Mid-October 2024 Employee Caboose

MID-OCTOBER 2024

CARVE OUT TIME FOR FUN WITH COLLEAGUES AT SPIRITED HALLOWEEN BASH Grab your ghostly sheet, witch’s broom, vampire cape, green goblin gear or other creepy, funny and creative attire and head to the Glendale Employee Engagement Committee (GEEC)’s Halloween Treats & Costume Contest from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 31 at the Main Library.

Prizes will be given for the Best Costume, Best Group/Team Costume and Best Pumpkin at this spooktacular bash where you can mingle with your coworkers and enjoy some treats. Anyone who wants to enter the costume contest should be in their costume in the auditorium by 11:45 a.m. Costumes should be appropriate for work.

Those who want to let the “gourd” times roll and enter the pumpkin contest should bring their decorated pumpkin, one that is NOT CARVED, to the auditorium by 11:45 a.m. They should take their jack-o-lanterns home after the party.

Get ready for a fa-boo-lous time!

HELP BRIGHTEN WINTER HOLIDAYS FOR FAMILIES IN NEED It’s time to plan how we can help make the upcoming winter holidays bright for Glendale families in need. Our Adopt-A-Family Program allows individual employees, teams, divisions and/or departments to donate gifts to residents for the holiday season.

What you need to know: The minimum gift requirement that participants should meet is one item per family member.

Anyone is welcome to donate more presents than that if they choose.

Gifts should be wrapped and marked with the recipients’ names on them.

REGISTER HERE BY OCT. 31 IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING.

If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Fenderson-Gonzales at 930-3582.

October 2024

Page 1

ON THE CALENDAR BEYOND BIOMETRICS: MEAL PLANNING & PREP FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH DATE: October 22 TIME: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Zoom Learn how to implement healthy habits in order to improve your body composition, as well as your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood-sugar levels in this webinar. Guest speaker Aubrey Uhling, RD., CDE, will talk about how nutrition impacts biometrics. Learn essential skills, including label reading, smart shopping, meal planning and efficient cooking.

Click the link below or visit the GRID to register for this event!

MEAL PLANNING

KICK-START BONUS POINTS WITH VACCINES, EXERCISE, OTHER HEALTHY STEPS Now through November 30 is the time to start earning points in the WellStyles portal!

If you earn 2,000 points during this time period, you will obtain 2,000 bonus points to jump-start your program earnings! You can complete your wellness assessment, get a flu shot, join a challenge and/or track healthy habits to earn these points. Visit the WellStyles portal at the link below to sign up and learn more about the programs and offerings.

WELLSTYLES

DON’T MISS CHANCE TO OBTAIN FLU SHOTS, HEALTH SCREENINGS, EARN WELLNESS POINTS There is still time to take some FREE, easy steps to keep healthy during this flu season and throughout the year.

The “Know Your Numbers” Health Screenings & Flu Shots Onsite continue through Nov. 7 in various COG buildings.

These free-of-charge screenings will offer important insight into your current health and wellbeing, including your blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL Cholesterol, glucose, height, weight and other vital numbers. You will earn 10,000 Wellness Points towards the incentive for taking advantage of this service. The schedule is in the box to the right.

Appointments are required for the health screenings, but not for the flu shot. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona will cover the flu shot costs, while Good Life Wellness will take care of the financial costs for those who do not have city health insurance.

Schedule an appointment for a health screening, click the link.

Oct. 17: 7 to 10:15 a.m., Glendale Adult Center Oct. 23: 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., GRPSTC Oct. 24: 7:15 to 11 a.m., Field Operations Oct. 29: 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., Main Police Station Oct. 30: 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center Nov. 5: 7 to 11 a.m., Foothills Police Station Nov. 6: 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. System of Care Campus, Event Center (7677 W. Bethany Home Road) Nov. 7: 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., Field Operations HEALTH SCREENINGS

DIVE INTO DATA VIDEOS TO HELP GUIDE DECISIONS, BETTER SERVE RESIDENTS In Glendale, we use data every day to guide our decisions and better serve our community. Our Video Team produced a series of videos on data use for our Department of Organizational Performance. The video in this link below will be the first in a series of quick training videos that you will be seeing in the “Caboose” that will introduce you to some important topics and tools that will help you better understand data and technology.

You also can find these training videos in the LEARN portal in NEOGOV. DATA AND DATA STORAGE

October 2024

Page 2

HEART OF GLENDALE

COG PAYS TRIBUTE TO FALLEN POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS Our community came together recently to honor COG firefighters and police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice - giving their lives in the line of duty.

The COG Public Safety Salute to Service drew many city employees, as well as Mayor Jerry Weiers, our City Council, City Manager Kevin Phelps and family members who lost loved ones from the Police and Fire departments during a ceremony at the City of Glendale Public Safety Memorial.

Fire Department Captain Kyle Borg, a public information officer, served as the emcee, while a combined Glendale Police and Fire Honor Guard posted the colors and the Glendale Pipes and Drums group played “America the Beautiful.”

Glendale Police Chaplain Don Lopeman read the “Police Officer’s Prayer” and Glendale Fire Chaplain Raul Ochoa read “The Fireman’s Prayer” to a captivated crowd. The names of those who gave their lives while serving our community Glendale Firefighter Mark Fowl and Engineer Lester Hillis, along with Glendale Police Sgt. Patrick Lee Campbell, Officer Anthony “Tony” Holly and Officer Bradley Ryan Jones were read during a somber bell-ringing ceremony at the event. Their names are etched into the memorial.

Mayor Weiers and Vice Mayor Ian Hugh, as well as Glendale City Councilmembers Leandro Baldenegro, Joyce Clark, Ray Malnar, Lauren Tolmachoff and Bart Turner, and City Manager Phelps gave speeches expressing their gratitude to firefighters and police officers for their courage, compassion, sacrifices and selfless service. They stressed how their contributions to Glendale will never be forgotten and also thanked their family members for supporting them and enduring losses.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this special event.

POLICE CHIEF DAZZLES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AFTER HEARTFELT LETTER Children at Wildfire Elementary School in Phoenix were excited when a special guest visited their campus - our Police Chief Chris Briggs.

Briggs delighted students on campus after Crosby Miller, 9, a fourth-grader and son of our Media Relations and Communications Manager Lesley Miller, wrote a letter thanking Briggs and the whole police department for their courage and service protecting our community.

Briggs gave Crosby, pictured on the left, an honorary badge and coin to thank him for the heartfelt letter.

Great job, Chief Briggs, and everyone who made this fun visit possible!

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY CELEBRATES RICH CULTURAL HISTORY Thank you to our Inclusion Network for hosting the Indigenous Peoples’ Day event on Oct. 9 at the Main Library.

A crowd of COG employees attended to learn from guest speaker Juan Taveras in this special gathering to educate everyone about the history, sacrifices, challenges and contributions of Native Americans. A lunch was served afterwards. This is just one example of the many ways the Inclusion Network and all COG employees celebrate diversity. Please enjoy the video of the Indigenous Peoples’ Day event to the right.

October 2024

Page 3