the leadership of IAWP for the next year. Throughout my IAWP
membership I have had many memorable experiences starting with the first International Conference I
attended in 1982 in Seattle, Washington. I remember walking into Seattle Center and seeing the
gigantic “Pride in Achievement” banner, showcasing that year’s theme. Attending that conference set
the course of my International IAWP experience. Being appointed as Program Chair for the 1993
Portland, Oregon International Educational Conference launched me into serving at the international
level. Now I find myself at the pinnacle of my IAWP experiences, serving as President.
I chose the theme “Celebrating a Century, Charting Our Future” to convey the two most important
things I hope to accomplish during my year as IAWP President – Celebrating a century of IAWP and
charting our future after redistricting and restructuring the committees.
Many of the goals we want to accomplish this year are connected to education, marketing and chapter
development. I am very excited with the modernization of the Workforce Professional Development
Program we will be launching July 1st. This is a project near and dear to my heart and one I have spent
considerable time nurturing. The next step is to market this to members and state workforce agencies
along with our Certified Workforce Specialist certification. I also feel strongly that we need to
reestablish our partnership with NASWA and USDOL, so that will be an area I personally will take
responsibility for. We also must step up our assistance to chapters. With District Director taking on
responsibility for more states, we must find a way to supplement that support to our chapters.
I want to thank Roger Madsen, director of the Idaho Department of Labor for his support, my family Michael, Amber, Andy and Lillian for their love and encouragement and my extended family, Kathy and
Al Snyder for being my cheerleaders.
Charting a Course for the Future of IAWP by Pam Nass (OR)
Nancy Upchurch presented a very interactive, thought provoking session on the IAWP Strategic Plan
for 2012-2015. Nancy pointed out her strategic goals which included five different areas. They are:
Education, Communication, Chapter Development, Recognition, and Marketing.
Under each Strategic Goal were sub-goals. Education identified as enhancing member knowledge and
skills through training and development, the sub-goals of Training, WPDP, and CWS. Communication
is identified as delivering information timely and accurately through the use of technology, the sub-goals
as Legislation, Website/Social Networking, and the FLASH. Chapter Development is identified as
assisting chapters, increasing our membership through outreach activities, Chapter Outreach, and
Retirees. Recognition is identified as recognizing members, non-members and chapters through our
awards, the sub-goals as Individual/Group, Chapter, and Membership. Marketing is identified as
promoting IAWP with workforce partners, Administrators/NASWA, NVTI, and USDOL.
Nancy felt that by putting her goals in writing; she is able to concentrate on meeting certain goals.
Nancy also wanted to pass some other committed goals to the next leader. The idea is to avoid always
reinventing the wheel. She wanted to maintain consistency without always starting over from the
beginning with each new President.
Discussion was generated on how to improve and market the concept of our great organization.
Practically; everyone participated and Nancy took good notes to allow follow-up. The discussion
included everything from how to get other agencies and organization (public and private) involved. Her
idea was improving our website to make IAWP marketable and more user-friendly.
Lastly, Nancy discussed the changes in the Committee Structure going from 22 committees to only 10.
She felt this meshed more closely with the reduced district structure. She was able to match her goals
to the new Committee Structure. Nancy is energized and ready to start her new leadership position.
Tomorrow Nancy will enter her 100th post on her blog that she created two years ago. If you would like
to visit her blog, the website address is http://nancyiniawp.blogspot.com/ . You can read about her
journey to her presidency and IAWP activities.
Nancy’s presentation was well received with a wealth of information. A fun fact about Nancy is that she
has 33 years of continuous membership in IAWP and she is attending her 31st consecutive International
Educational Conference. To contact Nancy her e-mail address is Nancy.Upchurch@labor.Idaho.gov
and her Chapter Development Chair Mikell Fryer’s e-mail address is Mikell.Fryer@gdol.ga.gov
“Navigating the Changing Federal Employment Process” By La-Tica Watson (IA)
There was a ton of great information shared during this session on the federal employment process;
you should have been here! This workshop was presented by Nancy Fink, Assistant Director,
Maryland Professional Outplacement Assistance Center. When Nancy asked the group attending,
“Why are you here today?” the responses came down to four main areas: process, veterans,
application and frustration. All four of these areas were explored and insight was gained by all in the
end.
Nancy Fink shared that things are changing slowly and persistence does pay off. She suggests you
should also network in places where the federal employees hang out and find commonalities, key to
those seeking federal employment. In case you are not aware, all federal jobs are not listed on
USAJobs.com. You have to research and seek out other opportunities; try going directly to agency
websites to gain more information.
One of the main points Nancy shared with us was to go online and read everything about the federal
process. Become more familiar with the process and the terminology. This makes sense to me; how
can I communicate an effective delivery to the customers I serve, if I do not fully understand the federal
employment process myself? So, get out there, become a student of all workforce related services
and products whether online or through networking with other IAWP members.
Connecting Homeless Job Seekers; Best Practices and Essential Elements
by: Mar y Archer (CA)
Homeless and needy customers do have many barriers and many of these issues have been
approached using the standard WIA intake system. This system most frequently used is the job search
techniques. The job search technique identifies the really important issues. This process helps to make
the program is a success and improve other critical areas. This was demonstrated by our presenters,
Marcelle Wellington and Rick Van Cise from Seattle-King County Workforce development Council.
It has been determined from several sources that one of the essential elements was to inspire and
educate the homeless job seeker. The other factor was to find a better ways to serve this population
more effectively. The underlying issue was their insecurity; as well as, the basic needs for conducting
life in general that may need to be addressed.
Several key metropolitan areas are: Galveston Texas, Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington, Miami
Florida and Phoenix Arizona were involved in a special project. It was felt that until the basic needs had
been met, and the individual issue resolved; then, the job search would be fruitless and demoralize the
customer even more.
Mega Motivation with a Twist – Doug Dvorak a.k.a. Dr. Earnest Carpediem by Mary Upp
(CA)
Dr. Carpediem spoke about four motivational styles and how everyone identifies with at least one. Dr.
Carpediem then showed several humorous news headlines covering general interest topics,
engagement announcements, wedding invitations and anniversary announcements. The speaker
stressed the power of having a positive attitude even amid hard times.
He pointed out some of the challenges we as workforce professionals face include – economic
challenges, downsizing, staying positive and doing more with less. He also stated that we should
celebrate our wins like belonging to a great organization of people who help both workers and
employers in our daily jobs. If we are too negative it can have a real impact on our body, mind and
spirit. He stated that optimists live an average of 8 years longer than pessimists and also that in 2012
we laugh less than 6 minutes day.
He also shared with us a study done by Dr. Masura Emoto, author of “The Hidden Message in Water”
and showed pictures of drops of water frozen in environments with positive audio stimulants played in
the background as well as negative audio stimulants. The results were amazing and had a real impact
on the audience.
In closing, he gave humorous advice on how to cope with stress. He emphasized that LIFE = RISK
and that we must take risks in order to live a full life. We must choose to have a winning attitude in
order to succeed and excel in our lives and careers!