University of Washington, Tacoma Staff Association
Minutes from the January 19, 2006 General Meeting

Everyone gave thanks to Joe Chynoweth and Noreen Slease for working so hard on the UWTSA Board for the last two years.  2005 was the Staff Association’s most successful year yet.

Brian Anderson and Jessica Richardson were introduced as the newest members of the Board.  Brian is the newly elected Co-chair and Jessica takes over as Secretary.  Crystal Perrine is continuing on for another term as Mentor Chair.

Jill Carnell Danseco gave birth to a baby boy!  Congratulations, Jill! 

• Jessica Richardson will take over Jill’s duties while she is out on maternity leave.

Officer Reports:

• Crystal Perrine:
• The following are new employees who joined UWT since October 2005:
• Bill Fritz - Computer Support Analyst for Computer Services
• Kevin Miller - Campus Safety
• Alice Dixon - Admissions Specialist for Student Affairs
• Tamara Grunhurd - Recruiter/Adviser for Milgard School of Business
• Melody Ferguson - Admissions Specialist

• Naarah McDonald:
• Treasurer’s Report
• Currently, the UWTSA has a balance of $320.00
• As a reminder, the UWTSA is always happy to accept donations

• Julie Buffington, Professional Development Task Force, reported on the upcoming staff Box Talks:
• February 15 – Stress Management
• Sometime in May, Jill will do a Box Talk on photography
• Look for Box Talks this year to include:  Leadership Initiative, Communication Styles, and Dealing with Change and Transitions
• Julie also reported that the Cookie Exchange was very successful.  She thanked Michelle Hartman and Jennifer Dow for their hard work during the event.

Jessica Roshan reminded Professional staff to be aware of recent HR changes.  Those changes can be found on the Human Resources web site.  There will be a staff orientation to educate everyone about those changes soon.  Iris will be the contact person for that.

Distinguished Staff Association Awards - Jessica Richardson will be handling the DSAs this year.  During the first part of February, staff will be asked to begin filling out the nomination forms.  Two staff members will be selected to receive this prize.  All nomination forms are due by March 15th.  Award winners will be recognized at the annual Founder’s Day Ceremony on May 25th.  Be sure to get permission from the nominee before officially nominating them for the award.

Jessica Roshan reminded staff to claim the volunteer hours they served while working on projects for the Staff Association.  The spreadsheet with the volunteer information on it is due Monday, January 23, 2006.

Julie Buffington recommended that all staff attend an upcoming Ethics Training session.

Discussion of the Holiday Party:

• Some staff felt that faculty and staff should have had a joint party
• Some staff were disgruntled about the faculty party being catered while the staff party was a pot-luck - separate is not equal
• Staff noted that UWT is a “family” and we should not be exclusionary
• Some staff also noted that having the party in the evening/late afternoon with families was more fun in the past

Discussion of the Service Project:

            Jessica Roshan reported that the service project was successful in impacting schools and enhancing UWT’s image throughout the surrounding community.  It is something the UWTSA will probably continue doing in the future.  Photos will be on the web site soon.

Staff agreed that the quarterly meetings where much nicer than monthly meetings.

Meeting adjourned.