Issue 013 Second Quarter 2024

The

VillageVIBE

Village of Bald Head Island Employee Newsletter

Second Quarter 2024 Issue 13

GOODer STUFF edition summ

2024 Public Safety Day

A Message from Rick Parsons, Human Resources Analyst in Follow Up to the DEIB Workshop Thank you for attending the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) workshop that was facilitated by Calhoun Consulting. Your active participation and engagement were greatly appreciated, and we hope that you found the session insightful. Thank you for being a part of the Village’s effort to support an inclusive and respectful environment for staff, residents, and visitors.

We recognize that organization-wide trainings are difficult to work into busy schedules and we appreciate your effort and flexibility in attending the workshop. If you are interested in more information on DEIB, contact me and I can send you a resource and contact list that Asila and Mike (Calhoun Consulting) provided us. This document provides an overview of some key DEIB concepts, as well as supplemental learning information.

Again, thank you for your participation and for making this a successful workshop!

New Law Regarding Pornography on Government Networks and Devices The Village's Policy Regarding Use of Village Property and Equipment will be updated to comply with this new law.

From the UNC School of Government (Author: Kristi Nickodem) North Carolina will soon have a new law, effective October 1, 2024, that prohibits local governments, state agencies, the judicial branch, and the legislative branch from allowing pornography to be viewed on their networks or devices. The law, found at Section 7 of S.L. 2024-26, establishes a deadline for government employees and officials to delete any pornography from their government devices, creates reporting requirements for unauthorized viewing or attempted viewing of pornography, and requires public agencies (including units of local government and public school units) and the judicial and legislative branches to adopt policies governing the use of their networks and devices. It also contains some important exceptions for employees and officials who might need to view pornography (as that term is defined by this new law) as part of their official duties.

Click HERE for full article or use the QR Code.

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The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter - Issue 13

GOOD STUFF CERTIFICATIONS

WELCOME!

Congratulations to the following employees for earning professional certifications:

Welcome the following new employees!

Nate Lindsay earned a Grade 1 Physical/Chemical Operator Certification Jason Jacobs earned a Grade 2 Biological Certification.

Damien Gay started working in Public Works on May 29, 2024.

Amanda Moss started working in Public Safety on June 12, 2024.

Ian Carico earned a Grade 3 Biological Operator Certification.

Jerry Noland started working full time in Public Safety on June 12, 2024 (he was working for us part-time).

Lt. David LaPlante earned the Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate.

Eric Schleich started working in Public Safety on June 26, 2024.

At the June regular Council Meeting, Chief Joshua Gibson presented Lieutenant David LaPlante with his Advanced Law Enforcement Certification from the NC Department of Justice. This is North Carolina’s highest honor for law enforcement officers awarded by the NC Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

The professional certificate program recognizes the level of competency for officers serving government agencies throughout NC. Eligibility is determined by a formula that combines formal education, professional training, and work experience.

As of July 6, 2024, LaPlante has worked for VBHI for eleven years.

On June 11, PSO Peter Joyce was sworn in as a law enforcement officer.

Congratulations, Peter!

In June, Deputy Chief Paul Homick and PSO Dylan Matthews attended the F.A.S.T. Symposium (FlightBridgeED Air and Surface Transport System) in Wilmington. They received skills training and practice with cadavers and attended lectures on the latest and greatest medical research and technology for emergency medicine.

The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter - Issue 13

On June 14, PSO Kasey Leonard was sworn in as a law enforcement officer. Congratulations, Kasey!

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It's a RUFF LIFE!

Chris McCall's dogs Dee-Dee & Phoebe when Phoebe was a pup. And Phoebe older (below).

Michelle Kesmodel's dog Teako.

He had fun at Public Safety Day (below)!

PSO Dylan Matthews' black lab, Cessna, has visited the island a few times. One time, she was such a good pup, that she received a firefighter hat!

July

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! BIRTHDAY!

Chris McCall Charles Trott Amanda Ross Jared Harris Steve Barger

11 14 17 18 28

August Travis Dellinger David LaPlante Malcolm Kennedy Bill Warren Trevor Ricker Elizabeth Gray

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4 6 17 20 24 30

September Dustin Shaw Joe Forte Mark Johnston John Parker Franklin Blanton John Johnson Eric Schleich Corey Craven Sebastian Alamond

1 2 3 13 18 18 20 21 26

The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter - Issue 13

EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES April

Lloyd Jackson Chip Sudderth Nathan Lindsay Dylan Matthews

Public Services Public Safety Public Services Public Safety

4/11/2011

13 Years

4/18/2018 4/19/2016 4/19/2023

6 Years 8 Years 1 Year

May

Clay Brendle Jacob LeBer David Cox

Public Safety Public Safety Administration - IT

5/1/2015 5/7/2015 5/10/1999

9 Years 9 Years 25 Years

June

Justin Wenig John Parker Nicholas Delp Mary Gates Sebastian Alamond Matthew Furr Andrew Kennedy

IPC Public Services IPC IPC Administration - IT Public Safety Public Safety

6/2/2022 6/2/2010 6/5/2023 6/6/2022 6/4/2014 6/14/2023 6/29/2022

2 Years 14 Years 1 Year 2 Years 10 Years 1 Year 2 Years

Quit Smoking with BCBSNC's PIVOT If you or a loved one covered by your plan would like to quit smoking, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) offers Pivot – at no cost to you – to help our members reduce or quit smoking. Pivot's FDA-cleared SmartSensor is the perfect accessory for a summer day. Track progress and boost motivation to quit or reduce smoking – whether it's now, soon or someday.

In addition to your SmartSensor, you can also receive: Nicotine replacement therapy (free gum, patches or lozenges), a free mobile app (available 24/7), and dedicated health coast in-app and access to Pivot's supportive community.

Click HERE or use QR code for more information, or 1-844-8NCQUIT (1-844-862-7848) or email at support@pivot.co.

EMPOWER IS OFFERING SUMMER WEBINARS Empower (our 401k provider) is offering several employee webinars through the Summer of 2024. Use this link NC 401(k) & NC 457 Plans Events | My NC Retirement or the QR code below to register for these great events which will be taking place through September 19.

These Events Include: Understanding Features of the NC 401K/ 457 Plans Roadmap to Retirement Understanding Investments FOR EMPLOYERS: Plan Administration Tips and Tricks

The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter - Issue 13

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MORE GOOD STUFF mmer edition su

Lt. David LaPlante transporting a gator away from a residence.

Check out the second-place winner (Anything BHI Category) A social media post from July 5th. of Old Baldy Foundation's 4th of July Golf Cart Parade!

The DPS helped the City of Southport during the NC 4th of July Festival. Over three days our officers assisted city law enforcement mostly patrolling on our bikes. The festival draws 40,000 to 50,000 people a year.

On July 2, the Village received a U SAFE buoy. The U SAFE is a self-propelled, remotely controllable rescue device capable of quickly reaching a person in distress. This will increase our water rescue capabilities and allow us to rescue safely under the most adverse conditions.

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The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter- Issue 13

CONTEST

Decode the message below. Each letter in the list of words has been replaced with a random letter or number. Email or text the correct answers to: cfaulkner@villagebhi.org or (910) 368-6338. If you have the correct answers, you will be chosen in a drawing of all of the correct answers received by Friday, September 6, 2024.

Here's a hint, "FUN IN THE SUN"

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1 3

4 5 6

And the winner is...

DARCY SPERRY Darcy Sperry from Administration won the word puzzle contest from the last issue.

CONGRATULATIONS! The clue was "Spring Has Sprung" Here are the answers!

TULIP, BASEBALL, AZALEA, BLOSSOM, DAFFODIL, SUNSHINE, BREEZE

The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter - Issue 13

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VILLAGE VILLAGE HOLIDA HOLIDAYS YS Labor Day

Monday, September 2, 2024

Veterans Day

Monday, November 11, 2024

Thanksgiving

Thursday & Friday, November 28 & 29, 2024

Christmas

Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday December 24, 25, & 26, 2024 Don't forget to use your floating holiday! (You can pick an unobserved holiday, your birthday, or any other day off - with supervisor's approval - please mark "FH" on your timesheet for tracking). Make sure you get it on the calendar before December 31, 2024, if you don''t use it, you lose it!

OUR VISION

Our vision is nothing less than realizing our team's full potential in providing quality public service through mutual respect, trust, communication, and enhancement of community values.

OUR MISSION

To work together as a team providing exceptional customer service based on ethical and transparent practices while promoting personal employee growth.

We want to hear about you!

This is YOUR newsletter. Tell us about your hobbies! Do you compete in competitions outside of work? Is your family growing? New child/grandchild/pet/engagement? Is your child/grandchild about to graduate? Do you have some amazing recipes? Do you volunteer? Tell us about it!

Send information to: public.information@villagebhi.org or text (910) 368-6338

We need photos of your pets for future issues!

Send them to the email or phone number above!

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The Village Vibe VBHI Employee Newsletter - Issue 12