County Communicator 9/30/22

COUNTY COMMUNICATOR

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

SEPTEMBER 2022 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

28

29

30

31

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

1

myGTC training for MANAGERS

myGTC training for MANAGERS

myGTC training for MANAGERS

1 pm

1 pm

1pm

Payday County Communicator

Upcoming

Events

Events In & Around Grand Traverse County Family Fun Day

October

1

October

1

October

7

515 1/2 S Union Street @ 9 am - 12 pm.

We want to celebrate with YOU!! We have an exciting day planned for the whole family! There will be food, petting animals and a BOUNCE HOUSE! The ultimate goal of this event is to serve our community with a morning of fun, connection and education about local family health & wellness resources.

Fall Fun Saturdays at Crystal Mountain Crystal Mountain @ 9am - 6pm.

Get outside and have some family fun during our Fall Fun Saturdays! Join us on Saturday, October 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 for a day full of fall activities that everyone is sure to enjoy.

MoMitt Bike Fest Mt. Holiday 3100 Holiday Rd. The MoMITT Bike Fest celebrates the joy of cycling and the pursuit of bike racing. This weekend-long festival will include a menu of spectator-friendly bike races including the Belgian Waffle Ride and the Black Chili XCO, an Expo featuring a large beer garden (gotta love that), multiple food options, global bike brands, live music and a venue full of family fun.

Fall Festival In Frankfort

October

8

827 Main Street Frankfort. @ 11am Directly following the parade, a host of activities (Including a dog parade) will take place in the Open Space Park including live music under the Beer Tent where local beer, wine and cocktails will be available from Stormcloud, St. Ambrose, and Iron Fish Distillery.

October

Halloween Decorations in Traverse City

10

Between 6th and 10th street & Union & Division

For a spooktacularly good time, check out the seasonal decorations in the front yards of the homes in one of Traverse City's most historic neighborhoods!

Bass Ensemble Concert

October

14

Corson Auditorium @7:30 pm Witness the majesty of brass instruments in this powerful performance. Join Interlochen Arts Academy’s brass musicians for a program of classical and contemporary works arranged for trumpet, trombone, horn, euphonium, and tuba.

Vineyard at sunset fun run & 5k

October

15

3655 S French Rd. Cedar @ 4:30 pm & 5:00 pm.

The Vineyard at Sunset Fun Run and 5K will take place at the beautiful French Valley Vineyard. The Leelanau Montessori Forever Foundation holds this fundraiser to support the Leelanau Montessori Public School Academy.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

THE COUNTY UPDATES

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION FOR FUTURE COUNTY COMMUNICATORS: EMAIL HANNAH DUELL

NEW HIRES WELCOME TO THE COUNTY TEAM! ALAYNA ANDERSON CIRCUIT COURT SPECIALIST 13TH CIRCUIT COURT (FRIENDS OF THE COURT) LEANDA CHARLES OFFICE SPEICIALIST 13TH CIRCUIT COURT (FRIENDS OF THE COURT) ADAM PEPLINSKI CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SHERIFF'S OFFICE - JAIL NICHOLAS KUHN CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SHERIFF'S OFFICE - JAIL MICHAEL CROAD CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SHERIFF'S OFFICE - JAIL

STEPHANIE OSTROM EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATOR CENTRAL DISPATCH

COUNTY UPDATES

myGTC

PAGE 6

myGTC UPDATE - TRAINING myGTC (the modern ERP system being developed by workday) goes live on October 31stl! The journey has been long and thanks to a team of dedicated Human Resources, Finance, Treasury, and Administration staff, it has been made possible.

Training Update: Training for myGTC has officially ended. For those that did not sign up or make it to a training you can find courses and how-to's at Grand Traverse County University.

Thank you to all employees and trainers that participated.

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY UNIVERSITY FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF Have you checked out GTCU? County employees

WITH MYGTC

now have access to a wide variety of training

A reminder to those that have gone to

materials for onboarding, Microsoft 365 and myGTC.

myGTC training, that your login information

GTCU is housed in SharePoint, and can be accessed

is:

here. Your login will be the same as your Outlook

Username : Email Address

email login and password.

Password: Summer@2022

Other ways to access SharePoint: 1. Browser Outlook(Email) 2. Desktop Outlook (Email) Watch a tutorial on how to access SharePoint here.

To access myGTC home screen and continue to familiarize yourself with myGTC click here.

COUNTY UPDATES

UPDATES

PAGE 7

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN RELIEF The state is encouraging Michiganders working in public service to review the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to see if they qualify for federal student loan relief no later than October 31, 2022. Thousands have already utilized the program to pay off their debt, and over 148,000 more Michiganders may be eligible due to the recent PSLF waiver, says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. More than 4,700 Michiganders have successfully applied for debt relief and have had $260 million in loans forgiven. On average, that is $55,000 per borrower. To apply for the PSLF waiver or learn more click here.

DID YOU KNOW? -COUNTY EMPLOYEES HAVE DISCOUNTS Did you know that employees at Grand Traverse County have various discounts offered to you? If you are a County Employee that works in a department that does not have ID badges, please present a current pay stub and your drivers license. Most of the businesses have indicated they will honor those as identification.

Discounts Employee Discounts (PDF) AT&T Cell Phones (PDF) Crystal Mountain Discount (PDF) Fifth Third (PDF) Great Wolf Lodge (PDF) Ridge45 and Trailside45 Program Grand Traverse Resort Club Membership Information

Wellness Discounts: Elite Fitness North $25/Month Fit for You $25 Metacheck with proof of employment Fit20 Free Introductory Training (FIT) with no obligation to sign 15% Discount Lunch and Learn Video Pathways Chiropractic First time visit free consultation, exam, x-rays, and adjustment Planet Fitness $1 down to join, $10 per month $39 annual fee in April Press On Juice 5% discount Urban Oasis Salt Spa 10% discount with employee I.D. Discounts may change, call ahead and tell them you are an employee.

YMCA $50 joiner fee waived, Central Y Membership only

COUNTY UPDATES

UPDATES

PAGE 8

HALLOWEEN AT THE GOV CENTER Halloween at the Governmental Center is on Monday, October 31st from 3:00 - 5:00 pm. All employees are welcome to participate provided approval by managers. All departments are also welcome to participate.

LIGHT PARADE COMING UP SOON Downtown Light Parade is Saturday, November 19 - approximately 6:30 p.m. Sign you and your family up here.

COLUMBUS DAY = NO MAIL

HELP PARKS & REC

Reminder that Monday, October 10 is Columbus

Today is the last day, vote today! Parks and Rec

Day there will be no mail since this is a postal

along with their partners the Kiwanis Club of

holiday.

Traverse City, MI have entered into the Kiwanis

OPEN ENROLLMENT COMING SOON!

Legacy of Play 2022 contest to win $25,000.

With your vote, we could win the funds to create

Open Enrollment is coming soon! Mark your

a new early childhood playground at the Civic

calendars for November 14- 27 to claim your

Center! Voting closes after September 30th.

benefits. Open enrollment will now be accessed

For more information and how to vote click here.

through myGTC. More information will be provided.

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

PAGE 9

LIFE SAVING EVENT At approx. 6:55 am on September 27th, Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office Deputy Thomas Hogan and Sergeant Ben McManus responded to the intersection of US 37 South and Center Rd. in Mayfield Township for the report of a woman in labor in a vehicle on the side of the road. 911 Central Dispatcher Andrea Holczman provided instructions over the phone to the Deputy, Sergeant, and woman in labor and at approx. 7:05am when a healthy baby girl was delivered in the vehicle on the side of the road.

A huge thanks to the Dispatcher who walked everyone on the scene through the delivery.

Great job to all 3 that helped save both the mother and the baby's life and thank you for all your hard work you do for the County!

To watch the UpNorth Live news video click here.

Life Saving Award

March 11-19

WELLNESS FEEL, THINK, LIVE, BE... WELL!

WHERE MY RUNNERS AT? I competed in the MI Ragnar Road Relay this past weekend and my team "S'more Miles, S'more Problems" won 2nd place in our division!

Our team, comprised of 12 women of varying ages and paces, started early Friday morning in Muskegon and took turns running north along the lakeshore all day and through the night until finishing Saturday afternoon in the Open Space in Traverse City, covering 200-ish miles in just over 31 hours. We started out as nearstrangers and ended up as forever friends, bonding over group adventures, personal achievements, headlamps, sweat, sunrises, porta-potty humor, old school hip-hop, car snacks, cowbells, and delirious laughter. It was the most fun I've ever had while discovering what I'm made of!

My next goal is to captain a team of County employees! If you're up for an adventure next September and you'd like to form a team, or if you're even the slightest bit curious about it, hit me up!! - Jenny McKellar

WELLNESS FEEL, THINK, LIVE, BE... WELL!

TAKE THE AFFINITY GROUPS SURVEY! Have you ever heard of an affinity group? Affinity Group by definition means a group of people linked by a common interest or purpose.

The purpose of this survey is to gather information on activities that like-minded people want to be a part of. From there, a group can be created to allow for communication on the next steps, whether that is for introductions or to set a time to meet for the activity.

The affinity groups will be self-organizing and Grand Traverse County will have no affiliation with the groups. Grand Traverse County is merely a means to connect people. An initial email group will be created for the groups to introduce members.

Affinity groups are open to all employees and employees are encouraged to link up with people with the same interest or interested in learning a new activity.

In the survey, it will ask you to provide your name, email, and select which activity you participate in, and will also leave an "other" option for an activity that might not have been listed.

To take the survey CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE

WELLNESS FEEL, THINK, LIVE, BE... WELL!

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS CHALLENGE (AND MY REWARDS REMINDER!) Stress is an inevitable part of life that affects physical health and the way we behave, think, and feel. If you have a frantic or heavy workload, strained relationships, financial worries, 3 kids in 6 sports that need to be chauffeured, not enough time in the day to get everything done let alone sleep enough hours at night... in other words, if you're a person with a pulse, you know!

Although we can't avoid it, we can find healthy ways of responding to stress and navigating its impacts.

Enter Marquee Health's Stress Less Challenge! Explore a variety of techniques to manage and cope with stress in healthy ways that work for you, with the support of your coworkers and rewards at the end.

The challenge starts October 3rd (that's this Monday!) and runs through the end of October.

Log in to http://mymarqueehealth.com/ and simply click on the "challenges" tab to register automatically. If you're new to Marquee Health, register for an account using our access code "gtwellness" following the directions attached.

As always, successful participants will earn 50 My Rewards points and be entered into the raffle for a grand prize or half day off. See attached for some new additions to the prize catalog! ____ REMINDER: This Friday, September 30 is your last day to earn My Rewards points for this quarter. Be sure to sign in to Marquee Health and log your dental check ups, 30 minute workouts, tobacco free status, step goal achievements, and other rewardable activities. All employees who earn 100 points or more per quarter receive wellness swag and are entered into the raffle for a choice of sweet prizes or a half day off with pay. (Pro tip: If you complete the stress less challenge, you'll be half way to next quarter's goal and will have a chance to be entered into the raffle twice)!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

FALL HARVEST BARLEY BOWL

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS

Ingredients: 2 large handfuls arugula 1/2 cup cooked pearl barley *see note #1 1/2 cup roasted sweet potatoes 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained & rinsed 1 small apple, thinly sliced or diced 10 rings thinly sliced red onion 1–2 tablespoons apple pie-spiced candied pecans (regular pecans would work as well!)

1–2 tablespoon dried cranberries 1–2 (or more!) tablespoons crumbled goat cheese Salt & pepper, to taste Olive oil & apple cider vinegar to dress (or other dressing of choice)

Ingredients 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup sour cream 3/4 cup whole milk 1 large egg 1 cup pumpkin puree 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions 1. Combine everything into a bowl and enjoy!

Find the full recipe here.

GTC FACEBOOK PAGES GRAND TRAVERSE 911

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

ANIMAL CONTROL

PARKS & RECREATION

EMERGENCY MANAGMENT

SENIOR CENTER NETWORK

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

VETERAN AFFAIRS

You deserve it. Take a break. Relax & read the County Communicator!