TOPICS DISCUSSED

COUNCIL MINUTES
Minutes of the August meeting were approved as read. A discussion followed about how to contact new council members who do not have e-mail on campus. Housing and Residential services personnel and Plant and Facilities personnel need extra time to be contacted.

STAFF BUTTONS
Kari Taylor reported that the staff buttons would be delivered to campus on Friday, September 22. She reported that the company from Yakima that she ordered the buttons from was very accommodating. Employee Council delegates from several areas agreed to contact Kari when the buttons come it and distribute them to their respective areas. The buttons were funded by the Employee Council and by the CWU Foundation.

PRESIDENTIAL FORUM
Employee Council members were reminded to attend one of the Presidential Forum sessions on Friday, September 22. We are to encourage other people from our areas to also attend. This is an excellent opportunity to voice any opinion we might have on the university strategic planning process.

CWU BAR-B-QUE
Kudos to Tom Ogg and the Dining Services personnel who put on the CWU bar-b-que on September 20. The food was excellent, the location was excellent and even the falling leaves added to the festive atmosphere.

ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS
Kariann Taylor was re-elected to chair the Employee Council for the 2000-2001 year. Dorothy Tenney was re-elected to vice chair. Ginger Linnell was elected as secretary and Leona Johnson elected as assistant secretary. Questions concerning Employee Council may be directed to any of these officers.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Employee of the Month for June is Karen Simmons. She works as Office Assistant Lead in PEHLS. She was described as "completing excellent products on time and always willing to help everyone. Her work ethic is outstanding. When we have new faculty or interviewees on campus Karen takes it upon herself to welcome them and make sure they are comfortable and have everything they need. She has as tremendous capacity for caring and I am always in awe of her."

Lynn Linnell, Computer Support Analyst II, Computing and Telecommunication Services was selected as Employee of the Month for July. "Lynn is incredibly knowledgeable about the Macintosh and always willing to help. He is very patient and supports our faculty and staff by empowering them to become more knowledgeable about their computer. He always responds in a timely fashion to our requests for help, and has cheerfully and willingly come to our aid numerous times." And, "he always goes the extra mile to make sure the needs of the campus are served."

Congratulations to both of these employees! It is always inspiring to hear the comments about the wonderful job that so many of our employees do at Central. Keep those nominations coming in! Forms are available at www.cwu.edu/~hr/forms/nomination_form.doc.

Marilyn Thompson presented the candidates for employee of the month. Arturo Calzadillas, a campus police officer with the Public Safety and Police Services office, was selected for August employee of the month. One satisfied customer writes of him, "Arturo came to our office and treated us and our employee with genuine kindness and concern. His calm and respectful manner encouraged her to take the courageous steps that would end her own nightmare." Congratulations to Mr. Calzadillas.

THANK YOU TO OUTGOING DELEGATES
The Employee Council would like to thank Ann Arango for her participation on the council since 1992. She will certainly be missed.

HUMAN RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS

SHARED LEAVE
CWU employees may donate leave to a fellow employee who is severely ill or injured or has a family member who is severely ill or injured. "Severely" is defined as serious or extreme and/or life threatening. Recipients must be off work and have used all their paid leave to be eligible. Employees who wish to receive shared leave must notify Human Resources and submit a doctor's certificate.

The following individuals are in need of shared leave: Laura Lahaie (Dining Services) and Shellie Snyder (Student Financial Services).

Individuals interested in donating leave should request a Shared Leave donation form from Human Resources. Copies may also be downloaded from the HR Forms section of the Human Resources home page. Requests must be approved by your supervisor before forwarding the form to Human Resources. Donated leave is also subject to approval by your department head, and Human Resources. Annual leave may be donated in eight-hour blocks. Employees who wish to donate annual leave must retain at least ten days (80 hours) of vacation leave and cannot donate excess leave (that over 30 days or 240 hours) that he/she would otherwise lose at the beginning of the leave anniversary month. Sick leave may also be donated in eight-hour blocks. The donating employee must retain a minimum of 480 hours sick leave balance after the transfer. No more than six days of sick leave may be transferred during any twelve-month period. An employee’s personal holiday may also be donated. Forms for leave donation are available from Human Resources, 963-1202.

PERS III
PERS Plan 3 will be available beginning March 2002. Current PERS Plan 2 members will choose whether to stay in Plan 2 or switch to Plan 3. The Department of Retirement Systems in Olympia is developing an employee education plan to provide information to all PERS 2 members about this important choice. When they release their education plan and time line, Human Resources will forward it to employees. Human Resources anticipates that the education plan will include meetings on the CWU campus.

ANNUAL BENEFITS FAIR
The Health Care Authority now has a website that you can visit at www.wa.gov/hca/PEBB/PEBBemployee.html

The Benefit Fair at CWU is Tuesday, October 24, 2000, in the SUB, from 10:00 to 2:00 p.m. ONLY. The enrollment form will be available at this benefit fair. There will be a presentation by Health Care Authority (HCA) staff from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the SUB Theatre. The purpose of this meeting is to inform employees about the changes in benefits beginning January 1, 2001.

There will be a retiree meeting from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. for retirees only in the Yakima Room of the SUB.

If you’d like to find out more about PEBB health plans, be sure to visit a benefits fair in your area. The times and places are listed below. For more information on the PEBB program, changes to your coverage in 2001, and increasing health care costs, you’ll want to attend an employee presentation (indicated by * below).

Ellensburg, October 24, 2000, 10 am to 2 pm, Central Washington University, SUB Pit. *10:30 to 11:30 am.

Everett, November 7, 2000, 12-3 pm, Everett Community College, Jackson Center, 801 Wetmore Avenue.

Moses Lake, October 25, 2000, 10 am to 2 pm, Big Bend Comm. College, Building 1400, Student Auditorium, 7662 Chanute Street. *1 to 2 pm, in Classroom 1607.

Seattle, October 31, 2000, 10 am to 4 pm, University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, Harborview Hall Auditorium, 325 Ninth Avenue.

November 1, 2000, 10 am to 4 pm, UW Medical Center, 1959 NE Pacific, Health Sciences Lobbies.

Tacoma, October 30, 2000, 10 am to 4 pm, Tacoma Comm College, Student Center Building 11, 6501 S 19^th St. *11 am to 12 pm, in Theatre Building 3.

Wenatchee, October 26, 2000, 10 am to 2 pm, Wenatchee Valley College, Campus Theatre, 1300 Fifth Street.

Yakima, October 27, 2000, 10 am to 3 pm, Yakima DoubleTree, Naches Room, 1507 N 1^st Street.

Please be sure to read your PEBB Perspective which the HCA sent to people's home address this past week. If you did not get one, please call Eileen Stokes in the Human Resources office at phone 1267 to see if Human Resources has your correct home address. A copy of the Perspective is available from Human Resources.

CAMPUS COMMITTEE VACANCIES
University Committees: The committees with civil service representative vacancies are noted.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., October 19, 2000, in SUB 209. If you are a delegate and cannot make the meeting be sure to notify Colleen Rose and to let your alternate know so that he/she will attend.

Present:
Mike Posada, Business and Administrative Support: Unit B
Karol Barker, Dining Services
Marilyn Thompson, Dining Services
Shelly Voshall, Housing & Residential Services
Kari Taylor, Instructional Support: Unit A, Chairperson
Gene Wilson, Instructional Support: Unit A
Ann Arango, Library Services
Kerry Slaughter, Library Services
Ginger Linnell, Enrollment Management & Marketing
Celia Johnson, Student Services and SUB: Unit B

Absent:
Kim Thomas, Business and Administrative Support: Unit A
Nancy Bradshaw, Business and Administrative Support: Unit A
Paula Moffatt, Business and Administrative Support: Unit B
Debbie Nethery, Instructional Support: Unit B
Karen Simmons, Instructional Support: Unit B
Leona Johnson, Library Services, Secretary
Dorothy Tenney, Plant and Facilities
Vernon Bier, Plant and Facilities
Rick Gilson, Plant and Facilities
Al Edler, Plant and Facilities

Also present:
Ona Youmans