Download - June 2014 C.C.W.A. Newletter
T H E W A T E R C O N N E C T I O N News For Clayton County Water Authority Employees & Retirees
June 2014
CCWA Launches
Small Local Business Program
CCWA Recognized in
National
Climate Assessment
CCWA Participates in Inaugural Southern Children’s Water Festival
CCWA staff participated in the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District’s inaugural Children’s Water Festival at
Welcome All Park in South Fulton on May 6. More than 400 fourth grade students from the City of Atlanta, Clayton
County, Fulton County, Henry County and DeKalb County school districts participated in this hands-on day of water
education. Students from Fountain Elementary represented Clayton County.
According to CCWA Water Resources Engineer Shayla Nealy, the goal of the event
was to provide quality water education opportunities to as many
students as possible and remind the kids about the direct
connection we have on the quality and quantity of the water in our
rivers, lakes, and streams.
Shayla, Jennifer Brandon (Water Reclamation) and Matt
Smith (Stormwater) provided a F.O.G. Relay event; Cornell
Sims (Stormwater) instructed students on the Edible Watershed
activity and Kwame Gyimah and Jael Fuller (Stormwater) gave
demonstrations of the vac truck.
C CWA successfully kicked off its Small Local Business Enterprise
Program on Saturday, May 17, 2014 in the new HQ Community Use
Room. The program is an initiative of the CCWA Board of Directors.
“Small businesses are the economic engine that drive our economy,” says
Marie Barber, Chairperson of the CCWA Board of Directors. “It is important
to our Board of Directors that small businesses are aware of opportunities
available in Clayton County.”
The program was introduced to 34 registered attendees comprised of local
businesses from the City of Atlanta, Clayton, DeKalb, Cobb, Fayette, Douglas,
and Gwinnett Counties. CCWA Board members, Marie Barber and Oscar
Blalock were also in attendance.
Speakers included Commissioner Michael Edmondson representing Clayton
County Board of Commissioners, Clayton State Small Business Development
Center, Brown & Caldwell, CH2MHill, and Jacobs Engineering.
CCWA’s Procurement staff plans to hold monthly workshops that will contain
information on the SLBE certification process, How to Do Business with CCWA,
Spotlight on Business, guest speakers and small business resources.
The first workshop will be held June 18, 2014 at 2:00 pm at CCWA’s HQ
Community Room, and will be held the third Wednesday of each month
thereafter.
CCWA’s innovative use of
constructed treatment wetlands was
spotlighted in the recently published
U.S. National Climate Assessment.
The report cites ‘decreased water
availability’ as exceptional vulner-
ability for the Southeast region.
The treatment wetlands
enabled CCWA to maintain abundant
water supplies during the 2007-2008
drought.
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Promotion
New Hires
Benedict Tawiah
IT Intern
Hire Date: 5/14/2014
Takara Black
P/T Call Center CSR
Hire Date: 5/27/2014
Kristen Tyson
P/T Call Center CSR
Hire Date: 5/27/2014
Stephanie Pearson
GIS Intern
Hire Date: 5/27/2014
Kayla Lyles
Customer Service Intern
Hire Date: 5/27/2014
Alexis Lucas
Stormwater Intern
Hire Date: 5/27/2014
CCWA Ambassadors Out & About
SouthSide Music Fest - Linda Allen (Water Production), Chris Hamilton
(Water Reclamation), Michelle Mirzaiee (HR), Ed Durham (HR), Mike
Thomas (GM), Bernard Franks (D&C) and Jim Poff (AGM)
McGarrah Elementary School - Jordan Clanton and Chris Bond
(Stormwater)
Callaway Elementary School - Ebony Poke and Beverly Steward
(Customer Service)
Saint’s Alive at First Baptist Church of Jonesboro - Diane Ford
(Customer Service), Brian Gibbs (Meter Services) and David Judson (Meter
Services)
Suder Elementary School - Gerald
Fuller and Dean Howell (D&C)
Shown at right: Gerald and Dean (who isn’t
pictured) used some scrap items to make
a replica of a sewer line running between
two manholes so they could perform a
mock CCTV Inspection for students.
Shown at right: Jr Thompson, Rhonda Daum, Heather Downing, Robert Cloud,
Troy Usry, Jasmin Sosa, and Michelle Palominos spent time
completing a draft of their resume in
class.
They also learned about the im-
portance of having a resume realizing
that once their skills, education and
work history are on paper they will
always be able to refer to it when
needed.
Shown below: Jr Thompson proudly
shared his resume during the Interviewing with Confidence Class he attended
along with Victor Bros, Keith Lowry, Jikeva Moore, and Michelle
Palominos.
“I thought the Interviewing Skills class would be
an effective tool to prepare any employee with
interviewing skills they need as they think about
advancing their careers,” says Jr. “The part that
helped me was the ‘Hot Seat’ exercise. Other
attendees chose interview questions to ask me,
and I had to respond “on the spot.” It made me
think quickly and I had to be prepared for any
question an interviewer might ask. I would high-
ly recommend this class if you are thinking about advancing in your career.”
Ebony Poke
Accounts Receivable Supervisor
Employees attend “Writing a Standout Resume”
and “Interviewing with Confidence” Classes
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CCWA Training News
Alex Hollywood, son of
Christina Hollywood
(Finance), graduated
from the Pre-K program
at Early Years Learning
Center on May 15,
2014.
Everett Shelton, son
of Michael (D&C) and
Sarah Beth (Finance)
Shelton, graduated
from the Pre-K pro-
gram at Early Years Learning Center
on May 13, 2014.
Camryn Horton, daughter of
Adam Horton (Water
Production),
graduated from Kinder-
garten at Eastside
Elementary School on
May 23, 2014.
Natalie Santoyo, daughter of
Cary Santoyo (Executive), graduat-
ed from Stockbridge High School on
May 23, 2014. She will attend
Kennesaw State University in the
fall.
Avery Sterling, son of
Sean Sterling (PM&E), is
graduating from Griffin High School
with honors on June 7, 2014. He will
attend Gordon State College in the
fall.
Elizabeth Michaels, daughter of
Larry Michaels (PM&E), is gradu-
ating from Griffin High School with
honors on June 7, 2014. She will
attend Gordon State College in the
fall.
Congratulations
to Our 2014
Graduates Writing & Delivering Great Presentations
If you want to improve your presentation skills
register for the next “Great Presentations” class
on Thursday, July 10, 2014, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Managing Workplace Violence and Harassment
Training
Shown above are attendees: Suzanne Brown, Ed Johnson, Chris Hamilton, James Drake, Ebony Poke, and Kendra Stanciel. Not shown: Bernard Franks
All managers and supervisors recently completed a workshop on Managing
Workplace Violence, Harassment and Inclusion. The HR refresher
reinforced a key responsibility is to ensure a safety and harassment free work
environment for all CCWA employees.
SAY OUCH! Tips for Speaking Up at Work
The following techniques were learned during the session on Harassment:
Assume Good Intent and Explain Impact
Ask a Question
Interrupt and Redirect
Broaden to Universal Human Behavior
Make It Individual
Say Ouch!
First Aid/CPR Class
CCWA’s First Aid/CPR Classes are now worth 6 CE points.
If you need a refresh-
er, sign up for the July
24 class through
Sharepoint. Shown at
left, Will Moore and
Jacob Cannon learn
about bone, muscle
and joint injuries.
Shown at right, Justin Tucker, Jacob Cannon, Will Moore
and Derrick Stroud learn choking care for infants.
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Our Condolences Please keep the following employees
in your thoughts and prayers:
Gene Beaber (D&C) and his family
on the loss of his grandmother,
Ms. Lenora Evatt Houston, who
passed away on May 9, 2014.
CCWA Retiree Mrs. Louise Ether-
idge passed away on May 15,
2014. Louise is also Retiree Herbert
Etheridge’s mother.
Michael Crabtree (Water Reclama-
tion) and his family on the loss of his
brother, Mr. Wayne Crabtree, who
passed away on May 17, 2014.
Eva Puckett (Customer Service)
and her family on the loss of her son,
Mr. Keith Lamar Puckett Jr., who
passed away in May.
Birders Enjoy Walk at Wetlands Center
Jeff Jones
Celebrates 25 Years of Service
Distribution Maintenance
Supervisor Jeff Jones celebrated
25 years of service on May 1, 2014.
Jeff is shown above with General
Manager Mike Thomas and D&C
Manager Bernard Franks.
Shoal Creek WRF Class 1 Plant
Operator Jr Thompson celebrated
15 years of service with CCWA on
May 3, 2014.
Jr is shown above with General
Manager Mike Thomas and Water
Reclamation Manager Chris
Hamilton.
Jr Thompson Celebrates
15 Years of Service
CCWA properties are known as some of the best birding sites in the southeast-
ern United States. The last of three spring Atlanta Audubon Society Birding
Walks was held at the Newman Wetlands Center on May 24.
It was a beautiful morning for the group to look for different species of birds
while enjoying the peaceful setting. The highlights of the walk were the migra-
tory species of Great-crested Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo
and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The
group also visited the Huie Holding
Ponds and Blalock Reservoir.
Upcoming
Classes
A few spaces are still available in
the following classes. If you are
interested in signing up for any of
these, have your supervisor email
Confined Space Entry & Rescue
Tuesday, June 10
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 26
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Forklift Safety
Tuesday, June 24
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Atlanta Gas Line Safety
Wednesday, June 25
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
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Congratulations to the
following winners from our
May drawing:
Renzer Ham
(Meter Services)
LaRee DePaolo
(Billing)
Mark Brown
(NTS)
Lynn Brooks
(Finance)
Amanda Fortson
(Meter Services)
ACS Dress Down Stickers
Good Through June 30
Baby News
Joshua Wood (Stormwater) and
his wife Christiana welcomed their
daughter, Olivia Grace Wood
(7 lbs. 12 oz.), who was born on
May 16, 2014.
Information provided by WELCOA
Dress Down Stickers may be worn by non-
uniformed employees through June 30, 2014.
Only new priced stickers may be purchased at this
time (see pricing below).
If you still have stickers purchased previously, you
may still use them.
Stickers may be purchased from Michelle Mirzaiee
in HR.
Stickers cannot be used more than two (2) times per week.
New Pricing: 1 sticker for $4; 8 stickers for $24
The Jonesboro Farmers Market
opens for the summer on Saturday,
June 28 and will be open on the
following days through
August:
Saturdays
8:00 a.m. - Noon
Tuesdays and Thursdays
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The market is located in the
Jonesboro City Parking Lot
behind Heritage Bank on Mill Street.
Jonesboro Farmers
Market Open June 28
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YOS
Sean Sterling 6/1
Stan Court 6/2
Alaine Mort 6/2
Cody Rush 6/2
Coty McDaniel 6/4
Brent Wilson 6/4
Keith Crawford 6/5
Mike Long 6/5
David Jones 6/6
Kevin Osbey 6/6
Phoenix Hunt 6/8
Jay Mathis 6/8
Cary Santoyo 6/9
Barbie Stepp 6/9
Suzanne Brown 6/13
Walter Burdett 6/14
Joey Dobbs 6/17
Adam Horton 6/20
Teresa Worley 6/20
Marshall Maddox 6/22
Adam La Pierre 6/25
Larry McClain 6/26
Andrea McLain 6/26
Tim Walker 6/26
Mike Holt 6/27
Nikiki Johnson 6/27
Daniel Salmons 6/27
Mark Goss 6/28
Angie Nalley 6/30
Jacob Cannon 6/1 1
Jenny Collier 6/1 1
Sophia Haynes 6/1 3
Latasha Lovelady 6/1 1
Michelle Mirzaiee 6/1 14
Willie Moore 6/3 1
Steve Thompson 6/3 12
Myers Scott 6/4 7
Mike Sneed 6/4 24
Mike Hopper 6/5 19
Nate Lee 6/6 14
George Smith 6/8 4
Keith Watkins 6/8 24
Danny Haynes 6/10 32
Brent Lorentzen 6/11 22
Suzanne Brown 6/13 9
Mike Gaylor 6/13 26
Christina Hollywood 6/13 3
Dennis Ward 6/13 7
Beth Thompson 6/15 15
Jonathon Smith 6/16 11
Chris Clinton 6/18 7
Don Conner 6/18 13
Desmond Norwood 6/20 5
Kelly McDougal 6/21 15
Chuck Jones 6/22 15
Stephen Gibbs 6/23 17
Richard Bergmann 6/25 7
Terry Moy 6/25 7
Marvin Harry 6/27 7
Norris Howell 6/27 26
Donyel Patton 6/27 3
Brian Caron 6/29 14
Derek Cofield 6/29 5