INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Distracted Driver 2

Dates of Interest

in November

2

10 Tips for

Staying Fit

3

Have an idea? 3

Notes from BCSA 3

Everybody Has A

Story

4

New Staff in

October ‘09

4

Communicator

P A G E 4

C O M M U N I C A T O R

New Staff—October 2009 Molly Bass, Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Advancement

Heidi Howard, Associate Director of Donor Programs, Advancement Teague Morris, Assessment Officer,

Institutional Research & Assessment Support Susan Orton, Director of Foundation, Corporate & Government Relations,

Advancement Mike Thomas, Security Officer, Security

Hillary Verrill, Assistant Director, Career Services

N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9

Each month, the

Communicator will

feature a story about a

randomly selected

employee on campus.

Learning about our

colleagues helps to

build community and

is interesting—

because everybody

has a story!

After interviewing

Monica McCusker, Office

Coordinator at the Col-

lege Store, for this

month‘s Communicator, I

wonder if perhaps the

name of this feature

should be changed to

―Everybody Has Many

Stories.‖

Monica was born in

Florida and moved to

Connecticut at a young

age. In middle school,

she was recruited to play

in a fife and drum corps

and began what was to

become a lifelong, com-

bined interest in music

and history. The deci-

sion to join the corps was

also pivotal in another

way; she met her hus-

band, David, through the

group. After taking a 20

year break from the

hobby due to her hus-

band‘s Naval career and

raising two daughters,

they have continued to

participate in historical

and community celebra-

tions throughout Maine

and New England as

members of a fife and

drum corps. She‘s a

solid member of what

she says is sometimes

referred to as a ―sub-

culture. ―

What does Monica

enjoy the most about this

hobby? Her interest is

not in guns or war, but

rather the camaraderie

and the opportunity to

―live‖ history. She recalls

with enthusiasm what it‘s

like experiencing the

power of a ―Civil War Mo-

ment‖, a moment during

a battle re-enactment

when the re-enactor gets

caught up in the action

and forgets that they are

in modern times.

In addition to pursuing

her personal passions,

Monica has spent a sig-

nificant amount of time

and energy devoted to

community service. She

was a Red Cross volun-

teer for more than 20

years and is active in her

church as both an advi-

sor and Sunday school

teacher. In addition to

her volunteer work and

fifing, she‘s kept active

over the years - perform-

ing tap and jazz/hip hop

with a couple of local

dance studios, spending

time with her two grand-

children, and sewing

(including many of the

period pieces worn in her

re-enactments). Re-

cently, thanks to Bates‘

education benefit, she

has resumed her college

education.

If you get the opportu-

nity to stop and chat with

Monica, you won‘t be

disappointed; she has

stories to tell and life ex-

perience rivaled by few!

Everybody Has a Story—Monica McCusker

Thumbs Up to Dining Services

Bates College has been notified that its din-ing program is being hon-ored with one of four "Dining Halls of Distinc-tion" awards by Univer-sity Business magazine. The Fellows with the Hobart Center for Food-service Sustainability have announced a $5,000 grant to Bates College Dining Services for its comprehensive ap-proach to food service sustainability, and have named Director of Dining Serv ices , Chr is t ine

Schwartz as an HCFS Fellow. Bates was judged as having the best sustain-ability program from among 13 entrants nation-wide, which included K-12 schools and higher educa-tional institutions, health care and hospitality facili-ties. ―Every year the level of participation and interest in sharing sustainable practices continues to ex-pand,‖ says Rick Cart-wright, vice president, ITW Food Equipment

Group, and HCFS Fellow. Cartwright said that ―Bates College stood out as a best-practice exam-ple showing a broad level of impact across many aspects of sustainability.‖ Bates is the third re-cipient of the annual award. The winners in previous years were the University of California, Santa Cruz and Dickinson College.

~Excerpts from original postings by

Brian McNulty on the Bates web site

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Nurse, please call 1-800-556-1555

For TDD (hearing and speech impaired only):

1-800-270-2386

Health Assessment: Privacy Concerns Addressed

Questions about how your Health Risk Assessment information will be used by Aetna? The mission of the Simple Steps To A Healthier Life® program by Aetna is to improve the health and well-being of health-care consumers by offering a Health Assess-ment, educational materi-als and health manage-ment information pro-grams online. When you visit and navigate the Aetna Web site, they will not collect personal information or personal health informa-tion about you unless you provide the information voluntarily. We recom-mend that you read the

Privacy Policy whenever you visit the Aetna site. The Simple Steps To A Healthier Life tool and the Health Risk Assessment ("HRA") are an important part of Aetna's overall health-care benefits ad-ministration programs, and will be used in a vari-ety of ways in support of these programs. In general, the informa-tion will be used in much the same way as informa-tion gathered in connec-tion with Aetna's patient-management programs. For example, it may be made available to Aetna

p a t i e n t - m a n a g e m e n t nurses to help coordinate your care and assist you with appropriate disease-management tools. It also may be used for purposes of internal studies of the effectiveness of care coor-dination and disease man-agement. Most importantly, your information will be used and disclosed in accordance with the Health Insurance Port-ability and Accountabil-ity Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rules as part of Aetna's payment activities and health-care operations.

P A G E 2

Are you a distracted driver???

Are you a distracted driver? Perhaps you pre-fer to think of yourself as a multi-tasker on wheels. If you use wireless de-vices, computers, books, newspapers, electric ra-zors,beauty product appli-cators or eat Big Macs or Whoppers while you are driving, you are part of a growing class of drivers with an increasing risk of causing or being involved in an accident. And, as of very recently, you are breaking the law in Maine. ―The National Highway Traffic Admini-stration estimates that at least 25% of police-reported crashes involve some form of driver inat-tention. Driver distraction is one form of inattention and is a factor in more than half of these crashes.‖ The State of Illinois published a report in 2008 which indicated that ―talking on a cell phone while driving increases your chance of getting

into a crash by 400%.‖ Other studies have dem-onstrated that even talk-ing on hands-free phones while driving increases the risk by 400%. The

American Automobile As-sociation conducted a survey this year and learned that 87 % of re-spondents rated texting or e-mailing while driving is a very serious threat mak-ing this driving risk almost as high as drunk driving. Yet in the same survey ―67% of drivers reported talking on the cell phone

while driving and 21% reported text messaging while driving‖. It seems like the an-swer to this problem is pretty simple. You can significantly reduce your risk of being involved in a driving incident if you avoid being distracted. Stay focused on your driving. Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. If your wireless device calls to you, pull off the road. If you are hungry, stop and have a bite. Make your-self beautiful (or at least presentable) before you leave your house. Read your newspaper or your book when you get to your destination. This will sound old fashioned and maybe even a bit paternalistic but I‘ll say it anyway… we used to be able to survive a commute and get the job done without having to multitask. For the sake of safety let‘s give driving our undivided attention.

C O M M U N I C A T O R

3rd Fall Training Series: Managing Across Generations Your Workplace-Your Safety; Office Ergonomics

5th Fall Training Series: Holiday Fabric Cards

9th Fall Training Series: Data Security

12th Bi-weekly and monthly pay date 'Cats Convivial Cooking Series—Healthy Bag Lunches

23rd Fall Training Series: Intro to InDesign—The Poster Digital Imaging & Photoshop Basics

26th Bi-weekly pay date

Info regarding ANNUAL ENROLLMENT is coming soon!!!

Dates of Interest in November

*This and future issues of the Communicator will feature lessons learned from those who participated in the class ―Live, Learn and Pass It On‖ during Staff Enrichment Week.

Live, Learn and Pass It On…*

The best is yet to come. ~Age 60

P A G E 3

mal sugar levels and alcohol. 3. Forgo those sweet holi-day lattes and fancy drinks for a regular drip coffee and a little low fat milk. Spice it up with cinnamon and stay away from the whipping cream. 4. Eat before you go to holi-day parties. You will be less likely to binge. 5. Choose white wine over red whenever you get a chance; it has less calories. 6. Chew sugar free gum throughout the day to keep your craving at bay. 7. Get up from your desk and walk around every once in a while to get blood flowing as well as keep your posture in check. 8. If you want to participate in holiday fun but don't want the extra calories of

'Tis the Season for holiday celebrations, sweet treats and packing on the pounds. There is a reason losing weight is one of the most popular New Years resolu-tions! Certified personal trainer, Trevor Marum, offers some easy suggestions on ways to stay fit and trim dur-ing the holiday season. 1. Squeeze cardio into your schedule in spurts when short on time. Three intense ten minute sessions through-out the day has been proven to be as beneficial or more so than a straight 30 minutes. 2. Keep a large water bottle (20oz) handy at all times. Staying hydrated is very im-portant when we are filling our body with more than nor-

cookie making, use fast dry-ing sculpting clay and deco-rate ornaments instead by using cookie cutters, paint and glitter. 9. Indulge in some holiday fun and get fit at the same time by ice skating or even indoor skiing if you aren't near the slopes. 10. And if you really want to stay fit or give yourself a pampering treat, hire your-self a personal trainer and maybe get into that holiday dress before the office party.

By Trevor Marum Vert. Fitness and Wellness

www.vertfitnesswellness.com

10 Tips for Staying Fit During the Holidays

Steering Committee represen-tative – Election boxes are lo-cated in Cutten, New Com-mons and Pettengill Hall. Thanks to the Publicity and Events Committee for a won-derful Trash to Treasure and Pizza Party! The P&E Com-

Greetings from the Bates Col-lege Staff Association Steering Committee! Each month in the HR Communicator, we post information regarding current BCSA happenings or issues relating to staff. We want to encourage you to vote for your

mittee is working on more fun BCSA events in the future! Don’t forget to take advantage of the online suggestion tool to submit your thoughts or ideas. http://www.bates.edu/x153947.xml

We really want to hear from you!

Notes from the Bates College Staff Association

Liv

e,

Le

arn

an

d P

ass It O

n…

*

If

you

know

it’s

wro

ng in

your

hea

rt,

wal

k aw

ay—

even

if

your

bra

in isn

’t c

onvinc

ed.

~A

ge 3

5

Performance Development Timeline Reminder

Goal Setting/Planning Stage

August–November ‗09

Mid-Year Review November ‗09–March ‗10

Year-End Review April ‗10—July ‗10

Please call the HR office if

you need assistance! x6140

The Staff Development Committee is getting ready to start planning

Staff Enrichment Week, June 14-18, 2010.

If you would like to teach a workshop, have an idea for a workshop or know a presenter you think would be good to bring to campus, we‘d like to hear from you. Please submit your thoughts and ideas to any member of the committee:

William Ash, Imaging Center Terry Baillargeon, Advancement

Linda Carter, Physical Plant Ken Emerson, Human Resources

Doug Ginevan, Finance Jessada Govindasamy, Academic Support Services

Ed Jawor, Office Services Mary Main, Human Resources

Mike Milliken, Human Resources Ray Potter, Human Resources

Keith Pray, Dining Services Christine Schwartz, Dining Services Heather Taylor, Human Resources

Andrew White, ILS

Have an idea for a Staff Enrichment Week Workshop?