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A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e T e x a s A s s o c i a t i o n o f C o u n t i e s V o l u m e 2 4 , N u m b e r 2 MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Avoid the Costly RFP Process Use Texas Go-Direct Contract No. DIR-SDD-627 © 2008 Information Capital. All Rights Reserved

The responsibilities of local government are huge.

Each and every day you must have immediate, easy

access to comprehensive, accurate information. You

need the flexibility and functionality to streamline and

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Texas Association of Counties Mission StatementThemissionoftheTexasAssociationofCounties istounitecountiestoachievebettersolutions.

County, a bimonthly magazine, is distributed to every elected county official and county auditor in Texas’ 254 counties. Other readers include purchasing agents, budget and planning administrators,

appointed department heads, state legislators and state agency personnel.

Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part, is permissible only upon express written authorization from the publisher and when proper credit, including copyright acknowledgment, is given to

Texas Association of Counties’ County Magazine.

©2000, Texas Association of Counties. Published by the Texas Association of Counties, P.O. Box 2131, Austin, Texas 78768-2131. Telephone: (512) 478-8753, Facsimile: (512) 478-0519.

World Wide Web site: http://www.county.org.

Articles in County magazine that refer to issues that could be considered by the Texas Legislature may be interpreted to be “legislative advertising” according to Texas Gov’t. Code Ann §305.027. Disclosure of the name and address of the person who contracts with the printer to publish the legislative advertising in County magazine is required by that law: Gene Terry, 1210 San Antonio, Austin, Texas 78701.

OVERVIEWThe 2012 County Management Institute equips county officials, managers

and employees with essential management training to meet the changes and significant challenges facing county government. In addition to

core management topics, the institute offers specialized tracks for human resources, risk management, and county engineers and road

administrators. Visit www.county.org. to find out more!

EDUCATION CO-SPONSORV.G. Young Institute of County Government, a part of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service at Texas A&M University

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:• Elected and appointed officials;• Department heads, supervisors and managers;• Personnel directors, human resource officers and

employee benefits administrators;• Risk managers, loss control coordinators and committee

members; and • County engineers & road administrators

CONFERENCE AGENDAWednesday, May 2

9-5 p.m. Registration10-11 a.m. Human Resources Round Table

1-5 p.m. General Sessions5 p.m. Welcome Reception

Thursday, May 38:30-5 p.m. Concurrent Breakout Sessions

5:30 p.m. County Best Practices Awards Reception

Friday, May 4 8:30-11:30 a.m. General Sessions

Sheraton Austin Downtown 701 East 11th Street, Austin

Special conference rates of $109 single/double expire on April 15. For reservations call (888) 627-8349.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION Register today at www.county.org. We now accept credit cards for payment of your conference registration.

Early Bird Registration by April 15 $220 After April 15 $245

Bright IdeasBRIGHT IDEAS2012 County Management Institute

May 2-4, 2012 " Sheraton Austin Downtown " 701 East 11th Street, Austin

NEW LOCATION!

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2 • C O U N T Y 3

VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 MARCH/APRIL 2012

2012 Officers & Board of Directors

PRESIDENTConnie Hickman

Navarro County Justice of the Peace

PRESIDENTELECTDon Allred

Oldham County Judge

VICEPRESIDENTJoyce Hudman

Brazoria County Clerk

MEMBERSLuanne Caraway

Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector

Edward Dion El Paso County Auditor

Laurie English Sutton County District Attorney

Larry Gallardo Hidalgo County Constable

Jerry Garza Webb County Commissioner

Roger Harmon Johnson County Judge

Bena Hester Briscoe County District Clerk

Debbie Ingalsbe Hays County Commissioner

J.W. Jankowski Washington County Sheriff

Harold Keeter Swisher County Judge

Jackie Miller, Jr. Ellis County Justice of the Peace

Dianna Spieker Tom Green County Treasurer

John Thompson Polk County Judge

Sheri Woodfin Tom Green County District Clerk

EXOFFICIOMEMBERSVernon Cook

Roberts County Judge

Marc Hamlin Brazos County District Clerk

NACo Representative

Grady Prestage Fort Bend County Commissioner

NACo Representative

Glen WhitleyTarrant County JudgeNACo Representative

Features22 Blazing New Trails Dallas County, bicycles and economic

development

28 Interview with a Star Library Three Texas county public libraries

received superior “Star” designations from the Library Journal, including the Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library

34 School Days Pictures from the V.G. Young Institute of

County Government’s School for Clerks

36 The 21st Century Courthouse 10 things to know about the new Hays

County Government Center

38 Making a Super Hero Team Travis County tax assessor looks at how

to build employee confidence

42 Paper Love Clerk gets praise from residents for

marriage certificate redesign

48 Living the Good Life Healthy County speakers offer

information on wellness and motivation

Departments4 Staff Report / 6 Clipboard /14 Above and Beyond / 16 Website Spotlight / 18 County Cooks / 19 Texas History / 21 Emergency Services / 60 TAC Associates / 64 County Crossword / 65 Calendar / 66 Implications / 67 County Information Project / 68 One Last Look

County StaffGeneTerry, Executive Director / LeahMagnus, Communications Manager / MariaSprow, Editor

MeganAhearnNugent, Contributing Writer / BenChomiak, Graphic Design

On the CoverThe 2012 TAC HEBP Healthy County Conference included information on how to motivate others toward wellness. See page 48.

p. 22

p. 28

staffreport

4 C O U N T Y • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2

By Gene Terry, Texas Association of Counties Executive Director

We’regoing tohaveprimaryelections inspiteofthechaossurroundingthemap-ping and pre-clearance effort. As with

mostthingscountiesarecalledupontodobyoth-erswhodon’thaveacluehowcountiesoperate,thedifficulttaskstakealittletimeandtheimpossiblealittlelonger.Youfolksareamazing.Yourresilienceandstaminashouldbeaninspirationforeverylevelofgovernment.Thankyouforthehardworkyoudoeachandeverydaythatdoesnotgetheadlinesortalkingheadtelevisiontime.Thankyoufortakingcareofourpeoplewhenothersdonotevenseemtonoticetheyneedhelp.Likethebumperstickersays,it’sashamethateverybodywhoknowshowtorunthiscountryisbusyatthecourthouse.

Lotsofstuffgoingon.AprilisNationalCountyGovernmentMonth,agoodtimetoblowyourownhorn.Theoperationofcountygovernment isnottaughtinTexasatanylevel.Typically,civicsclassesin junior high and government classes in highschool emphasize state and national governmentandinparticular,thelegislativeprocess.Rememberthat one-page flyer “How a bill becomes a law”?Thatisreallytheextentofformalgovernmentedu-cationmostpeopleget.Thinkaboutallthethingsyour countydoes thatdirectly affect the everydaylives of your constituents. They depend on yourclerk to maintain the most important records inany family — birth certificates, death certificatesandmarriagelicenses.Notexactlyinthatorder,butyougettheidea.Yoursheriff ’sofficekeepsthebadguysoffthestreetandprovidessecurityforusall.Everybody lovesthetaxassessor-collector,but justthinkwhatwewould dowithout an orderlywaytoassess,notifyandcollect local taxesessential tothedeliveryofallcountyservices.Icannotthinkofanotherpayment Imake thatgivesme the returnoninvestmentthatmycountytaxesdo.Iuseourroads to get to school and to thehospital and tovisitasickfriend.Iseemyconstableeverymorn-ingmakingsuretheschoolzoneIpassthroughissafeandsecure.Ourjusticeofthepeacewasatourcommunity center last night teaching us all howto use the small claims court system to address

personalgrievances.Thetreasurersentmeachecktopayfordamagetomymailboxlastmonth.Youget thepoint.Let’s take some time thismonth totellfolksabouthowourgovernmentworks(whenmostothersseemnotto)andwhatwereallydoforthem.Theywillappreciateit.Invitethemtoyourcourthouseandshowthemaround.Afterall, it istheirbuilding.

Late lastmonth, we began conducting regionalmeetings to hear about your legislative issues andconcerns.Thisisdesignedasanopportunityforustohearfromyouandnotviceversa.IknowI’vesaiditbefore,butwecannotsithere inAustin, staringoutthewindow,andexpecttosomehowjustknowwhatyouneedfromus.So,checkoutpage10andfindameetingnearyouortraveltoanotherpartofthestatetoparticipate.Asweallknow,thelastlegis-lativesessionsolvedveryfewproblems.Lotsofcanswerekickeddowntheroad.The2013sessionloomsasanimportanttimeforourstateandcounties.

Our annual County Management Institute iscoming up. The agenda provides something foreveryone.Thisisoneofourmostpopularconfer-ences because it deals with real issues facing youevery day. Human resources, safety and generalcountymanagementtraininghelpsmakeusallbet-teratwhatwedo.IfyouhavenotattendedCMI,I encourage you to do so.Riskmanagement anddisastermanagementarestilloneverybody’s radarafter the deadly fires we endured last year. Folksfrom Bastrop will be there to talk about theirexperiencesindisastermanagement.Theyweretheepicenteroflastyear’sfiredisastersoyouknowitisexperiencethatwillbenefitusall.

Lookthroughtherestofthemagazine.Thereissomereallygoodinformationforyoutopassalongduring your celebration of County GovernmentMonth.ThoseofushereatTACarereallyproudofyouandwhatyoudo.Itisatruepleasuretoserveyouandwethankyouforthatopportunity.Pleasetellushowwecando itbetter. I look forwardtoseeing you at a Legislative Exchange or CMI orsome other function.Thanks for your continuedsupportofusandourprograms.

April:GoodTimetoTalkAboutGoodCountiesDo

Everybody loves the tax assessor-collector, but just think what we would do without an orderly way to assess, notify and collect local taxes essential to the delivery of all county services. I cannot think of another payment I make that

gives me the return on investment that my county taxes do.


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AwardProgramRecognizesCountyEffortstoImproveQualityofLife,ShowLeadershipApplication deadline for 2012 County Courthouse Awards is April 27

TheNationalAssociationofCounties(NACo)isnowacceptingapplicationsforthe2012CountyCourthouseAwards.Establishedin 2001, the awards are sponsored by Siemens and recognizeindividual elected countyofficialsfromNAComembercounties who demonstrateinnovative and effectiveleadership to improve thequality of life of residents.One County CourthouseAward ispresentedeachyearinthreecategories:Rural,SuburbanandUrban.

The awards program provides well deserved recognition forinnovativecountyleadersandhelpspublicizetheireffortssothatothers can build upon the good governance practices they haveinitiatedintheircommunities.

“Good governance is very important as we attempt to meetthe public safety, economic, environmental and technologicalchallengesfacingAmerica’scounties,”saidNACoPresidentLennyEliason.“IencourageNAComemberstoparticipateandrecognize

an innovative and effective county elected official from theircommunityorstate.NACosimplifiedtheapplicationprocessthisyearsothatitiseasierformorecountyofficialstoapplythroughan

onlineapplication”.Award winners receive

an engraved hand-craftedplaque that they can displayin their county, recognitionat the 2012 NACo AnnualConference in AlleghenyCounty/Pittsburgh,PAanda

$5,000collegescholarshiptopresenttoagraduatinghighschoolsenior.

Applications and information about the 2012NACoCountyCourthouse Awards are now available on the NACo website athttp://www.naco.org/courthouseawards. Applications must besubmittedonlinebyApril 27,2012. Questions canbedirectedto NACo Associate Legislative Directors Dalen Harris or ErikJohnston at (202) 393-6226or by email at [email protected] [email protected].

TheTexas Comptroller of Public Ac-counts recently recognized several coun-tiesfortheironlinetransparencyeffortsin2011and2012.

Theyearlyawardsaregiventolocalgov-ernment entities based on the degree towhichtheyprovidefinancialinformationtothepublicthroughtheweb.Counties,cities, school districts and other specialdistrictsinTexascanapplyfortheawardatanytimethroughouttheyear.Countiesmustmeetthecriteriaeveryyeartomain-taintheirstatus.

Gold, silver and bronze awards arehandedoutbasedupontheleveloftrans-parency. “Gold”highlights those entitiesthat are setting thebarwith their trans-parencyefforts,“Silver”encouragesthosewhoaremakingprogressand“Bronze”is

forlocalgovernmentsjustbeginningtheirtransparencyefforts.

Inorder to achieve abronze, silverorgoldstar,countiesareencouragedtohavethe budget, the financial report and thecheckregisterpostedontheirwebsiteinawaythatisuser-friendlytoaccess.

TheTexascountiesawardedgold starsin 2011 and 2012 for their efforts tomaintain financial transparency on theirwebsites are Anderson, Andrews, Aran-sas, Bee, Burnet, Calhoun, Chambers,Cochran, Coleman, Collin, Colorado,Coryell,Crane,Dawson,Denton,Ector,El Paso, Fort Bend, Gaines, Galveston,Gillespie,Guadalupe,Hamilton,Harris,Hartley, Henderson, Kerr, Lavaca, Lub-bock, Navarro, Nolan, Polk, Randall,Real,Smith,Somervell,TomGreen,Vic-

toria,Walker,Waller,Ward,Williamsonand Wood counties. A number of theGold Star counties are hosted or main-tained by the TAC-sponsored CountyInformationResourcesAgency(CIRA).

TheTexasTransparencyCheckUppro-grambegan in2009,whenComptrollerSusanCombs launched the initiative tofocusoneducatingresidentsabouthowtoviewtheirlocalgovernmentbudgetsandotherfinancialreports.

The comptroller’s Texas Transparencywebsitealsoincludesstepsandtoolsfromcountiesonhowtogainonlinetranspar-ency.Countiescanapplyfortheprogramthroughout the year and submission isfree.Tofindoutmoreinformationortoapplyvisitthewebsiteatwww.texastrans-parency.org/local.

Counties Earn Leadership Circle Awards, Gold Stars from Comptroller for Transparency Efforts

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There is still room to register supervi-sors,managersandup-and-comingcountyemployees for this year’sTACLeadershipDevelopmentProgram,scheduledforApril23-27inAustin.Theregistrationdeadlineis April 13, though those hoping to getthe Texas Association of Counties hoteldiscount should make reservations at theRadissonAustin-TownLakehotelbyApril2.

The 40-hour Leadership DevelopmentProgram, piloted just last year, was cre-atedspecificallyforcountyemployeesviaapartnershipwithTexasStateUniversityandtheUniversityofTexas.Theprogram’smis-sionistostrengthentheleadershipskillsofcountymanagersandsupervisorsviaexpertpresentations on bolstering communica-tionsskills,persuasivewriting,teamcohe-sion,personalitytypedynamics,improvingteam performance, motivation and othertopics.

Presentations will include insight fromateamofmanagementexpertsfromacrossthestate,including:

- John Daly, a communications pro-fessor at theUniversityofTexasMc-Combs School of Business,whowillspeak on bolstering communicationsskillsandtipsforpersuasivewriting;

- RichardGrant,aconsultingpsycholo-gist with the McCombs School ofBusiness, who will speak about cre-ating team cohesion among differentpersonalitytypes;

- DonMinnick,anadjunctprofessorofmanagementatTexasStateUniversity,who will talk about the human dy-namicsofchange;and

- JimBell, a professor ofmanagementand entrepreneurship at the TexasState University’s McCoy College ofBusinessAdministration,whowilldis-cusshowtobuildahigherperformingandbetterworkingteam.

Last year’s pilot program featured thesamespeakersandgeneratedpositivefeed-

DeadlineforSupervisor-LevelLeadershipDevelopmentProgramRegistrationisApril13Week-long seminar to focus on communications, team building and change dynamics

backfromattendees.Incourseevaluations,participantssaidthey:

- Gained inspiration and wisdom onhowtocreatebetterrelationshipswiththeircoworkersandemployees;

- Learnedtoolsandrulesforimprovingtheirwritten and verbal communica-tionsskills;

- Better understoodhowdifferent per-sonality types function and how tobringoutthebestofdifferenttypesingroupsettings;and

- Thought more deeply about the im-portanceofcharacterandthe impor-tantcharactertraits to lookforwhenhiringandpraisingemployees.

“Everypersonsupervisingorbeingcon-sidered for a supervisory position shouldtakethiscoursetoimproveefficiency,pro-ductivity andmorale,” wrote one partici-pant.

“This course is by far the best overallcourse to develop as an effective leader;everysingleinstructorwastrulydynamic,”wroteanother.

Enrollment for the program will becappedat70participantstoensureanopenandinclusiveatmosphereforattendees.

To register employees for the class orformore informationabout theprogram,speakersoragenda,pleasecontactMicheleMund at [email protected] or [email protected],orcallTACat (800)456-5974.Theregistration fee is$450perparticipant.ThereisalsoaPDFflierandregistrationformavailableontheTACwebsite by visitingwww.county.org.Clickon“MoreNewsFromTAC”inthebottomright-handcorner,thenthe“1Feb:Manage.Lead.Communicate.Accomplish”link.ThecoursewilltakeplaceattheTACbuildingindowntownAustin.

University of Texas McCombs School of Business professor John Daly leads county managers and supervisors in an exercise on persuasive writing and difficult communications during last year’s Leadership Development Program.

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury now requiresall federalbenefit andnon-taxpayments tobepaidelectronically.Peopleapplying forSocialSecurity,Veterans Affairs or other federal benefits, willreceive their payments electronically startingwiththeirfirstpayment.

Residents currently receiving federalbenefitchecksmustswitchtoanelectronicpaymentoptionbyMarch1,2013.

Thosewhodonotchooseanelectronicpaymentoptionatthetimetheyapplyforfederal benefits or thosewho do not switch by thedeadlinewillreceivetheirbenefitpaymentsviatheDirectExpress®DebitMasterCard card, so theywill not experienceany interruption in payment. People who are already receivingbenefit payments electronically donot need to take action.Theywillcontinuetoreceivetheirpaymentasusualonthepaymentday.

Havingfederalbenefitspaidelectronicallybydirectdepositintothebankorcreditunionaccountofone’schoiceor intoaDirectExpresscardaccountissafer,fasterandmorereliablethanreceivingpaperbenefitchecks.In2010,morethan540,000Treasury-issuedcheckswerereportedlostorstolen,andhadtobereissued.

Withdirectdeposit,theTreasuryDepartmentsendsanelectronicmessagetoone’sbankorcreditunionaccountontheusualpaymentday with the exact amount of the benefit payment from Social

Federal Benefit Payments Are Going All-ElectronicU.S. Department of Treasury seeks counties’ help in getting the word out to residents

Security,VAorotherfederalagency.Electronicpaymentsnegateconcernsofhavingchecks stolenand there’s

noneedtomakeatriptocashordepositacheck.Plus, it’s better for the environment and savestaxpayerdollars.

But to help residents still receiving checkstransitiontowardelectronicpayments,theU.S.

Department of Treasury is asking countiesandotherentitiestohelpgetthewordout.The department has created a “Go Direct”

campaigntomakeiteasyforcountiestohelpseniorcitizens,veteransandpeoplewithdisabilitiesgettheir

federalbenefitspaidelectronically.Countiescan:

• DisplayGo DirectcampaignandDirectExpress®cardmaterialsincourthouselobbies

• Linktowww.GoDirect.orgfromcountywebsites.• Help people who are about to apply for federal benefits be

ready to choose direct deposit or theDirect Express card atenrollmenttimeandunderstandwhatinformationtheyshouldhaveon-handwhensigningup.

• Actively encourage the people you serve who currently getfederalbenefitcheckstomaketheswitchtoelectronicpaymentstoday,sotheycanbeatthelast-minuterushtosignupbeforethedeadline.

RegisterNowforCountyInvestmentOfficerLevelIITraining,HeldJune4-7inSanAntonioSpecial luncheon planned as 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the program

Texas county officials and staff whosuccessfully completed County Invest-mentOfficeLevel(CIO)Itraininghavethe opportunity to further their publicfunds investing knowledge and gain 20hoursofCIOcreditthissummeratCIOLevelIITraining,scheduledforJune4-7attheSheratonGunterinSanAntonio.

Participantswillalsobeabletoattendaluncheonhonoringthe20-yearanniver-saryoftheCIOprogramonWednesday,June6.

“This luncheon celebrates the CIOswhohavebeenwithus since thebegin-

ning and who pioneered the program,”said Angela Russell, education projectmanager.“WewillbehonoringtheCIOswho have maintained their designationforfive,10,15andnow20years.”

Certified CIOs are required to com-pletebetween10-20hoursofcontinuingeducation credit each year to maintaincertification. There is another opportu-nity later intheyeartogainanother10hours at theTexas Public Funds Invest-mentConference,scheduledforNovem-ber.

The conference provides hands-on

training.Theagendaisamixtureofup-dates on current investment issues aswellasalookattimelytrendsininvest-ing.Topics include “Investing for SmallCounties,” “Emergency Financial Man-agement,”and“GlobalImpactonAllow-ablePFIAInvestments.”

Those interested in attending CIOLevelIIcangototheTACwebsite,www.county.org,toviewtheagendaandregis-teronlineorcalltheTACEducationDe-partmentat(800)456-5974andaskforAngelaRussellorDeannaAuert.



Friends of County GovernmentWhile the Texas Legislature isn’t currently in session, legislators are keeping busy in the interim with studies and discus-sions about important topics affecting county government, and county officials are using the time to reach out, discuss regional and local concerns and prepare for the next legislative session.

But while everyone is working for the future, county officials are also using the time to look back and give thanks and recognition to those state representatives and senators who showed commitment and steadfastness in protecting local control, stopping unfunded mandates and saving taxpayer dollars during the challenging 82nd Legislature. TAC and county officials have honored the most dedicated legislators with the Friends of County Government title.

“These legislators have proven themselves true friends of county government through their consistent support of issues important to counties, including decision-making at the local level,” said TAC Legislative Director Paul Sugg. “They under-stand that property taxpayers benefit from local control, instead of the state imposing a one-size fits all system on Texas’ 254 diverse counties.”

County is spotlighting the Friends of County Government throughout the year.

Rep. Sylvester Turner

As House Appropriations Commit-tee vice-chair, Rep. Turner helped prevent deeper cuts and reductions from occurring in the House version of the General Appropriations Act and served as an important voice in the fight against unfunded man-dates, recognizing that some state-level budget cuts place a greater financial burden on local property taxpayers.

Rep. Tryon Lewis

Rep. Lewis worked tirelessly to correct the undervaluation of crude oil and nat-ural gas for property tax purposes, im-portant legislation for many counties. Rep. Lewis also served as vice-chair of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee.

Rep. Jim Jackson

Serving on the House County Af-fairs Committee, Rep. Jackson was a long-time supporter of local con-trol and an early co-sponsor of HJR 56, a bill that sought to absolve lo-cal governments from having to fund state mandates. Rep. Jackson also served as chair of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee. He served Dallas County as a commis-sioner for 30 years.

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Celebrate April as County Government MonthFestivities help raise awareness of county government services, functions; County accepting photos, essays, posters showcasing county events

Countyofficialswillhaveaprimeopportuni-tytoraiseawarenessoftheirlocalservices,func-tions and limitations in April, when countiesacross the country celebrate National CountyGovernmentMonth.

While some counties have County Govern-ment Month traditions that take place everyyear,suchasopenhouses,studentessayandartcontests,schoolfieldtripsandcookouts,theNa-

tional Association of Coun-ties(NACo)workstogivenew life to festivitiesandcelebrations by suggest-ingadifferentthemeeachyear.Thisyear’ssuggestedthemeis“HealthyCounties,HealthyFami-lies,” which gives counties the opportunityto promote their local health services andwellness programs, though NACo also en-

couragesofficialstodiscussotherservicesandprogramsfromwhichthecountytakespride,such

astransportation,publicsafety,parks.“I encourage every county to start planningnow forNational

CountyGovernmentMonth,”saidNACoPresidentLennyEliasoninastatement.“Countiesandtheimportantservicestheyprovidearetoooftenoverlooked,underappreciatedorunknown.It’suptousascountyofficialstocarrytheflagforcountygovernmentand

championwhattheydoeachday.”Though many County Government Month

activities are community and family orient-ed, county officials are also encouraged to useCountyGovernmentMonth to reach theme-diaandlegislatorstodiscussissuesimportanttocountygovernment.

To help aid county officials in planning forCountyGovernmentMonth,NACohasabro-churethatdiscussesschoolinvolvement,mediarelations strategies andmeetingwithmembersofCongress,amongotherrelatedtopics.

NACohasalsocreatedanawardprogramtohelp encourage County Government Monthactivities.Theprogramwillhonorthetoptwo

CountyGovernmentMonthcampaignsinthreedifferentcatego-ries–ruralcounties, suburbancountiesandmetropolitancoun-ties.First-placewinnersreceivetwofreeregistrationstoaNACoconference,whilesecondplacewinnerswillreceiveonefreeregis-tration.ThedeadlineforsubmittingentriesisMay25.Moreinfor-mationabouttheawardsprogramcanbefoundatwww.naco.org.

Texas counties that celebrate CountyGovernmentMonth areencouraged to sendpress releases, photographs,winning studentcontestentiresandmediacoverageofeventstotheTexasAssocia-tionofCountiesmagazineEditorMariaSprowatmarias@county.org,sothatcoverageofthoseeventscanbeincludedinanupcom-ingeditionofCountymagazine.

TAC’s legislative staff is holding a series of “Legislative Exchange” gatherings to prepare for the 83rd legislative session. The regional meetings will be informal and are intended to provide an opportu-nity for county officials to come together and talk to each other and to TAC staff during the interim.

There is no registration fee for the ex-changes. Pre-registration is not required to attend any of the regional meetings but is encouraged. Visit TAC’s website at www.county.org to register for the event near you. If you have questions

please contact Haley Click at [email protected] or (800) 456-5974.

All county officials and staff are encour-aged to attend.

Upcoming Dates and LocationsEach meeting will take place from 10 a.m.-Noon.

April 11 – AmarilloTexas AgriLife Research & Extension Center6500 Amarillo Blvd. W. Amarillo, TX 79106

April 18 – Corpus

Nueces County Commissioners Courtroom, Room 303901 Leopard Street Corpus Christi, TX 78401

April 19 – Waco McLennan County Visiting Courtroom, Annex Building 219 N. 6th StreetWaco, TX 76701

April 25 – McAllenRenaissance Casa de Palmas, Room Ruby Red I101 N. Main StreetMcAllen, TX 78501

Legislative Exchange Regionals Dates and Locations



2012CountyManagementInstitutetoFocusonProvidingValuetoAttendeesTopics from emergency management to making meetings more meaningful are on the agenda

The2012CountyManagementInstitute(CMI)promisestobeavalue-packedeventfor attendees. The theme for this year’seventis“BrightIdeas.”

EducationProjectManagerAngelaRus-sell hopes county employees who attendCMIwillbeabletohitthegroundrunningwithnewconceptsfromtheconference.

“Wereallywantedtogetcontentforat-tendees that was practical and gave themvalue,”Russellsaid.“Wefocusedontopicsandideastheycouldimplementrightaway.”

Oneofthetimelysessionsincludesatalkby Bastrop County Emergency Manage-ment Coordinator Michael Fisher titled“Lessons Learned: Responding to Disas-

oredrecipientsduringTAC’sannuallegisla-tiveconferences.Thisyear,winnerswillbehonoredatareceptiononThursday,May3,from5:30-7:30p.m.

While thereare somechanges,CMIat-tendeeswillstillbeabletovisitthehealthfair, whichwill take placeThursday,May3,from8-11a.m.Thefairwillnotincludehealth screenings.There is alsoawelcomereceptionWednesday,May2,takingplaceafterthelastsession.

Visit www.county.org today to registeronlineorcallAngelaRussellorDeannaAu-ertwiththeTACEducationDepartmentat(800)456-5974formoreinformation.

ter.”Thediscussionwillfocusonwhatthecounty did during last year’s devastatingwildfires, what systems they had in placeand what they would do differently. An-otherconfirmedspeakerisAnnePritchardGrady. Her talk, “Leading through Influ-ence: Success Strategies thatGetResults,”is about how to implement ideas and getmanagementbuy-in.

There are a number of changes takingplace at CMI this year. For starters, theevent,whichwillbeheldMay2-4, isatanewlocation–theSheratonAustinHotelat theCapitol.Another change is the ad-ditionoftheCountyBestPracticesAwardsProgram.Inthepast,theprogramhashon-

Countiesparticipating in theTexasAssociationofCountiesHealth andEmployeeBenefitsPool (TACHEBP) can expecttogetrenewalnotices inearlyJuly for theOct.1andNov.1anniversarydates.

As the new renewal year starts, TAC HEBP Manager BillNorwoodhopescounties thatarenotcurrently takingpart inthefreewellnessopportunitiesofferedbyHealthyCountywillcontactTACtolearnmoreandsignup.

“Wewanttoreducecostswithoutreducingbenefits.Toac-complishthatgoal,werenegotiatedandloweredcostsonseveralPool-wide contracts and enhanced theWellness Program.Forcountiestosaveevenmoremoneyandgetmorebangfortheirbenefitsdollar,wereallywantpeopletojoininandtakeadvan-tage of these great programs,”Norwood said. “Theynot onlyprovidecostsavingstocounties,theyalsomakeforamuchhap-pierandhealthierworkforce.”

TheprogramsincludeMedicineMatch,whichprovidesa50percent reduction in co-pays formedicines that treat asthma,diabetes,highcholesterolandhighbloodpressure.EmployeeswhotakepartareautomaticallyenrolledintheBlueCareCon-nectionprogram,whichprovidesinformationandtoolsthatcan

teachparticipantshowtocontrolsymptoms.Apersonaladvisorisalsoprovidedtoteachchronicconditionsufferershowtobet-termanagetheirdisease.

“The counties that take part in these preventative wellnessprogramscansavealotofmoneyandcreateamuchmorein-formedworkforce,”Norwood said. “For example, if youhaveanemployeewhoisadmittedtothehospital foradiabetesorheart-related surgery, the costusually ranges from$50,000 toupwards of $100,000. If you catch the condition before thehospitalization and get them involved in the conditionman-agementcomponentofHealthyCounty,thecostisnothingtothecounty.Andtheemployeegetsacostsavingsinmedicationandfreecounseling.Thatmakesforbetterandmoreproductiveemployees.”

Norwoodaddedthateventhoughcountymembershaveac-cesstoanumberofcost-savingwellnessprograms,hedoesnotexpecttheTACHEBPboardtodramaticallyincreaserates.OnJune15,themembersoftheHEBPBoardofDirectorswillmeettomakefinaldecisionsregardingratesfornextyear.

TofindoutmoreinformationaboutHealthyCountyorhowtojoinTACHEBP,pleasecontactTACat(800)456-5974.

Check Mailboxes for TAC Health and Employee Benefits Pool Renewal Notices in early JulyGroup urges counties to take advantage of free wellness programs in new renewal year

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News you can use

DoYouHaveanArticleIdeaforCounty?

It’shardtokeepupwithallthenews,programs and solutions to local gov-ernmentproblemscomingfromTexas’254counties,butwe’dliketotry.

Ifyouhaveanarticleideaaboutanissueofconcern,anewandinnovativecounty program, an accomplishmenttobeproudof,ora localcelebration—oragreatTexasphotoorrecipetoshare—Countymagazineliketohearfromyou. Just email thewho,what,when,where,[email protected] (800)456-5974.County is inter-ested in county-driven press releases,featureideas,pre-writtenarticles,pho-tostoriesandmore.

Since magazine space and staff arelimited,allarticleideaswillbesubmit-ted to theCountyMagazineEditorialBoard for review.TheEditorialBoardmeets every-other-month, so publica-tionmaybesubjecttotimeliness,over-allsignificancetoallcountyofficialsandother factors.Photosand releasesmaybe published on the TAC Facebookpage atwww.facebook.com/texascoun-tiesorwebsiteatwww.county.org.

Article submissions are acceptedyear-round.

Citiesandcountiesthathaveworkedto-gethertosavetaxpayermoney,implementinnovative solutions to localchallengesorimprove government services to residentscan collaborate again, this time on the2012City-CountyCooperationAwardap-plication,dueApril27.

TheCity-CountyCooperationAwardisco-sponsored by theTexas Association ofCountiesandtheTexasMunicipalLeague.Theawardwascreatedin2006torecognizethe importance of interlocal cooperationwhen it comes to meeting the demandsplacedonlocalgovernments.Tobeeligiblefor the2012 award,programsorprojectsmusthavebeenbrought toconclusionorshown significant results betweenNov.1,2010andApril1,2012.

Previous City-County CooperationAwardwinnershaveincluded:

- Burleson County and The City ofSomerville, which worked togethertocreateahealthresourcecenterandotherservicesthatincreasedresidents’access to affordable and effectivehealthcare;

- ParkerCountyandtheCityofWeath-erford,whichcollaboratedtocreateaspecialcrimesunitandajointanimalshelter;

- TitusCountyandtheCityofMountPleasant,honoredfortheir“KeepTi-tus County Moving” project, whichusedpass-throughfinancingtofundatrafficlooparoundMountPleasant;

- Williamson County and the citiesof Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander andRoundRock,fortheircooperationinbuilding theWilliamsonCountyRe-gionalAnimalShelter;

- BexarCountyandtheCityofSanAn-tonio, which created a consolidatedpreventative health care service sys-tem;

- WiseCountyandthecitiesofBridge-port andDecatur, whichworked to-gether to bring a branch campus of

City-CountyCooperationAwardDeadlineisApril27

WeatherfordCollegetothearea;

- DallasCountyandtheCityofIrving,honoredfortheirpartnership in helping todevelop the Irving HealthCenter;

- Angelina County and theCity of Lufkin, which combined re-sourcestocreatetheCivicandDisas-ter Infrastructure of Lufkin/AngelinaCounty(CADILAC)tohouseevacu-eesduringandafteradisaster;and

- ElPasoCountyandtheCityofElPasofor their successful joint informationtechnologyconsolidationprogram.

Thereisnoapplicationformforthepro-gram.Instead,entitiesinvolvedinthepro-grammustcreateonejointdocumentthatdescribes the program in 1,200words orless,detailingwhytheprojectwasneeded,howtheentitiesworkedtogethertoaccom-plishprojectgoals,whobenefitedfromtheproject, the level of cooperation betweenthe city and the county, time andmoneysaved as a result of the project, time andmoney spent on the project, communityimprovements resulting from the project,andtheproject’sfutureimpactonthecom-munity.

The document should also include thenamesandpopulationsoftheinvolvedcit-iesandcounty,theproject’stitle,thesigna-tureandprintednameofthechiefelectedorappointedofficialofthecity,thesigna-tureandprintednameofthecountyjudge,and a contact person’s name, title, phonenumberandemailaddress.

Fivecopiesofthenominationdocumentshouldbemailedto:

TMLCity-CountyCooperationAwardProgram1821RutherfordLane,Suite400Austin,Texas78754-5128

More information about the programcanbefoundattheCity-CountyCoopera-tionAwardwebsite.



RegionalPublicDefenderforCapitalCasesRefundsmorethan$400,000toCounties

TheRegionalPublicDefenderforCapitalCasestodaypresentedacheckintheamountof$408,336tothecountiesofthe7thand9thAdministrativeJudicialRegionsthatarecurrentlyparticipatingintheprogram.ThepresentationwasmadeattheTexasAssociationof Counties’ Spring Judicial Education Session being held inLubbockforTexascountyjudges.Countieswillberefundedmoneybasedupontheircontributions to theoffice—witheachcountyreceiving45percentoftheirFY2012contribution.Thefundsarebeing returned from the office’s reserve fund, which has grownbased upon prudent fiscal management by the office and someunanticipatedrevenuetotheprogram.

TheRegionalPublicDefender forCapitalCaseswas started in2007toprovideindigentcapitaldefenseservicestothe85countiesofthe7thand9thAdministrativeJudicialRegions.Seventy-sevenof the 85 counties have joined the program.TheLubbock-basedofficehassincebeenexpandedintoanadditional107countiesandisexpectedtoserveupto240ofTexas’254countiesbyOctober1,2012.TheprogramcurrentlyhasofficesinAmarillo,Angleton,Burnet,Kingsville,Lubbock,MidlandandUvaldeandisexpectedtoopenthreemoreofficesinthenextyear.

Theprogramhassavedhundredsofthousandsoftaxpayerdollarstoparticipatingcounties.TheTexasIndigentDefenseCommission,formerly theTexasTaskForceonIndigentDefense,providedsig-nificantgrantfundingtosetuptheprogram,whichisnowcom-pletely self-fundedbycounties in the7thand9thAdministrativeJudicialRegions.

TexasCourtofCriminalAppealsPresidingJudgeSharonKeller,whochairstheTexasIndigentDefenseCommission,expressedherdelightwiththeprogram’ssuccesssofar.

“Wehadhighhopes from this programwhenwe funded it in2007.Ithasmetandexceededourexpectations.Programslikethisthat can increase the quality of defense and be cost-effective forcountiesandthestateareexactlywhatthecommissionis lookingfor,”Kellersaid.

TheRegionalPublicDefenderforCapitalCasesprovidesdefenseservices for all individuals in the participating counties who arechargedwithcapitalmurder,exceptwhenthere isaconflict.Thecountieswheretheofficeapplieshavealimitednumberofattorneysqualifiedandwillingtoprovidedefenseservicesincapitalmurdercases. In addition, capitalmurder cases inTexas are estimated tocostacountybetween$150,000and$1,000,000ifthedeathpen-altyissought.Whenanaverageofmorethan145capitalmurdercasesarefiledintheeligiblecountieseachyear,thepotentialcosttothecountiesistremendous.Theofficeprovideshigh-qualityrepre-sentationatalargesavingstothecounties.Theofficeisestimatedtohavesavedcountiesintheregionmorethan$637,000initsfirsttwoyearsofexistence.

Oncefullyestablished,thestatewideofficewillconsistofaChiefPublicDefender,AssistantChiefPublicDefender,29attorneys,16investigators,23mitigationspecialistsand18legalsecretaries.TheofficewillbebasedoutofLubbockCountywithtensatelliteoffices.

Lubbock County Assistant Director of Court Administration Dean Stanzione, Commissioner Patti Jones, Commissioner Bill McCay, Director of Court Administration David Slayton, Chief Public Defender for the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases Office Jack Stoffregen, Deputy Public Defender for Capital Cases Phillip Wischkaemper, Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases Office Administrator Elaine Nauert and 9th Adminis-trative Judicial Region Judge Kelly Moore, chair of the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases Oversight Board, display the $400,000 refund for counties in the 7th and 9th Administrative Judicial Regions.


aboveandbeyond

Whether protecting citizens’ lives and property or helping a resident obtain a passport, county employees are constantly interacting with residents to fix their most pressing con-cerns or them access the services they need to live a quality life. In fact, helping residents lies at the heart of the county story – what counties do and why.

That’s why the Texas Association of Counties and County magazine are soliciting the praise given by residents to county employees, whether in the form of a thank-you letter, a citizen satisfaction survey or a voicemail message. County wants to spread the word about

county representative who have gone above and beyond their calls of duty and who have impacted residents’ lives in positive ways.

Elected officials, supervisors and managers who would like to share the positive feed-back they have gotten from citizens and residents can contact County Editor Maria Sprow at [email protected] or (800) 456-5974 ext. 3482. If emailing, please provide a descrip-tion of the event, citizen praise and any relevant background information.

Above and Beyond nominations will be accepted year round.

Kudos from citizens

Helping residents is the heart of the Ward County story.

Ward County Honored with Merit Award from Monahans Chamber of Commerce

WardCountycommissionersrecentlyre-ceived the covetedMeritAward fromtheMonahansChamberofCommerce.

TheMeritAwardisgivento“anindividualorgroup of individuals that have done somethingthroughouttheyearthatattributedandrespondedinamanner thatmadenoticeable improvementstoourcommunity,”statedtheChamberofCom-mercebeforehandingout theaward.“Thisyear,thecommitteehaschosenagroupofpeoplethathave noticeably contributed to our communitythroughtheirleadership,improvementsandtothebestwelfareofthecitizensofWardCounty.

“Thisgrouphasgoneinandmadedrasticimprovementstoourcountyfacilities,suchastheWardCountyColiseum.TheyhavealsomademuchneededrepairstotheWardCountyConventionCenter,theSeniorCitizenCenter,theWardCountyLibraryandotherbuildings,”theChamberadded.“TheremodeloftheColi-seumwasgreatlyneededandnowprovidesforabeautiful,morecomfortableatmosphereforholdingmanyevents.

“(WardCounty)pavesthewayforprogressinourcommunitybyhelping to clear land for prospective businesses.Theybud-getedandbuiltthebrandnewEMSbuilding.Theyprotectourcommunitybyhelpingwiththeequipmentforthefiredepart-ment.TheirlastbigendeavorisacceptingtotakeovertheMillionBarrelMuseumsothattheycanhelpwithrepairs,upkeepand

financialburdenstokeepthehistoryofWardCountyfromdisap-pearing.ThenewlyformedWardCountyMuseumwillalsobethenewhomeoftheRattleSnakeBomberMuseum,wherethecountyhasbeenproactiveinmakingsurethatwedonotloseanyofthevaluableartifactsthataredisplayedintheMuseumlocatedinPyote,” theChamber finished. “Our county leaders are topnotchandhavetheinterestofourcommunityattheforefrontofalltheirdecisions.”

Thecountyaccomplishedallthoseachievementswithoutin-curring any debt, saidWardCounty Auditor Ellen Friar.Thecountyiscurrentlysavingtobuildaneweventcentertoreplaceitscurrentconventioncenter,whichwillthenhousetheseniorcitizenscenter.“IamveryproudofmycommissionerscourtandthewaytheyhavebeenrunningwardCountyandmanagingtheresourcesentrustedtothembythevoters,”Friarsaid.✯

From Left: Ward County Judge Greg Holly, Miss Monahans Abby Franks and commissioners Eddie Nelms, Dexter Nichols, Julian Flores and Larry Hanna. Photo courtesy of The Monahans News.

Ward County paves the way for progress in our community.

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

© 2011 LMW Design Group • (623) 535-0051

David Cooper [email protected] • holtcat.com

AUSTIN • BRIDGEPORT • CORPUS CHRISTI • FORT WORTH • IRVING • LAREDOLEWISVILLE • LONGVIEW • NORTH DALLAS • PFLUGERVILLE • SAN ANTONIO

SONORA • TEXARKANA • TYLER • VICTORIA • WACO • WESLACO

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through a purchasing cooperative and eliminate the frustration of keepingup with the state competitive bidding statutes.

Does the Equipment Bidding ProcessMake You Want to

Buying Caterpillar® machines from HOLT CAT® is just a click away. HOLT CAT is a participating member in

BuyBoard and the Houston-Galveston Area Council purchasing cooperatives and once you’ve joined, you can purchase quality

Caterpillar equipment right away. Each product and service on these cooperatives has been carefully and competitively bid and

awarded based on Texas Statutes, eliminating the need for your organization to go through the bidding process and saving time

and money for schools, municipalities, counties and other governmental entities throughout Texas.

To learn more about how your organization can use purchasing cooperatives to acquire Caterpillar equipment from HOLT CAT,

contact David Cooper at 972-721-2988 or e-mail us at [email protected].

It doesn’t have to anymore. Here’s why.

(#9851) County Magazine • 1-Color, Full page (8.5 x 11 + 1/8'' bleed) • Begin Run Date: Sept/Oct 2011

HOLT CAT is a participating member in BuyBoard and Houston-Galveston Area Council purchasing cooperatives. © 2011 HOLT CAT

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

© 2011 LMW Design Group • (623) 535-0051

David Cooper [email protected] • holtcat.com

AUSTIN • BRIDGEPORT • CORPUS CHRISTI • FORT WORTH • IRVING • LAREDOLEWISVILLE • LONGVIEW • NORTH DALLAS • PFLUGERVILLE • SAN ANTONIO

SONORA • TEXARKANA • TYLER • VICTORIA • WACO • WESLACO

Locate the Cat® machines you want, purchase them online from HOLT CAT®

through a purchasing cooperative and eliminate the frustration of keepingup with the state competitive bidding statutes.

Does the Equipment Bidding ProcessMake You Want to

Buying Caterpillar® machines from HOLT CAT® is just a click away. HOLT CAT is a participating member in

BuyBoard and the Houston-Galveston Area Council purchasing cooperatives and once you’ve joined, you can purchase quality

Caterpillar equipment right away. Each product and service on these cooperatives has been carefully and competitively bid and

awarded based on Texas Statutes, eliminating the need for your organization to go through the bidding process and saving time

and money for schools, municipalities, counties and other governmental entities throughout Texas.

To learn more about how your organization can use purchasing cooperatives to acquire Caterpillar equipment from HOLT CAT,

contact David Cooper at 972-721-2988 or e-mail us at [email protected].

It doesn’t have to anymore. Here’s why.

(#9851) County Magazine • 1-Color, Full page (8.5 x 11 + 1/8'' bleed) • Begin Run Date: Sept/Oct 2011

HOLT CAT is a participating member in BuyBoard and Houston-Galveston Area Council purchasing cooperatives. © 2011 HOLT CAT


websitespotlight Helpful county and county-related websites

WHAT:BexarCountyParksReservationSystem WHERE:parks.bexar.org/parksreservation

Residents andbusinesses thatwant to hold

an event at a BexarCounty park can nowdo sowith a point anda click. The countyremovedthehasslefromits parks reservationsystem by launching anew interactive websiteforits10reservableparkfacilities,makingitmoreconvenient for residentsto view and reserve theparks for special eventsandpayforthemonline.

The site is acollaboration of thecounty’s InformationTechnology eServicesDivision and theFacilities and ParksDepartment.ItwentliveOct.1,2011.

“More and moreof our daily lives andactivities are moving toonlinesupportedservicesandit’snodifferentwithlocal government,” saidCounty Manager DavidSmith in a press release.“We want to be abletotakecareoftheirneedsinthemostefficientmanner.Thisnewreservationsystemisoneofamultitudeofe-servicesBexarCountyhaslaunchedrecentlyandwearededicatedtobringingmoreonlineservicestoconstituents.”

The county is also dedicated to improving its parks; it hasbudgeted$525,000 for general park improvements to occur thisyear,notincluding$3.2millioninlargerparksprojects,reportedthe San Antonio Express-News.

Thesiteisa“streamlinedwaytoview,reserveandpayforBexarCountyparkfacilities,”countyeServicesmanagerToddAlvistoldtheExpress-News.ItusesGIStechnologyandincludes360-degreeviewsofpavillions,meetinghallsandkitchenfacilities,aswellasa

meetingscalendar,pricing informationandcapacity information.Rather thandriving to the facility, those interested inreservingabuildingcantakeavirtualtourinsideandoutsidetomakesurethespacemeetstheirneeds.

Thewebsitealsoincludesatermsandconditionsforthefacilities’usage,askinguserstorefrainfromusingglassbottles,nails,hooks,screws,posters,flyersandsignsintheparks.

“There’sasayingthatapicture’sworthathousandwords.Well,insteadofbeingblindtotheamenities,they’reabletopicturetheamenities,”AlvistoldtheExpress-News.

Of course, residents and others can still reserve the parks viatelephoneiftheyprefer.✯

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countycooks

Are you a county official with a favorite recipe you’d like to share with your fellow elected officials? County is accepting recipes for its new County Cooks department. To submit a recipe, just send an email to Editor Maria Sprow at [email protected] with the recipe and instructions and information on where the recipe came from, any tips or tricks, and why you like it so much. Officials can also include information about how the recipe

reflects themselves, their communities or their county. Is it used annually in a county bakesale? Has it been passed down from generation to generation? Was it an experiment? Submitted recipes will be cooked or baked by County Editor Maria Sprow and taste tested by TAC staff. The results will be published in County. All kinds of recipes will be accepted, so don’t hesitate! Share your favorite culinary creations with your fellow county officials.

Favorite recipes from county officials

TheCountyCooksCookbookChallenge,No.2

“The sour cherry pie is like a cold strawberry-banana popsicle on a hot summer day. Cooked to perfection. The dark cherry pie is good stuff, like a crunchy peanut butter sandwich.”

“The light-colored pie had a good tropical flavor and yet not too sweet. The darker pie took me back to my younger days when peanut butter and jelly was a treat.”

Recommendedby:Connie HickmanNavarro County Justice of the Peace

Dream Pie

The Ingredients:1 can sour pitted cherries (drained)

1 large can crushed pineapple1.5 cups sugar.25 cup flour

1 small package of orange jellored food coloring

3 bananas1 cup chopped nuts

cool whip2 baked pie shells

TheInstructions:Mix cherries, pineapple, sugar and flour (sift flour) with several drops of red food coloring; pour into saucepan and cook until thick. Add jello; mix well and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Add bananas and nuts. Pour into cooked and cooled pie shells. Place in fridge to congeal. Top with cool whip when ready to serve. (Homemade whipped cream is even better!)

Raul MartinezTAC Print Shop Manager

Melissa DotaTAC Administrative Manager

“I made the one on the left. I’m pretty sure it turned out the way it was supposed to. I used chopped walnuts. It was simple and quick to make and looked and tasted great. But as with all things, I think it’d be even better with some dark chocolate in it. I love chocolate.”

Leah MagnusCommunications Manager

TheChefs:

“I loved this recipe when I got it. I’m a fan of all fruit so I had high hopes. But I’m still new at cooking, and I couldn’t find sour cherries at the store. So I went with sweet cherries. Also, I confidently bought a bag that said “chopped nuts” on it. I was sure that would work. But my colleagues quickly informed me that most chefs know not to use peanuts because the taste is overwhelming (and they are a bean). Lesson learned! But I still enjoyed my 100 percent homemade peanut butter and jelly pie!

Maria SprowCounty Magazine Editor

TheVerdicts:

texashistory


History of a Texas County

Bowie County is in the farnortheastern corner of the state,bordered by the Red River on

thenorth,withArkansasandOklahomaacross its northern boundary andArkansastotheeast.

ProlongedEuropeanactivityintheareabeganin1719.Americanexplorationoftheareabegan in1806,whenPresidentThomasJefferson,eagertostrengthentheAmerican claim to the area, dispatchedThomasFreemanandDr.PeterCustistoexplorethearea.FollowingtheRedRiver,theFreemanandCustisexpeditionreachedSpanishBluff,almostduenorthofthesiteofpresentNewBoston,beforebeingforcedtoturnbackbySpanishsoldiers.

BecausetheareaofNortheastTexasencompassingpresentBowieCountywasconsideredbymanytobepartofArkansas,itwasthesiteofsomeoftheearliestwhitesettlementinTexas.Huntersandtraderswereactiveintheareaby1815,andincontiguousRedRiverCountypermanent settlementwasunderwayby1818.Althoughthe details of earliest settlement in Bowie County are not clear,theareawasprobablysettledaround1820,whenMillerCounty,Arkansas,wasorganized.ThiscountyencompassednotonlywhatisnowBowieCounty,butalloftheRedRiversettlements.

Although the early settlers seem to have regarded the area aspart of the United States, when the United States governmentrefusedtoissuethemlandtitlesmanyofthesesettlersturnedfirsttotheMexicangovernmentandthentoArthurG.Wavell’sagent,BenjaminR.Milam,inanattempttoobtainvalidlandtitles.Whiledoing so, they continued to send representatives to theArkansaslegislature.WhentheConventionof1836metatWashingtonontheBrazos,theRedRiversettlementswererepresentedbyRichardEllis, Samuel P. Carson, Robert Hamilton, Collin McKinneyand AlbertH. Latimer.Three of thesemen—Ellis, Carson, andMcKinney—were livingwithin the confines of the futureBowieCounty. That year Red River County, which included all theterritorynowinBowieCounty,wasestablished.

BowieCountywasdemarkedinDecember1840andnamedforJamesBowie.Asoriginallydelineated,thecountyincludedallorpartoftheterritoriesofpresentCass,TitusandMorriscounties.In1846,thecountywasreducedtoitspresentsizeandboundarieswiththeestablishmentofCassandTituscounties.DeKalbwasdesignatedthe temporarycounty seatwhileacommissionwasappointed tochooseamoreappropriatepermanentsite.Thecommissionchosethe town thennamedBoston,which became the county seat in1841. In the mid-1880s, the citizens ofTexarkana conducted asuccessfulcampaigntomakeTexarkanathecountyseat.Aboutfiveyearslater,residentsofthewesternandcentralpartsofthecountycampaignedsuccessfullyforyetanothercountyseat,thisonetobe

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WorldWarIINecessitiesBringLasting ChangestoBowieCountyEconomy

at the geographic center of the county.That courthouse was constructed in1890,andthetownthatgrewuparounditwasnamedBoston.Thecountyseathasremainedatthislocation.ShortlybeforeTexarkanaceasedbeing thecounty seat,thecourthouseburnedandalmostallthecountyrecordsweredestroyed.

Thoughagriculturewasthefoundationof the county’s economic base, thecountywasneverexclusivelyagricultural.Manufacturingprovidedjobsforasmallportionofthelaborforcein1850,when

fourteenpersonswereemployedtomakeproductsvaluedat$12,100.Between1880and1890thecountyexperiencedasmallboominmanufacturing.Inadditiontoanexpansioninmanufactures,thecountywasalsobecomingmoreurban.Thischangewaslargelyduetothecomingoftherailroad.WhentheTexasandPacificRailwaywas constructed through the county, beginning in 1873, townsalongitsroutebegantogarneranincreasinglylargershareofthemarketactivitiesofareafarmers.Therailroadalsowasresponsibleforanewtown,Texarkana,which,almostfromitsfounding,servedas amajormarket center and shipping point for farmers in thesurroundingthree-statearea.

WorldWarIIbroughtthesametraumatoresidentsofthecountythatotherwarshadbrought.Hundredsofthecounty’scitizensfoughtoverseas.Butitwasalsothebeginningofmorepositiveandlastingchanges in the county’s economy. In 1941, twomassivemilitaryinstallationswereconstructed in thecounty, theLoneStarArmyAmmunitionPlantandRedRiverArmyDepot.Theinstallations,whichoccupyalmost40,000acres,employedthousandsofpeoplein building and storingwar supplies. By 1945, 769,977 tons ofmaterialhadbeenshippedfromthesetwolocations.Afterthewar,operationof theplant anddepot continued; in1992more than8,000people,civilianandmilitary,wereemployedatthem.

Bowie County is home to various types of recreation andentertainment.TheBowieCountyCourthouseandJailinBostonis listed in the National Register of Historic Places, along withsevensitesinandaroundTexarkana,includingtheDraughn-MooreHouse,theOffenhauserBuilding,theSaengerTheater,theHotelMcCartney, the Rialto Building, the Whitaker House, and theRoseburoughLakeSite.Therearesevenmajorlakesinthecounty,thelargestbeingthe20,300-acreWrightPatmanLake.Gameandfur animals include deer, squirrel, quail, muskrat, beaver, otter,opossum,mink, ring-tailed cat, badger, fox, raccoon, skunk andcivetcat.TexarkanasupportsamuseumandazooaswellasvariousculturaleventssponsoredbyTexarkanaCollege.✯The information above is excerpted from the HandbookofTexas, an encyclo-pedia published by the Texas State Historical Association. The handbook can be accessed online at www.tshaonline.org/handbook.

BowieCounty


Interested in Learning More About Innovative County Ideas and Programs?

COUNTY BEST PRACTICES AWARDS

Maybe your county has a problem that needs to be solved or perhaps your county has a great

idea to share. The County Best Practice Awards Program honors the best and brightest programs created by Texas counties. For more information about the program, visit TAC’s website at www.county.org and scroll over the “Member Services” heading, then down to “Leadership Program” and over to “County Best Practices.”

The website allows visitors to:•Learn more about the Best Practices Awards•Fill out a nomination form for next year•View videos describing recently honored programs•Search an extensive database of winning programs

according to keyword, county, category, year or award class

emergencyservices


By Bruce Barr, TAC GIS Analyst

Denton County Emergency Response Team Volunteer Coordinator Receives White House Recognition

OnJan.19, theWhiteHousehonoredBrendaGormley,theDentonCountyCommunityEmergencyResponseTeam(CERT)Coordinator,asa“ChampionofChange.”

Gormley had earned the recognition by growing the county’sCERTprogramfromjust11memberstomorethan500trainedvolunteersinlittlemorethansixyears.

Withheryoungest traineebeing justnineyearsold,Gormleyis spreadingknowledgeof theCERTprogramandcreatingnewvolunteersacrossgenerations.

“IwasraisedfromanearlyagetoappreciatevolunteerismandI guess I’m able to relay thebenefit I get fromvolunteer-ingtootherpeople,”Gormleysaid. “The growth was alldone by word of mouth. Ineveradvertisedforaclass.”

Of course, the WhiteHousewasn’tthefirstagencyto take notice of Gormley’saccomplishments and abil-ity to engage citizens.Beforebeing nominated for the“Champion of Change” aspart of President Obama’s“Winning theFuture” initia-tive,Gormleyhadpreviouslyearned the 2009 NationalAward for OutstandingCitizen Corps Council. In2011 at the Texas UnitesConference,Gormleywasthefirst recipient of the Jack Colley CitizenCorpsLeadershipAward,anawardthat isgivenannuallytorecognizetheoutstandingleadership and service of a CitizenCorpsvolunteer.

“WhatBrendahasdoneistrulyremark-able,”saidJulieMartinez, thestatecitizencorpmanager at theTexas Association ofRegionalCouncils (TARC).“She’screatedamodelfornotonlyhereinTexas,butforthenation.”

Themodelisimportantforensuringthatcommunities are able to cope during andafter a disaster. CERT programs educate“peopleaboutdisasterpreparednessforhaz-ardsthatmayimpacttheirareaandtrainstheminbasicdisasterresponseskills,suchasfiresafety,lightsearchand rescue, teamorganization, anddisastermedical operations,”accordingtoCitizenCorps.gov.Inanutshell,theCERTprogram

aimstofillgapsbetweentheavailabilityofprofessionalemergencyrespondersandthepublicneedthatoccurduringadisaster.

Inmanycounties,especiallythesmallerones,CERTteamsarecentrallyorganized;theyreportto,andreceivetasksdirectlyfrom,thecountyemergencymanagementcoordinator.InothercountiestheCERTteamsreporttodistrictfirechiefs,orinthecaseofhamradio operators, come under another centralized command thatdistributestheresourcesaccordinglythroughoutthecommunity.

“Dependingonthesizeofthecountyanditsneedstheremightbemanyteamstrainedtodomanytasks,”Martinezsaid,adding

thatHarrisCounty,forinstance,has213CERTteams,organizedbybothgeographicareaandspecialty.“Fromcommunity to community, there is no one size fits allformat.”

Both Gormley and Martinez stress the importanceof training to the success of theCERT teamprogram.Whether it’s in first aid, doing damage assessments,assistingpoliceandfireormanningsupportstationsdur-ingadisaster,volunteersneedtobefullyawareofwhatis expectedof them andhave the tools and training tocompletethoseassignments.

“I want to get everyone trained in some aspect ofemergency response.Themore peoplewho are trainedand are self reliant, the fewer that are calling 9-1-1,”Gormleysaid.

For more information on the CERT program inTexas and how to bring one to your county contactJulieMartinez,TARC’sStateCitizenCorpManager, [email protected], or visit www.texasciti-zencorps.org.✯

Blazing New Trails


AT A TIME WHEN COUNTIES ARE TRYING TO de-terminewhattheirroleshouldbeandhowtheycanpositionthemselvesinanuncertaineconomy,theanswermayperhapsbefoundbynotonlytakingasimplepath,butbybuildingone.

That’swhatDallasCountyfirstbegandoingbackin1993,whenUnionPacificannounceditwasformallyabandoningathree-milerailsegmentlocatedinthecounty’sgeographiccenter.Thecorridor,builtbytheMissouri-Kansas-Texas (“Katy”) railroad in the 1880s, traveled throughsomeofDallas’mostdensely-populatedanddevelopedneighborhoods.Itfeaturedscenicviews,aninteresting“urban-setting”perspectiveandprovidedanuninterruptedroutefromdowntownDallastotheedgeofSouthernMethodistUniversity.

Atthetime,theDallasareadidnothavemuchofatrailnetwork.Thecountyhadneverconsideredorexpectedto“getintothetrailbusiness.”But theUnionPacificannouncementcreatedauniqueopportunity, and it lead to a new role for the county— a rolethat,withtheassistanceof itscities,hasresultedinthecreationofaDallas-areatrailsystemthatnowcontainsover100milesofhard-surfacetrail.

Itwasnotinitiallyclearin1993whethertheDallasareawouldbeabletotakeadvantageoftheUnionPacificopportunity.Time—the lackof it—wasamajor issue.Becauseof thefederalprocess for abandoning rail lines, the public only had about180 days to decidewhether to assume responsibility for thecorridor. If an entitydidnot step forward to accept the raillinewithinthetimeperiod,thecorridor’spropertywouldre-verttotheadjoiningproperty-owners.Withtherebeingabout200parcelsimmediatelyadjacenttothethree-milesegment,oncethecorridorfellintothisphaseandbeganbeingdividedamongthemanyproperty-owners, itwouldbevirtually im-possibletoreassembleitforanotherpublicuse.

Immediacywasn’ttheonlyobstacle.AlthoughDallasCoun-tyhadanopen-spaceprogram,theprogramencouragedpas-siverecreation,notactive.Thepreservesintheprogram’sopenspacesystemwerenatural inappearanceandhadvirtuallynoimprovements or amenities, and themaintenance of the pre-

ByRickLoessberg,

DallasCountyDirectorofPlanning&Development Blazing New Trails

Dallas County, bicycles

and economic development

Joggers make use of the Katy Trail in Dallas County. Photo courtesy of Dallas County.


serves was provided not by thecounty, but by the cities wherethepreserveswerelocated.Simi-larly,theCityofDallas,becauseitdidnothave funding readilyavailableforsuchanewproject,was understandably cautiousabouthavingtobuildanentiretrail and take on a new andpossibly sizeable maintenanceresponsibility.

Not wanting to see theopportunity disappear, thecounty offered to provide$250,000 for the design andconstruction of a trail if thecitywould accept andmain-tain the corridor. The city,equally understanding ofwhat would be gained if thecorridor was converted intoa pedestrian trail, quicklyagreed.Withthis,theCounty’sfirsttrailproject—nowcalledtheKatyTrail—cameintobe-ing.

Even before the constructionofthetrail’sfirsttwo-milephasewascompleted(thetrailhassincebeenexpandedby1.5miles,andfundinghasalreadybeencommit-ted to double its length to sevenmiles), the potential benefits fromthisproject and fromothers like itwerebecomingobvious.

Recognizing the role that it hadplayedwiththeKatyTrailandunder-standing that, in a countywith 900square miles and 30 cities, it wouldbe difficult to replicate the projectandhave it connectwithother trailsunless therewas anentity that could“transcend”thearea’smanymunicipalboundaries,thecountydevelopedandadopteditsfirsttrailplanin1997.

Two years later, the commissionerscourtformallychangedthemajorpri-orityof itsopen spaceprogram from

assembling a county-wide openspacesystem(which,bythattime,contained more than 2,800 acresat 21 preserves) to establishing acomprehensivetrailsystemwhereitwouldbepossibletotravelfromoneendofthecountytoanotherandtomajordestinationpointswithouttheneedofacar.Tocreatesuchasystem,the county began providing fundingfortrailsifacitywouldagreetoownandmaintainthetrailandprovideforany enhancement features (drinkingfountains, benches, lighting) that thecitymightdesire.Suchanarrangementwas similar to what was done on theKatyTrailandwhatthecountyhadtra-ditionally done for thoroughfare proj-ects.

Whenthecountybeganitseffortstocreateacomprehensive trail system, itunderstoodthatitwouldnotbepossi-bletodosoinjustafewyearsandthattherewouldnotbe trails everywhereat once. Because Dallas County isgeographically so large, the countyfirst sought to establish “beach-head” projects in key locations.Over time, the county then pur-sueda“connectthedots”strategytoextendtheinitialprojectsandto eliminate physical gaps be-tweenthem.

In determining which proj-ectstofund,thecountyhasal-waystakenintoconsiderationwhere the project is located,its length(originally,projectshad to have created a trailat least one mile long; nowprojectshavetocreateaseg-mentofatleasttwo-to-threemiles), whether it connectstoamajordestinationpoint,the likelihood that itwillbeused, its cost, whether thecityisprovidinganyfunding,and the amount of time itwill taketodesignandbuildtheproject.Projectshavebeenproposed through the formalsubmission of proposals fromthecities,bystaff,frominfor-mal conversations between acity and the county, and fromideassubmittedbythepublic.

Projectimplementationishan-dledinamannerthatisthemost

TOP: Cyclists make use of the seven-mile-long Campion Trail in Irving. The Campion Trail connects the county’s most densely-populated neighborhoods with Irving’s Las Colinas area, a major employment center and home of several Fortune 500 firms. Photo courtesy of the Greater Irving/ Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. BOTTOM: The Katy Trail now passes by several new restaurants and residential developments. Photo courtesy of Dallas County.


advantageous.Onsomeprojects,thecountymaytakeonrespon-sibilityofdesigningtheproject,awardingtheconstructioncon-tract, inspecting thework andauthorizing payments, withthe city acting in a secondaryreviewcapacity.Onothers,therolesmaybereversed,andonsome,thedutiesmaybemoreevenlyshared.

The county has been for-tunate to undertake proj-ects that generally have notrequired land acquisition.BothOncorandDART(thearea’s transit authority) havebeengenerousinallowingthecountyandthecitiestoutilizeelectricalcorridorsandunusedraillinesfortrailprojects.TheUniversity ofTexas at Dallashasalsograciouslyprovidedaneasementso thatamajor trailcan access its campus. Otherprojectshaveutilizedparklandand public right-of-way that acitymayhavealreadypossessed.

The county has providedabout $39.6 million in fund-ingsincefirstbecominginvolvedwith trails. Funding for the firsttwo trail projects was providedfromthecounty’s1991openspacebondprogram.Beginning in2000—whenthecountybeganfundingall of its capital improvement proj-ectsfromaportionofitstaxratethathad been previously used to retireoutstandingdebt—fundingforthecounty’sothertrailprojectshascomefrom both the $1million-$2.5mil-lionthetrailprogramreceivesannu-allyandfromthecounty’sthorough-fareprogram.

The commitment of resources hasnot only directly lead to the under-takingofnewprojectsbythecounty,butithasalsoencouragedothercitieswho had previously begun develop-ingtheirownprogramstocontinuetodoso.

Todate,jointcounty-cityprojectshaveresultedintheconstructionof30milesofnew trail that connectwith another 46miles of existingtrail. Because of these projects, itis now possible to continuously

ride a bike from where the northernsuburbofPlanobeginstotheedgeofdowntownDallas—adistanceof20miles.Itisalsopossibletouseatrailtotravel from Irving’s densely-populatedValleyRanch community to LasColi-nas,whichisthecorporatehomeofFor-tune500firmslikeKimberly-ClarkandExxonMobil. There are also trails thatconnect neighborhoods with DARTlightrailstations,theUniversityofTex-asatDallas,theAmericanAirlinesCen-ter,retailareas,parks,andtheTelecomCorridor (which employs more than80,000people).

Inadditiontothe30milesthecoun-ty has already helped build, anotherfour miles are currently under con-struction, and another 24 miles areeither already under design or willsoonbe.Whenthesevariousproj-ectsarecompleted,theywillresultin, among other things, amajoreast-west trail acrossDallas, thelongesttrailinsouthDallas,thefirsttrailinwestDallas,thefirsttrailinCedarHill,across-towntrailinMesquite,anextensionof a trail so that it connectswith Carrolton’s downtownand a DART station, andthe connection of a trail toBrookhavenCollege.

At the time that the KatyTrailwasfirstbuilt, theDal-lasareawasbeginningtoeco-nomically emerge from theaftermath of the savings andloancrisisandthecollapseofthe local real estate market.The Dallas area had also al-wayshadachallengehandlingthe increases in automobiletrafficthat itwasexperiencingand it had concerns about itsability to comply with federalairqualitystandards.

The county began facilitatingthedevelopmentofacoordinatedand comprehensive trail system

TOP: The Mustangs at Williams Square, located in Las Colinas along the Campion Trail. Photo courtesy of the Greater Irving/ Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. BOTTOM: Residents use the Katy Trail during a nice afternoon in Dallas County. Photo courtesy of Dallas County.


because it thought it would help address thoseissues, and the evidence compiled since the ef-fortbeganhasshownthatthetrailshave,indeed,lead to both tangible and intangible benefits.Improvements that were originally meant toconnectdestinationshavebecomedestinationsthemselves(“Let’smeetattheKatyTrail”).Thetrailshavebecometheidentityforsomeneigh-borhoods, enhanced their residents’ sense ofpride,andleadtonumerouscommunityproj-ects, suchas theplantingofmore than1,000shrubsandtreesalongonetrail.

Thetrailshavealsoaddedeconomicvaluetotheareas they serve.Sometrails regularlycarrymore people than many local streets and busroutes.Restaurantsthatcatertotrailpatronshavesprungupalongsideoftrails.Residentialdevelop-mentshavebeenbuiltnearortakenonthenameofatrail.RealestateagentsnowprominentlyfeaturethattheirlistedpropertiesarelocatedadjacenttoatraillikePrestonRidgeorSantaFe.

Public safety has also been improved. BeforetheKatyTrailwasbuilt, for instance, therewassolittle rail traffic that people who did not want tobenoticedused it as a place for conducting theirvarioustransactionsandfor“sleepingitoff.”Withthousandsofpeoplenowusingthetraileveryday,thatactivityhasceased.Manyhomeownersareso

comfortablewithhavingatrailtouchtheirback-yardthatthey’veeithercompletelyremovedtheirwooden stockade fences or they have installed agatesothattheycanusethetrailthemselves.

In many instances, the trails have become ex-amples of urban alchemy. They have come fromnothingtobecomesomethingusefulandwonder-ful.Where once there were empty, 200-foot-wideswaths of power lines and brown grass runningthrough a subdivision, there are now landscapedribbons of life that are enjoyed by people of allagesandbackgrounds:parentsteachingtheirchil-drenhowtorideabike,peoplerunningtostayfit,retiredcouples takingawalk in theeveningandpeopleridingtoworkortoschool.

Thetrailshavebecomesuchanimportantpartofthecountythatit’shardtorealizetheyhavenotalwaysbeenhere.Theirexistenceisadirectresultoftheworkofcitiesthathadtheforesightto operate their ownprograms and that haveworkedwith thecounty.Without thosepart-nerships, none of this would have occurred.Withthetrailsthatarenowinplaceandwiththosethatwillsoonbeadded,theDallasareahasestablishedavaluablesystemofamenitiesthatitsresidentscanenjoyandthatwillenabletheareatoremaineconomicallyvibrantandat-tractive.✯

C11.4982.02

The trails have

become such an

important part of

the county that

it’s hard to real-

ize they have not

always been here.


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Interview with a

Star (Library)


IN ITS FOURTH ANNUAL NATIONAL REVIEW OF7,513publiclibraries,theLibrary JournalawardedthreeTexascountylibrarieswithitssuperior“Star”designation.Thelibrar-ies–theUptonCountyPublicLibrary,theRealCountyPublic

Library,andtheYoakumCounty/CecilBickleyLibrary–werethreeofjust10Texaspubliclibrariesand262librariestotaltoreceivethedesignationnationwide.

Achievingthe“Star”designationisanindicatorofalibrary’sser-viceoutput.ThedesignationispartoftheLibrary Journal’s IndexofPublicLibraryService,createdtohelplibrariesevaluatetheirservices.Inthe2011index,eachlibraryreceivedascorebasedondatareport-edtostatelibraryagenciesandcompiledbytheInstituteofMuseumandLibraryServicesfrom2009.Scoresaredeterminedbasedontheannual number of library visits, the library’s circulation, programattendanceandpublicInternetcomputeruse.Librariesaredividedintocategoriesbasedontheir totalexpenditures; the librarieswiththehighestscoresineachcategoryarethengivenstars.

OtherTexaspublic libraries to earn the “Star”designationwereBeeCavePublicLibrary,theClaudH.GilmerMemorialLibraryinRocksprings, theTri-CommunityLibrary inPrairieLea, theBlackBridge Library inDime Box (LeeCounty), the Library atCedarCreekLakeinSevenPoints,theLindaleLibraryinLindale,andtheLakeWhitneyLibraryinWhitney.

Unfortunately, many Texas public libraries right now are fac-inghugechallengesgoing into2013.Texas librarieswerehard-hitbystatebudgetcutsduringthe2011legislativesession.LegislatorsslashedfundingfortheTexasStateLibraryandArchivesCommis-sionby64percent;partofthatincludedan88percentfundingcutfortheagency’slibraryprograms.TheLegislaturealsoeliminatedthe$13.4millionLoanStarLibrariesgrantprogram.Thecutshaveandwillcontinuetodirectlyimpactthestate’spubliclibraries,manyofwhichreliedonstateprogramsforhelpwithcomputermaintenance,educationandtrainingandadditionalfundingforpubliclibraryser-vices.

CountyEditorMariaSprowinterviewedYoakumCountyLibrary

DirectorPatMcNabbabout the library’sStardesignation, its suc-cesswithinitscommunity,andthechallengesitandallTexaspubliclibrariesarefacinggoingforward.

QWhat’s the county’s role in supporting the library? Do you get any private donations? What interactions does

the library have with the county and the commissioners court?

AThe library is strictly county-funded.Weusually staywithinourbudget.IfsomethingmomentousarisesthatIwouldneed

extramoneyfor,IdogotocommissionerscourtandIgoperiodicallytotellthemaboutwhatwe’redoingatthelibrariesandtheprogramsandsuccessesthatwe’vehadinthelibrary.

QCan you describe the library system in Yoakum Coun-ty? How many public libraries are there?

AYoakumCountyhastwolibraries.Theyhavetheirownbud-gets,theyhavetheirownreports,theyaretotallyseparate.The

onlythingthattheyshareisthattheyarebothinYoakumCountyandhaveYoakumCountyintheirname.I’mthelibrarianoverbothofthem.Thecountysupportsbothofthem.AndIhavetotellyou,ourcountyiswonderful,theyhavealways,alwayssupportedtheli-braries,bothlibraries,andtheydoawonderfuljob.WeareblessedinYoakumCounty.

QWhy or how do you think the Denver City library was able to earn a Star designation?

AIthinkthereasonthatDenverCitydoessowellisbecauseithasadifferentclientele.DenverCity isveryoil-field related.

Thepeopleareamoretransientsociety,buttheyrelymoreheavilyonthelibrary.InPlains,theoldfamiliesthatsettledthecountyarethefamiliesthatfrequentthelibrary.ThelibraryinPlainsdoesalotforthecommunityandit’sreallythehubforthePlainscommunitybesidestheschool,butwejustdon’thavethenumbersthatthelibraryinDenverCityhas.IthinkInternetaccessisalotofit,thepeopleinPlainshavetheirown.Andthey’llgotoLubbockandbuyabook.That’skindofthemindset.WhereasdownhereinDenverCity,thepeopledon’twanttobuysomethingthatthey’regoingtohavetotakewiththem,sotheycometothe librarytoborrowmorethantheydoinPlains,andtousetheInternetandtobringtheirkids.AlotofpeoplewithchildrenutilizethelibraryinDenverCityalotmorethanpeoplewithkidsinPlainsdo.


QSo you feel like it’s the unique makeup and qualities of the Denver City population that make the library so

highly trafficked?

AIdo,thatandthestaff.Wehavetwofull-timestaffpeoplehereandonepart-timepersonandtheyarewonderful.Theyarere-

allywhatmakesthelibrarydownhere.

QSo what programs do you have at the library, or what successes have you had?

AOh,whatprogramshaven’twehad?Wehavealotofongoingprograms,wedodifferentthingsforthekids.Wehavework-

sheetsthatthekidscancomeinafterschoolanddoandtheygetapieceofbubblegumforcompletingtheworksheet.LikerightnowbecauseitwasPresident’sDay,therearewordsearchesandcrosswordpuzzlesandmazesallaboutthepresidents,andwhatevertheholidayisorwhateveriscurrentlygoingoniswhatweusuallydo.It’sanon-going,everyweekthingthatwedo.Andthenofcourseourbigthingisoursummerreadingprogram,andwedogetdonationsfromourlocalbusinessestohelpsupporttheprizesandtheincentiveprizesthatwegiveforthesummerreadingprogram.Thelocalcompanieshavereallybeenverysupportive.

Andthenourstoryhour,weprobablyhave42childreneveryweekthatcometoourstoryhourhere inDenverCity.Andforasmalltown,incomparison,Plainshas12kidsthatcome.SoIthinkourstoryhour,whichisranbytheassistantlibrarian,isaverypopularthing.

QWhat other activities do you have to draw kids in after school? Are the worksheets really a popular activity, a

hobby that draws kids in?

AThelibraryisawonderfulplaceforkidstocomeafterschooliftheirparentsaren’taround.WehaveaTVinourchildren’sarea

andwecanshowDVDsormoviesonthatTVandofcoursealotofkidscomeinandusetheInternetaccesscomputerstodotheirhome-workafterschoolbecauseeventhoughalotofpeoplehaveInternetaccessintheirhomes,therearequiteafewpeopleinourcommunitythatdonot.AndwearetheonlyplaceinDenverCitythathasWiFi.Wealsohavea lotofsmallerkidsthatcomeinwiththeirparentswhen theycome touse the Internet, and theydo theworksheets.Weliketothinkthatwe’rebroadeningtheirhorizonsbygivingthemtheseworksheetsthatareinstructiveaswellasfun.

QCan you describe more about the summer reading pro-gram?

AIt’sastateprogramthatwedoeverysummer.Wehavediffer-entprogramswedoeachweekforeightweeksforthechildren

andthedifferentagelevelsofthechildrenandwhentheysignupforthesummerreadingprogram,theyaregivenareadingloganditsallonthehonorsystem.Theyread10booksontheiragelevelandwhentheyread10booksontheiragelevel,theyturntheirreadinglogbackin.Theygetlittleprizeswhentheysignup,andthentheygetlittleprizeswhentheyfinish.Andthentheirnameswillgointodrawings.Lastyearwehadsixbicyclesthatwewereabletogiveaway,plussomefootballsandbasketballs.ThisyearIwroteagranttoDol-larGeneralaskingformoneyforincentiveprizesandwehopetoget

someKindlestogivetheolderkids.

QHow does the library successfully reach out to private donors and vol-

unteers? Is there advice you can give for reaching out to businesses?

AI write a donation letter and try tostresshowimportantitisthatchildren

maintaintheirreadingleveloverthesummer,because if theydon’t,when theygoback toschoolthey’vefallenbehind.Insteadofbeingable to progress fromwhere they left off inthespring,theyarealreadybehindinthefallwhentheygobacktothenextgrade, sowetrytostressthat.Thebusinessesareveryre-ceptive,theyareverygenerousaboutmakingdonations,becauseitisallaboutthechildrenandtryingtohelpthemdobetterinlife.

QAre there any programs that you have that are unique to your library

“Having the state library’s budget cut not only affected the state library, but it affected every library in the state

of Texas on a huge scale.”

Yoakum County Commissioner Chris Blundell (back) presents bicycles to winners of the county public library’s 2011 Summer Reading program.


or your county?

AWe’vegottwocats,threetarantulasandhamsters.That’sareallybigdrawingcard.Wehavealotofkidsthatdon’t

seekindnesstoanimalsanddon’trealizethattheyshouldbekind toanimalsandwhen theycome to the libraryand thecatssitdownandreadwiththemorplayontopoftheirschoolwork,justtobenexttothem,orifachildisputtingapuzzletogetheronthefloor,oneof thecatswillgoandsitbythatchild,anditreallyteachesawonderfullesson,justapassiveles-son,tothesechildrenaboutbeingkindandlovingtoanimals,andtheparentsloveit.

QCan you talk about the pets more? What are their names? Why tarantulas?

AThecatsarenamedPennyandStory.Wehavetwowon-derfulretiredteachersinourcommunity,andtheydoa

tremendousjobofsupportingthecats.Everytimethere isaholiday,theysendthecatsmoney.Sothecatshavetheirownmoney.Thecatsarehere24-7.Theykeepwatchoverthe li-brary.Sometimestheyfightbecauseyoucomebackandthereishairallover,but theyaresistersandtheygetalongprettygood.

Andwehavethreedifferentkindsoftarantulasandtheyarefromallovertheworld.Wehaveanarborealtarantulacalledapink-toedthat is from the rainforest.We have a rose-haired tarantula fromChili.AndthenaladycaughtaTexasbrowntarantulainherbootinhergaragethatshebroughttous.Sothisletsthekidsseehow,eventhoughtheyarealltarantulas,theyarealldifferent.Thearborealpink-toedtarantulamakesthisreallyintricatewebbecauseintherainforest,thosespidersnevercomeoutofthetrees.Andthentherose-hairedisjustareallyprettytarantula.AndtheTexasbrown,wehavehere.Noneofthemarepoisonous,andwedon’tallowthechildrentohandlethem.Theyareinaquariumsthathavesecuredlids.Sothechildrenaren’tallowedtohandlethem,buttheyareallowedtoseethemandseethedifferencesinthetarantulas.

Alltheanimalsthatwehaveinthelibraryarenotcounty supported.They are strictly supported bydonationsandme.

QWhat are the biggest challenges facing the library? How does the library work

to keep itself financially sus-tainable and popular with residents and up to date with technology?

ATechnology is ahugechal-lenge.ThecomputersthatI

dohave,ifIhaven’tgottenthemwith a grant, they are left-overcomputers from the courthouse.Keeping them maintained andkeepingthemcurrentforpeopleisahugechallenge,especiallysincethe state library has had such a big budget cut.Before,wehad aTANG(TechnicalAssistanceNegotiatedGrant)personwhoworkedforthestateandcameandworkedonourcomputersforusorwecouldtakethemtohiminLubbocktokeepthemrunning,tokeeptheprogramsupdated.ButofcoursewelostourTANGpersonand

we lostahugegrant thatwehadgotteneveryyear fromthe statecalled theLoanStarGrant.Andweused thatmoney topurchasematerialsthatwewouldn’tordinarilybeableto,likeaudiobooksandDVDsandreferencematerials.Losingthatmoneyisahugeblowbe-causemybudgetcan’tmakeitup.Sohavingthestatelibrary’sbudgetcutaffectednotonlythestatelibrary,butitaffectedeverylibraryinthestateofTexasonahugescale.Sothosewouldbethetwomajorissuesfacingourlibrary,iskeepingcurrentwithtechnologyandtry-ingtomakeupforthelossofthestaterevenue.

Andthecountydoesn’thaveanITdepartmenttohelp.Allofourcomputersareold,allofourcomputersarereallyprobablyoutdat-ed in theirmechanical innards.Butbecauseof theTANGpersonfromthestateinthepast,we’vebeenabletoputnewprogramson

themandkeep themgoing,but I’mnotsurewhatwe’regoingtodonowsincewedonothaveatechnicalpersontohelpus,althoughIhearthestateisworkingonitbecausethatisahugeproblem,especiallyforthesmalllibraries.ThebiglibrariesinHoustonandDallasandFortWorthandAustin,allthebigmetroplexes,theyusu-ally have their own IT person that doestheir work, but for little towns out hereinthesticks,especiallyinWestTexasandinSouthTexas,theyhavenobodyandnoway to get it fixedwithout theirTANGperson.

QHow important are the comput-ers then? Are the computers re-

ally the draw, or is it more the Inter-net that’s the draw? How significant is the library’s WiFi, do people bring their laptops to the library to use those?

AItalldepends.Ifpeoplehavetheirownlaptops,theydobringthem,andontheweekend,anytimeoftheweekend,youcan

gobyhereandtheyareoutinourparkinglotparkedusingtheWiFi,but thoseareusually thepeople thathavea littlebitmoremoneyandtheyhavelaptops.ThemajorityoftheresidentsofDenverCity

One of the Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library’s two residential cats, Story, gets attention from a young library patron. All photos courtesy of Pat McNabb.

ABOVE: The Yoakum County library’s rose-haired tarantula. LEFT: The library’s Texas brown tarantula.


don’t have access to a laptop sotheyhavetocomeinanduseourcomputers.

QDo you think the role of the public library has

changed now from what it was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, 5 years ago? If so, how has the library itself changed to accommodate that new role?

AIt’sinaconstantstateofflux.Youcannotstandstill.Itell

everybody, the library isn’t justabout books anymore, althoughbooks are still a big part of thelibrary. As technology changes and people’s needs change, if thelibrarydoesn’tchangewiththoseneeds,thenlibrarieswillbecomeobsolete, peoplewon’t utilize them,won’t need them.Oneof thewaysthatwearechanginghereat the library inDenverCity isattheendofFebruary,wewillbegoingwithanoverdriveconsortiumforpeopletodownloade-booksontotheire-readers.Solibrariesareconstantlychanging.Iftheydon’tchange,theyaredead.

QWhat are you most proud of, as far as your library’s ac-complishments, activities, or missions go?

AWeserveourcommunityandweserveitwell.AndIthinkliter-acyisalwaysahugedealandit’llnevergoaway.Aslongasyou

havetoreadasignwhileyou’redrivingorreadamenuinarestau-rant,literacyisalwaysgoingtobeveryprominentinourprograms.LastyearwewereblessedtoreceiveanAmoLeergrantbecausewehavealotofbilingualpeopleinourcommunityandtheAmoLeergrantallowedustoget$10,000worthofbilingualchildren’sbooksandalsotheygaveusastipendforshelvingtohousethosebooks.

QHow do you stay up-to-date on issues important to li-braries? Is there continuing education you go to or any-

thing you’re involved in?

AThisisanotherissue.WehavealwayshadtheWestTexasLi-brarySystem.Wewere anactivemember.The systemwas a

state-orientedprogramthathasgoneawaywiththebudgetcutsforthestatelibrary.Thatisanissuethatisaproblemandwearetryingtofigureoutexactlyhowwewillstaycurrentandhowwewillstayconnectedwithotherlibrariesbecausewithoutoursystem,weallarejustouttherefloating.That’ssomethingthatisbeingworkedonrightnowbecauseallregionalsystemswilljustbegoneasofAugust2012.

QHow has that system supported you in the past and how do you think it’ll impact you going forward?

AItprobablywon’taffectmeasmuchas someyounger librar-ians. I’vebeena librarian forquite awhilenow,butwhen I

firststartedas librarian,theWestTexasLibrarySystemguidedmethrougheverystepanditwasatremendoushelp.Icanseenewlibrar-iansthatcometoourtown—andagainit’sasmalltown—butthenewlibrariansneedtraining,theyneedtoknowhowtodothingsandwhatworksbest.Andwithoutoursystemorwithoutguidancefromotherlibrarians,it’sreallydifficulttogetstartedandhaveavery

well-functioning library withoutanyguidance.

QSo what solutions are be-ing discussed right now

to fill that void?

AThestatehasbeenworkingon it because this is some-

thingthattheyknewwascoming.Andtheydoalotofwebinars.It’snotthebestthingintheworldbutit’sabsolutelybetterthannothing.Weusedtohavegroupmeetings,wewouldmeetinacentralplace,usually the library in Lubbock,andhavein-personmeetingswithapresenter.Nowtheydo45-min-

utewebinarsontheInternet,whichgiveyoualotofinformationbutyoulackthatinteractionanddiscussionwithyourpeerstosay,‘Youknow,Itriedthat,itdidn’tworkwell,thisiswhatIdoinstead.’AndIthinkthat’sreallyimportantforallofus,nomatterhowlongyou’vebeena librarian,tohavesomebodysay, ‘youknow,trythis,this isabetterthing.’Andthat’snotsomethingthatwecanreallydo,orsomethingIdon’thavetimetodo,onasocialnetwork.IcouldtakeadayandgotoLubbockandmeetwith26otherlibrarians,andafterthepresenterwaspresentingtheprogram,orwhilethepresenterwaspresentingtheprogram,havethesediscussionsgoingonaboutwhatworked,whatdidn’t,whatdidyoumeanbythat?Where,onthewe-binar,youcan’treallydothat.AndIdon’thavetimetokeepupwithFacebook.Ihaveahardtimekeepingupwithemails.Themeetingsaregoingtobesourlymissed.

QWhat are the library’s plans for the future? Is it plan-ning on making any significant changes to its current

programs or building or create any new programs?

AWearegoingtotrytodosomethingalittledifferentwithoursummerreadingprogram.Oneofthethingsthatpeoplesaid

theywantedwasmore programs for the younger children to givethemsomethingtododuringthesummer.Sowe’regoingtotrytodomorecraft-orientedprogramsfortheyoungerchildren.

Iwouldlovetoputinayouthareajustforourjuniorhighandhighschoolstudents.Alotoflibrariesaredoingthatandhavingalotofsuccessgettingthatagegroupofchildbackintothelibrary,butwedon’thavetheroomforit.Theroomwehaveistheroomwewillhaveandthereisjustnowaytodothathere.

QWhat’s your favorite book that you’ve read recently?

AThisiscrazy,butIjustreadThe Hunger Games.It’swhat’stermedajuniorfictionbook,butmymomhadhadaheart

attackandIwasstayinginthehospitalwithher.OneofouryouthreadingprogramswashighlightingTheHungerGames, so I tookittoreadalsojusttoseewhatitwasabout,andImettwodifferentadultpeopleintheelevatorreadingTheHungerGames.It’sgreat,it’sreallygood,it’sunique,it’sdifferent.Eventhoughit’streatedasajuniorfiction,it’sinthatgenre,tryit,itwasreallygood.It’sfunny,butmysister sortof ridiculedme for readinga juniorfictionandthenwesawtheseothergrownpeoplewiththemtuckedundertheirarmintheelevators.✯

A young Yoakum County library patron watches the library’s pet hamsters as resident cat Story makes sure they don’t escape.


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School DaysPictures from the V.G. Young Institute of County Government’s School for County and District Clerks

InJanuary,countyanddistrictclerksacrossthestatetraveledtoCollegeSta-tiontogettheircontinuingeducationcreditsfromtheV.G.YoungInstituteofCountyGovernment,whichalsohostseducationalprogramsforcountycommissionerscourtmembers,taxassessor-collectorsandtreasurers.

Theschool ispackedwithclassesand informationpertinent tocountyanddistrictclerks,includinglessonsoncollectionsbestpractices,recordkeepingre-quirementsoftheFairLaborStandardsAct,thedifferenceinthementalhealthcommitmentprocessesinurbanandruralcounties,howtoprepareforanauditconductedbythestate’sVitalStatisticsofficeandhowtoidentifycounterfeitcurrencyanddocuments.

Thoughmost of the informationwas related tohow tobest complywithlawsandstatutes,attendeesalsoreceivedadvicefrommanagementconsultantStephanieNestlerodeonhowtosuccessfullyfacilitatechangewithintheirof-fices.Amongotheradvice,Nestleroderecommendedthatofficials“directtherider”byfindingthebrightspotsofachange,layingoutaplanforemployeesandpointingemployeestothedestinationofthechange.

TheV.G.YoungInstitutehassupplementalmaterialsonlineatvgyi.tamu.edu. Just follow thepathby clickingon “VGYISchool Information” then“SchoolforCountyandDistrictClerks”and2012SchoolPresentations.✯


T ·h ·e

21sTCenturyCourthouse

10 Things To Know

AbouT The new hAys CounTy

governmenT CenTer


1When planning began: Hays County first de-cided to build a new county government center back in 1997, according to Hays County Com-

missioner Debbie Ingalsbe, who helped lead the effort. “A new facility was one of the first items I recall discuss-ing shortly after I came into office in 1997. Our county departments had outgrown their current locations and our judicial departments and their functions were being held in an old former grocery store,” Ingalsbe said.

2Where it’s at: The new government center is lo-cated at 712 S. Stagecoach Trail, just off I-35 at Exit 202/Wonder World Drive. Officials chose

the location because it’s “accessible to the public in all areas of our county,” Ingalsbe said, and because the location helped the county control costs. It also had plenty of room available to build a government center that fit the community. “You know that you are step-ping into an appropriate official local government build-ing that seriously fulfills the public’s needs and is very beautiful and distinguished, while being cost-effective.”

3What’s there: The new 232,209 square-foot government center houses the county’s adult and juvenile probation offices, the auditor and

purchasing office, the compliance and collections of-fice, the county and district clerks’ offices, the district attorney’s offices, the district courts, the elections and voter registration office, the grants administration of-fice, the human resources department, the county law library, the tax-assessor collectors office, the trea-surer’s office, two county court-at-law offices, and the Precinct 1 constable and justice of the peace offices. Meanwhile, the county’s historical courthouse is still being used for commissioners court meetings, as well as the offices of the county judge, veterans services, the Precinct 1 commissioner, the county historical com-mission and the TABC.

4What it cost: The county’s expecting to pay about $120 million total for the project, includ-ing interest, according to media reports. “The

design needed to be functional and efficient for both our employees and the public,” Ingalsbe said. “The de-

sign also needed to have the capability and capacity to easily accommodate both short-term and long-term growth.”

5What’s new: The government center includes many sustainable features, including environ-mentally preferred products and materials, prod-

ucts that minimize energy consumption and enhance indoor environmental qualities, and water conservation mechanisms, including a HVAC Condensate Capture for landscaping irrigation. The state-of-the-art audio and video equipment and systems in the courtroom also utilize the latest technologies.

6The public good: The new building is expected to increase the efficiency and convenience of Hays County government services. “By consoli-

dating most services under one roof, we have created a “one-stop shop” for the convenience of our residents and officials doing business with the county. The pub-lic no longer has to go to various locations scattered throughout the San Marcos area,” Ingalsbe said.

7The county good: Staff morale increased with the move into the new center; most staff had come from doing business in an old and

cramped HEB building. “There is a much more positive attitude and improved morale among our employees. This is a building you can walk into and feel proud to be in and be a part of,” Ingalsbe said.

8The official good: The new building generates a lot of pride among county officials and is a lega-cy that officials will leave with the county for de-

cades to come. “We have a safe, more efficient facility for our employees and the public. The building itself is pretty awesome and I’m very proud of it,” Ingalsbe said.

9The lesson learned: Hays county officials do have advice for other counties that may be look-ing at building a new courthouse or justice cen-

ter. “Hire a program/project manager upfront!” Ingalsbe said. “Although we have some very dedicated and quali-fied people who served on a building committee, we did not have the expertise needed to go through this process alone. When we hired Broaddus & Associates the project had become way over budget and was get-ting behind on schedule. Having Broaddus & Associ-ates as our program/project manager, they were able to come in and provide the independent review and management of the project to bring the project back on schedule and within budget. They were able to save the county more than $50 million.”

10Looking forward: The county is studying and considering the possibility of an ad-ditional drive-through and walk-up window

for property tax and vehicle registration business, In-galsbe said. ✯


Makinga SuperHero TeamTravis County Tax Assessor’s Office looks at how to build employee confidence / By Maria Sprow


When the Austin Contact Center Alliance first ap-proached Travis County Tax Assessor-CollectorTinaMorton, and by association the office’s leadtrainerTiffanySeward,lastyearaboutleadingapre-

sentationonhowtobuildateamthatgivesgreatcustomerservice,thepairdidn’tquiteknowwhattotalkabout.

While thedepartment consistentlygetspositive customer feed-back,bothinternallyonInternetsiteslikeYelp,itsleadershadyettoputintowordsexactlywhyandhowitsemployeesweresosuccess-ful.Sotheduosatdownandbrainstormedandinspected:theytalk-edaboutperformanceandexpectations,whatreallydifferentiatesanewemployeefromanexperiencedemployee,aweakeremployeefromahelpfulemployee.

Theanswertheycameupwithwasn’ttimeandexperience,neces-sarily.Itwasconfidence.

“One of the thingswe had beennoticing developing our ownemployees,aswellasworkingwithothersintheirorganizations,isthatalotoftheirownperformancereallywascenteredaroundthisnotionofconfidence,thatis,whenyougetthatnewemployeeandyoureallycomparethatpersontoanexperiencedemployee,abigpartofthatdifferenceistheconfidencefactor,”Sewardsaid.

Fromthere,thetwobegantodiscussthewaysinwhichemployershelptheiremployeesbuildconfidence,andanewtermwasborn:the“confidencestandard.”

Thoughthewisdomitselfiscommonsense–ofcourseemploy-eesneedtheconfidencetodotheirjobwell–MortonandSewardwantedtohavetheiraudiencethinkaboutconfidenceinaneworuniqueway;awaythatwouldencouragediscussionandwouldgiveparticipantsvisualimagerytoholdontolongafterthepresentationwasover.Theywantedtocomeupwiththeappropriatetoolstoturneveryemployeeintoaconfidentemployee–asuperheroemployee,tocreateasuperheroteam.

SotheycreatedAmbitiousAmberandhadparticipantssitdownin groupswith paper and glue and scissors and create their ownsuperheroemployee.

ThoughtheconcepthasnowbeendiscussedamongTexascountytaxassessor-collectorsandcountyanddistrictclerksaspartofthoseoffices’schoolsputonbytheV.G.YoungInstituteofCountyGov-ernment,buildingasuperherocustomerserviceteamisagoalofalmostallcountygovernmentoffices.

“Itreallystartsfromtheveryfirstdaywhenyouwelcomethemintoyourorganizationandprovideasortofsafeplaceforthem,”Sewardsaid.“Oneofthemostimportantthingsforusinourpre-sentationthatwetrytogetacrossisthatemployeesneedtolearnhowtotakerisks,buttheyalsohavetobegiventheopportunitytooccasionally failbecause they aregoing to learn through thoseexperiences.Socreatingthatopportunityearlyonandthatsafeen-vironmentforemployeesisveryimportant.Wetrytotakethatfromtheveryfirstdayanemployeeishiredandsetthattoneandtrytotakeitallthewaythroughtheirdevelopmentintheorganization.”

Tools for the Super Hero TeamIt’s easy for anemployeror supervisor to talkaboutbuildinga

“superhero”team;it’shardertoactuallycreatetheteam.Sometimes,teamscomeupshort,andsupervisorsandmanagersareleftscratch-ingtheirheadsatwhatwentwrongandwhy,saidMortoninapre-sentationgiventocountyclerks.

“Employeeperformancepresentsaconstantchallengetousinourorganizations.Sometimes,despiteour verybest effort andall thehardworkweput into it,wefindthat it justdoesn’tmakesense.Afterall,we’vehiredwell,we’veorientedemployeestoourorganiza-tions,we’veprovidedthemwithexcellenttraining,butsometimestheir performance just doesn’t measure up,” Morton said. “Youmightendupaskingyourself‘whatamImissing?WhatamIdoingwrong?’”

Employers and supervisorsmaymake themistake of assumingthattheirsuperheroemployeesareborn,notmade.Butwhileem-ployeesallhavetheirnaturalstrengthsandweaknesses,it’sthetoolsprovidedtothembyemployersthathelpthemimprovethemselvestosuperherostatus,Mortonsaid.

Oneofthefirststepsemployerscantaketobuildemployeecon-fidenceistodefinewhat“acceptableperformance”meanstotheor-ganization.

“Setting the confidence standard means that we are going toratchetupwhatitmeanstobeacceptableortomeetexpectations.Itaddressesthosefuzzy issues, things likecooperation,teamwork,attitude, the things thatmake all the difference in an employee’sperformance but are really difficult to get your arms around anddefine,”Mortonsaid.

Employeeswillbemoreable torise to theorganization’sconfi-dence standard if they are given certain tools – or super powers.TheTravisCountytaxassessor’sofficedecidedonfourofthemostsignificantsuperpowers,whichtheyconsiderthefoundationoftheconfidencestandard:individualresponsibility,selfdirection,trustintheorganizationandtraining/support.

Eachpoweristheresultoftheemployeehavingcertaintoolsattheirdisposal:theirmetaphoricalswords,shieldsandlasereyebeams.

Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Tina Morton had attendees of the V.G. Young Institute of County Government’s schools for tax assessor-collectors and county and district clerks get crafty in order to talk about how to instill confidence in employees.


Or, more practically, theorganization’s Code ofEthics, an awareness ofpolicies and procedures,meaningful feedback

frommanagersands u p e r v i -sors, newlearningopportu-

nities,cheatsheetsandrolemodels.

An em-ployer’s role in

creating indi-vidual responsi-

bility, Morton said,is focused on creating

tools to help employeesmake the day-to-daydecisions their job re-quires,whetherit’showto respond toanangrytaxpayer orworking tosolve a problem for a

residentinneed.“Employeesbringtheirownmor-

alcompasstotheorganization,”shesaid.“Individualresponsibilityisthefoundationforthedecisionsemployeesmakeeverydayonthejob,thebigdecisions,thesmalldecisions,andthesedecisionsreallytesttheindividual’snotionaboutwhatisrightandwhatiswrong,whatisethicalandwhatisunethical.”

Morton recommends managers and officials have or create athoughtful and intentional guidance process to help individualsalign theirmoral compasses with the values of the organization.Thosetoolscanincludeacodeofethicsorcodeofconduct,clearperformanceexpectations,referenceguides,andopendoorpoliciesbetweenemployeesandtheirsupervisorsandmanagers.

“Takingresponsibilityforone’sownactionsandbehavingrespon-siblymustbesupportedwithresourceswhenethicalquestionscomeintoplay,”Mortonsaid.“Buildingconfidenceintheformofindi-vidualresponsibilityhelpstheemployeenotonlytorecognize,buttoactivelypromote,organizationalvalues.”

Butknowinganorganization’svalues,prioritiesandresponsestocertain problems and situations is just one part of an employee’sconfidence.Companiesmustalsohavetoolstogiveemployeesthepowerofself-direction,Sewardsaid.

“We feel that confidence is about helping employees find outwheretheyaregoing,”shesaid.“Anemployeestartsoutlikeaplane,theystartoffonastraightcourseandtheyimmediatelybeginaskingthemselves,whichwaydoIgo?”

Newemployeeshavetoalignthemselvesnotonlywithorganiza-tionalgoals,butalsowithorganizationalculture.Partofdevelopingtheculture isaskingandanswering team-relatedquestions:Whataretheteam’sgoals?Whatiseachemployee’srolewithintheteam?Whencanemployeestakerisks?Whatpowersorauthoritiesdoem-ployeeshave?Howdoemployeesknowwhethertheyaredoingthe

rightthing,whetherthey’rebeingsuccessfulintheirroles?“Employeesquicklybeginaskingthemselveswheretheyfitintothe

pictureintheorganizationandintheirimmediateteam,sotheyhavetoknowhowtheycontributeindividuallytotheteamitself,”Sewardsaid.“Self-directionmeansthatemployeescanpicturewhatitlooksliketobeasuccessattheendoftheday.Buildingtheconfidencestan-dardintheformofself-directionreallyhelpsemployeesflytowardtheskyandoveranymountainsandchallengestheyface,andit’suptoustocreateanenvironmentinwhichself-directionisfostered.”

Partofcreatingthatenvironmentisensuringthatemployeesarecomfortabletakingrisks,sharingideasanddiscussingproblems.Buttodothosethings,employeeshavetotrustthattheorganizationhasaccepted them,values them–not just thework theydo,but theideastheyhaveandtheskillstheycontribute.

“Peoplereallydojustwanttobetrustedinyourorganizationandinallofourorganizations,theywanttobeacceptedandtheyknowthatotherscareaboutwhattheythink.…It’sverynaturalforem-ployeestobeconcernedaboutwhatothersfeelaboutthem,”Mor-tonsaid.“Trustistheonethingthatchangeseverything.”

Trust, care and respect are closely intertwined. Employers andmanagers can build trust by showing care and respect – keepingcommitments,recognizingteammembercontributions,givingsin-cerepraise,askinghowsomeoneisdoing,creatingopportunitiesforfriendlyinteractions,sendingkindemailsorcardswhenemployeesexperiencepersonaltragediesorvictories.

“Trustisreciprocal,”Mortonsaid.“Toincorporatetrustinyoursuperhero,thinkaboutsimplethingsthatcanbedonetoshowyoucare.”

Thefinalaspectofinstillingemployeeswithconfidenceisongo-ingtraining,educationandsupport,Sewardsaid.Mostemployeeswant tobe able togrow intomore significant roles,developnewskillsandstrengthentheirunderstandingofjob-relatedissues–andthatcan’tbedonewithinaninitialtrainingperiod.

“Oncethetrainingperiodconcludes,weoftenconsiderthatem-ployeetraineduntilsomenewchangeinthelaworpolicyorproce-durecomesalong.Butnomatterhowwellwedesignourtraining,it’snotenoughtojustteachemployeesthepoliciesandproceduresoftheorganization.Trainingandsupportrequiresmorethanjustaclassoracoach,”Sewardsaid.

Thefirstthingtrainingrequiresisflexibility,oraninstitutional-izedprocessinwhichemployeescanmakemistakesandlearnfromthosemistakes.Theabilitytomakeamistakeisoftenthemostvalu-ablelearningtoolanemployeehas.

“If our employees are notmakingmistakes, then they are notlearningandtheyarenotgrowingintheirjobs,”Sewardsaid.“Helpemployeesfacechallengeshead-on.”

Trainingprogramsshouldalsotakeintoaccountthevariouswaysandspeedsatwhichdifferentemployeeslearnandprocessinforma-tion.Someindividualslearneasilythroughverbal,visualorwritteninstruction;othersrequiremoreactiveandhands-onapproaches.

“Wedon’tusuallyaccountforindividualdifferencesinthatlearn-ingprocess,”Sewardsaid.“AmbitiousAmber,shehasgonetotrain-ingandshehastakencoursesandmaybeevenpassedalittletestattheend,butshegoesbacktoworkandmaybeittakesafewweeksforthosequestionstostartcomingaboutandbythen,shemayhavejustforgotten.…WhenAmbitiousAmberisoverthereaskingforhelp,weneedawaytoassistherthroughthatlearningprocessthathappensaftertrainingends.”

Ambitious Amber.


Partofthatassistanceisassessinganemployee’strainingandde-velopmentneedsandgrowthareas.

“Weneedtobetimelyinreactingtoouremployees’needs.Weneedtofindouthowtheyarealreadyusingtheirswordsandtheirshields,”Seward said. “Knowingwhere theyare rightnow, today,helpsusfigureoutwheretheyneedtogointhefutureandwhattrainingandsupportweneedtoleadthemonthatpath.”

Measuring SuccessThesuper-heroconfidencestandardconceptisbasedonhowthe

TravisCountyTaxAssessor-Collector’sofficehandlesitsowntrain-ing,Sewardsaid,aswellasonpopularbooksandexpertadvicecol-lectedfromtheprocessofbrainstormingandcreatingthepresenta-tionitself.

“ThenicethingaboutmyjobasatraineristhatIlearnsomethingeverytimewedoapresentation,”Sewardsaid.“Webrainstormideasandtrytofigureoutwhatwewanttotalkaboutbutthenwehavetobackupthoseideaswithsomerealfacts,somethingsthatpeoplemaybedidn’tknowaboutthetopicandthatleadstothingswedidn’tknowandunexpectedthings.”

Sheadded that shebelieves theoffice’sown training is success-fulincreatingconfidentemployeesandqualitycustomerserviceinpartbecauseofthepositivefeedbackitgetsfromresidents.Supervi-sorsandmanagersthendisplaythesurveysandfeedbackonpublicboardsandofficedoors, literallyspreadingconfidencethroughouttheoffice.

“Thebestmeasureofour training is the feedbackweget fromcustomers,”Sewardsaid,addingthatthecountyreachesouttoresi-dentsandserviceusersviaseveralcheapandeasymethods,suchas

Contact us today to see what we can do for you!

1-800-779-7672

papersurveysthatcustomerscanfilloutintheoffice’slobby.“Wedon’thave themoney for fancy surveysandelectronic things likethatonourphonesystem,butonthebottomofeveryemailmes-sagewesendout,weprovidethenameoftheemployee’ssupervisor,andthatallowsthecustomertoprovidefeedback.Wealsoprovidean invitationonourphonemessage systemthat says ifyou’d liketogive feedback,pleaseasktospeaktoasupervisor.AndwealsohaveagreatratingonYelp,believeitornot,andIthinkthatwhenpeoplegohomeandthenreviewusonline,that’sareallygreatwaytoshowyou’remakinganimpressiononcustomers,andmostlyagoodimpression.”✯

Attendees of the V.G. Young Institute of County Government’s School for County and District Clerks show off their super hero creation.


Clerk gets praise from residents after redesigning county’s marriage certificate

ByMariaSprow

It’sperhaps themost significantpieceofpaper apersonwilleverown,andit’scertainlythemostromantic.It’sawrittendisplayoflifelongloveandcommitment,ofhopesanddreamsandresponsibility.Itlegalizesthetyingoftwolivestogetherin

sicknessandinhealth,ingoodtimesandbad,dayinanddayout,hopefullyuntiltheend.It’sthedocumentdeclaringtwopeopleashusbandandwife.

But in Harris County, for years, the marriage certificate wasuuuuggg-llllyyyy, just a regular old piece of paper that showed

noneofthesentimentandmeaningofitspurpose.Andeachmonth,2,000-3,000countyresidentsgothroughtheprocessofgettingone.

“Itlookedprettyplain.Imean,itworked,ithadall the legal requirements and things, and it’s notgoing to be the thing that stops somebody fromgettingmarried,butyouknow,”saidHarrisCountyClerk Stan Stanart, who was unimpressed. So hedecidedtositdownanddesignhisown,hopingtorolloutthenewcertificatebeforeValentine’sDay.

Stanart looked at other countymarriage certifi-catesforinspiration,butwantedtocreatesomethinguniquetoHarrisCounty,somethingwithalittlebitofflairthatwasstillinexpensivetoproduce.Thoughtheprocesstooklongerthanhethoughtitwould,asmostcreativeendeavorsdo,hewasabletocreateathoughtful and intricate certificate reflecting boththe romanticismof the1800s and the experiencesofthemoderncouplesigningthelicense,usingjustMicrosoftPublisher.

“Thefrontpictureisactuallyanoilpaintingthatthe previous county clerk had actually purchased,and ithangsdowninourpersonalrecordsdepart-

ment,wherepeoplecomeandget theirmarriage license,”Stanartsaid.“Andthentheotheronethat’sonthebackofthelicense,Igot

Paper Love

Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart used the image of an oil painting found in his office to help dress up his county’s marriage certificate. Photos courtesy of the Harris County Clerk’s Office.

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fromamarriagelicensethatwasusedinthe1860s.”Butthedocumentisn’tentirelyfromthe1800s:italsoincludesan

electronicbarcodesothatitcanbescannedintotheHarrisCountyClerk’sdocumentdatabaseandlinkedtothedataonrecord.

“Wetrytomakethingsaseasyaspossibleonustomakeusasefficientaspossible,”Stanartsaid,addingthattheblack-and-whitecertificateisprintedonparchmentpaperandincludesafancygoldsealalongwiththecountyseal.“The‘wow’factorcomesintoplay.”

Stanartretiredtheoldcertificate,whichhadbeeninuseforyears,but was disappointed that previously-married couples would bestuckwithit.Sothenhehadanidea:whynotcreateanheirloomcertificatethatreflectsthenewdesign?

Marriedcouplescanalreadygetaweddinganniversarycertificateform from theTexas Department of State Health Services’ VitalStatisticsOffice. It costs$60and is forcommemorativepurposesonly.Itdoesnotserveasalegalcertificateofmarriage,whichcanonlybeobtainedfromthecountyclerk’sofficeinwhichamarriagelicensewasfiled.

But the county did not have a heirloomdocument of its own, so Stanart did somehomework,askingtheVitalStatisticsOfficeifitwaspossibletodoso.Theysaiditwas.SoStanhartdesignedittoo.Theofficetitledthe new document a “certification of mar-riage” certificate, and it has the powers tocertifyanexistingmarriage.Itcostsjust$25,anditmadeaperfectValentine’sDaygiftforStanart’sownwife,Gail,whomStanarthasbeenmarriedtofornineyears.Hepresentedittoheratapressconferenceannouncingthenewmarriagecertificatedesignsandthenewanniversarygiftforcouples.

“She very much liked it,” Stanart said,adding that the new design has gotten anoverwhelmingly positive response from themedia and residents. “A friendofmine gotthis document for his anniversary and hecame back tome and said, ‘that thingwasgreat, it brought tears to her eyes.’ So it

passedthetears-to-your-eyestest.”OtherresidentsemailedStanartaboutthejobwelldone.“Inanagewherepaperdocumentsinthebusinessworldaretreat-

edasabothertobereplacedbydigitalmeans,itwassorefreshingtoreadThe (Houston) Chronicle’sarticle,”wroteone.“FromwhatIcouldseeintheChronicle,thethrowbackredesignisbeautifulandlendsafargreaterlookofdignityandimportancetothemarriagecertificate.”

Butthedocumentdoesn’tjustbenefitresidents.Ithasalsocreatedanadditional, thoughsmall, fundingstreamfor thecounty, sinceproceeds from thenewcertificationdocumentgo to the county’sgeneralfund.

“It’sjustoneofthosethingsthatIthinkisagoodbenefit.Peopleare alwayswanting to come back and get a copy of the scannedimageoftheirmarriagelicensetoprovethattheyaremarried,butthisnewdocumentcandothatverysamethinganditalsohasthatmuchnicerlookandfeel,”Stanartsaid. ✯

Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart presents a Certification of Marriage certificate to his wife of nine years during a press event in February.


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Years ago, County published a series of photographic stories celebrating courthouse architecture. Today, we continue a series celebrating the charm found within walking distance of our Texas county courthouses, along historical courthouse squares and within the surrounding county seats. For some added fun, we won’t say here where these photographs were taken; some will know and others will guess. But each picture is a clue, and the final answer is in the crossword puzzle on page 64.

UniqueThe

CharmsCountySeatof a Texas


CountySeat


livingthegood life


2012 TAC HEBP Healthy County Conference offers attendees information & motivation for 21st Century wellness

ByMariaSprow

Traditionally,wellnessandhealthcarehavebeenfocusedonimprovingtheunwell.Doctorstreatdisease,exerciseprogramstreatthosewhoneedtoexercisemore,nutri-tionprogramstreatthosethateatpoorly.Wellnessben-

efitshavefocusedonconditionmanagementandsmokingcessationandlosingweight–thecondition,thesmoking,theweight.

Butspeakersatthisyear’sHealthyCountyConferencehadadif-ferentmessage:wellnessisforeveryone,it’saboutwellness,andwell-ness attitudes andprogramsare changing—or soonwill change—toreflectthat.Everyonecanhaveahealthyweight,everyonecanmakegoodchoices,everyonecanfeelgoodaboutthemselvesiftheyhavetheknowledgeandwilltodoso.Genetics,upbringing,wealth(or lack there of )— the traditional reasons peoplemay give forlackingahealthylifestyle—arechallenges,buttheyshouldnotbeexcuses,andjustbecausesomeonehasgoodgenesorgoodhabitsoragoodtrainerdoesn’tmeantheycanslackoff.

Infact,everyonehasareasontomakewellnessalifepriority,saidLisaWargofchik, a health care strategy expert and senior consul-tantwithTowersWatson,anHRconsultingfirm.“IfIlookatmybackground,peoplealwayssay,‘oh,wellyouwerebornthin,soyouprobablydon’tevenneedtoexercise,youdon’tevenneedtoworryaboutit,’butIactuallyhaveadifferentspinonit.Idon’tworkouttolookgoodinmybathingsuit.IworkoutbecauseIhavehorriblefamilyhistory.Mymotherdiedattheageof60fromheartdisease,myfatherdiedattheageof62andIhadasisterthatpassedawayattheageof42,”WargofchiktoldHealthyCountyattendees.

FortunatelyforWargofchik,geneticsonlyaccountsfor20percentofaperson’soverallhealth.Environmentaccountsforanother20percentandaccesstocareaccountsfor10percent.Behaviordeter-minestheother50percentofaperson’soverallhealthandhealthcarecosts.“SowhenIlookatwhatmyfutureholds,IknowthatIhavetodosomethingtochangemybehavior,thatIhavetodosomethingtomakesurethatIeatrightandthatIexercise,”shesaid.“Wearenowseeingthedatathatgeneticsdoesn’tcontroleverything.Behaviorandwhatwedo,ourlifestyle,isreallywhatcanmakeadif-ferenceinthelongrun.Sothat’swhatmotivatesme.Iguessifyoulookedatmysituationyoucouldsayfearmotivatesme.Iwanttolivealong,healthylife.”

Creating a Healthy CountyTheTexasAssociationofCountiesHealthandEmployeeBenefits

Pool(TACHEBP)holdstheHealthyCountyConferenceeachyearforPoolmemberwellnesscoordinatorsandsponsorstodisseminateinformation,encourageparticipationinwellnessprogramsandgivetipsforimprovingemployeehealthhabits.

Thisyear’sconferencefocusedonhowtoimprovenotjustperson-alhealth,butorganizationalhealth–thehealthofanentirepopula-tion,beitanassociation,acountyoranation.

Healthy County speakers agreed that encouraging behaviorchangeisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofawellnessprogram.

Butthespeakerswantedtotalkaboutthebiggerpicture,too,andaskedattendees to thinkbig,aimhigh:What is thehighesthopeforhealthanorganizationcanhaveforitspopulation,whetherit’sabusiness,afamily,oranation,andhowcanthathopebeachieved?

Theanswertothefirstquestion,saidWargofchik,is“populationhealthnirvana”—asocietyororganizationorcountyinwhichpeo-pleexercise,don’tsmoke,eatnutritiously,haveabodymassindexunder25,gettheirpreventiveexamsandimmunizations,canaffordmedication,complywithdoctor’sorders,andvisitthemostefficientandeffectivetreatmentcentersfortheirconditions.

Theanswertothesecondquestionismorecomplicated.Peopledon’teasilychangetheirbehaviors,andwhentheydo,ittendstobeforashort-termperiod.

Wargofchikgaveseveraltipsandtricksforhowtoleademployeesinmakingpositivechoices,ormotivatingthemtowardactivation:havingawiderangeofincentives,givingthehealthiestoptionasthedefaultoption,creatingsweepstakesorraffles.Butthosemotivationtipscorrelatemostlytochoicesandactivation,nottofull-onchange.Tochangeaperson’sbehavior,it’simportanttolookatthemotiva-tions of thewhole person, the full-circle story of one’s life, sincechangeisalife-longprocess.

“It’snotjustthebody,it’snotjusttheeyes,theears,”Wargofchiksaid.“Iwantyoutoconsidermycareer,Iwantyoutoconsidermyfinances,myeducation.Soyoucan’t just tell somebody, ‘heyyougottaworkout,youneedtoexerciseandweofferthisprogramatyouknow8a.m.inthemorning’orwhatever.Somepeoplehavecareersthatdon’tallowforthat.”

The ability to interestmanydifferentpeople, regardless of life-style,motivating factors, educationorfinances, isoneof the rea-sonsHealthyCountychosetopilotanewwellnessprogram,calledSonicBoom.TheprogramwhichkickedoffMarch26withaspecial8-weekchallenge.

TheSonicBoomprogram is different thanotherwellness pro-gramsinthatitdoesalotofthenon-exerciseworkforparticipants.Itdoesn’trequireanymanualrecordkeepingordatainput.Instead,it uses a high-techwaterproof accelerometer (called a Sonic Ped)thatparticipantsplaceontheirshoes.Thedevicerecordsaperson’s

Dee Edington, the director of the Health Management Research Center at the University of Michigan, talks about the future of health and wellness during the TAC HEBP 2012 Healthy County Conference.


activity, so long as the SonicPed ismoving.To offload the data,participantssimplywalkbyareceiver,usuallyaboutonceaweek,placedsomewhereat their jobsite.The information is transferredtoaperson’spersonalSonicBoomwebsite,whichtheycanvisittoseetheirprogressandvisualizetheirsuccessovertime.Eachperson’spersonalwebsitewillalsoallowthemtocomparetheiractivitywiththeactivityoftheirorganizationasawhole.

“Thisisapedonsteroidsbecausenotonlydoesitregisterallofyour steps, soyourwalking,your running,but it also isgoing tomeasureyournon-impactactivitylikebiking,elliptical,swimming,”saidSonicBoomcofounderDannaKorn.“Youdon’thavetowriteanythingdown,youdon’thavetotrackit,youdon’thavetoremem-berandyoudon’thavetopluganythingin.”

Thegoalofthe8-weekchallengeistogetemployeestowalkei-ther 3,500 steps or do 42minutes of activity three days aweek.Participantswhomeetthatgoalwillberewardedwithincentivesandprizes.Countiesalsoreceiverewardsbasedonparticipation.

HealthyCounty ishopeful that thenewprogramwill improveuponthelacklusterparticipationresultsseeninotherprograms,es-peciallysincetheprogramisdynamic:it’scon-stantly improving, the same way cell phonesare improving. Soon, participants will be ableto snap their accelerometers to their hips andboots,allowingittorecordmoreactivities.Andthecompanyisworkingonasmartphoneappthatwillturnaperson’ssmartphoneintoare-ceiverthatcandownloaddatafromthedevice.“Yourpedwon’tchange,”Kornsaid,addingthatparticipantswillbenotifiedofimprovementsviaemail.

SonicBoom alsomotivates participation bycreating fun, quick challenges throughout theyear. The program can function much like avideogame,withparticipantsaccumulatingspe-cialSonicBoompointstoreachdifferentlevels.Pointscanbegivenfromoneplayertoanotherplayer,andwitheachlevelreached,participantsaregivenvirtualtrophies.SonicBoomalsohasawidevarietyofuniquecontestsandgamesto

choosefrom,orparticipantscancreatetheirowncontestsandin-vitecoworkerstoparticipate.Forinstance,attendeesattheHealthyCountyConferenceparticipatedinahulahoopcontestandinvis-iblejumproping.

“Weareaschildrenrunning,jumping,playing,doingcartwheelsthroughtheparking lot,andat somepointwebecomesedentaryandwesay‘oh,no,Iamgoingtositmyhineyonthesidelinesandtextmyfriendswhilemykidisoutgettingalltheexercise,’right?WellweatSonicBoomsayno,youdon’tneedtobecomesedentary,”Kornsaid.“Wearegivingyoupermissiontohave funandyou’regoing to get healthy at the same time.You can play gameswithyourself,youcanplaygameswithotherpeople.”

Theprogramalsooffersliveleaderboardsandtheopportunitytocompeteviateams.“Theyaremovingaroundalldaylong,soifyougooutforawalkatlunchandyoucomeback,yourrankingmayhaveimprovedbyafewplaces,”Kornsaid.

Focus on SustainabilityNirvanamayneverhappen.Butitdoesn’thavetohappen,atleast

notimmediately.Therearemoreimmediateproblemsandgoalstoaddress:therisingcostsofhealthcare,theobesityepidemic.Whenthingskeepgettingworse,whenhealthcarecostsandobesitykeeprising, the immediategoal isnot improvement,butmaintenance;it’san improvementtomaintain, saidDeeEdington, thedirectorof theHealthManagementResearchCenter at theUniversity ofMichigan,whospokeattheHealthyCountyConferenceabouthowcounties can realize thepromiseof ahealthandhighperformingworkforce.

Edingtonspendsmostofhisdaysstudyingtherelationshipbe-tweenlifestyles,vitalityandqualityoflife,aswellashowworksiteactivitieswithinmanagedcareorganizationsimpacthealthcarecostcontainment.Heistheauthorofseveralhealth-focusedbooks,in-cludingThe Biology of Physical Activity, Biological Awareness Frontiers of Exercise Biology andThe One-Minute Manager.Butallthosepub-lications,hesaid,areanoldstory.

“Thestrategyinthe20thCenturywastojustwaitforadisease.Waitforadiseaseandthentreatit.That’swhatwedid.Wewaitedforpeopletogetsick,badthingshappenedtogoodpeople,andthen

Attendees of TAC’s Healthy County Conference workout in boot camp prior to the second day’s start.


Several years ago, Tracey Yukich was a wife and mother of four chil-dren. She spent her days running around from one after-school prac-tice to another, transporting her kids and the neighbor kids where they needed to go, cooking dinner for six, going to church, buying groceries and snacks, attending Parent Teacher Association meetings, juggling her responsibilities to those around her.

But she wasn’t taking responsibility for herself. Despite loving her family, she’d stopped loving herself – she didn’t even like herself. She wasn’t caring for herself, and the more she didn’t care for herself, the more it showed: at just 5’2,” her weight climbed to 268 pounds, and her unhappiness with herself built to the point where she hated herself.

It all climaxed one Friday night in 2009, when Yukich found herself hiding from her family in the bathroom.

“I had already made dinner, and I was a grazer. You know. I’d already ate dinner before we’d actually sat down, because I’d taste everything,” Yukich said, adding that she’d gone to the bathroom afterward to eat even more. “I was a closet eater and I ate in hiding.”

So dinner is over and she’s in the bathroom, just her and a secret box of cookies. The door is locked but then there’s a knock.

“Mommy, what are you doing?” There’s commotion coming from the outside world; the kids are run-

ning around, skate boarding on the wood floors. The question hits Yukich hard. She’s eating cookies in the bathroom

with the door locked, that’s what she’s doing. And now she’s looking at herself in the mirror, thinking about that outside world that she’s not a part of because she’s in this bathroom with these cookies, and how much she hates herself for being here, but how she’s here anyway. And then she starts crying.

“I’m looking at myself and I’m going, ‘I really hate you. This is how bad I hate you. Because you are in the bathroom by yourself, your kids are out there, I really just hate you and I want something different,’” she said, recalling the memory recently while speaking at TAC’s Healthy County Conference, an annual event in which county wellness coordi-nators gather to discuss ways to improve employee health. “And then I remembered that during one of those smut TV shows when I was sitting

down doing nothing during the day, watching television, folding clothes, taking care of babies, and I remembered Allison Sweeney popping her cute little self up there going ‘Do you want to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser?’”

Today, Yukich has transformed herself into a wife and mother of four and motivational speaker who talks about the importance of health and wellness, of loving oneself enough to care for oneself.

But it wasn’t easy. Just to get on The Biggest Loser, Yukich had to drive to Dallas and stand outside in the rain for 14 hours while the show auditioned potential contestants. She made the cut and left her family to go to the ranch and have her life transformed.

Her start on The Biggest Loser was one of the most dramatic of the show’s history. In the first season’s first challenge, contestants had to run one mile across the beach in which Season 7 finalists all finished a 26.2-mile marathon. Yukich started off at a run, leading the way while others jogged and walked. But she was so out of shape that she over-exerted herself, falling to her knees about 100 yards from the finish line. She tried to crawl across the beach, and was eventually led across the finish line while holding on to the shoulders of her competitors. She collapsed then, becoming unresponsive to the show’s medical staff.

“I died that day,” Yukich said, recalling the experience. “And then I came back.”

But it took a while before she got to go to the Biggest Loser Ranch. She spent the next 16 days in the hospital, where doctors told her she had suffered from heat stroke and that she plaque on her heart.

“It was a wake-up call,” Yukich said, adding that the one-mile run led her body to experience rhabdomyolysis, or the rapid destruction of skeletal muscle, such as the type that might be caused by a prolonged coma, physical torture or hypothermia. “The rhabdomyolysis, what it is, is my body released toxic amounts of lactic acid and it shut my kidneys down, it shut my heart down, and that’s why I was on the heart patient floor.”

Yukich was eventually voted off the show, but by the time of the finale, she had lost 120 pounds. ✯

From closet cookies to motivational speaker

Tracey Yukich's

journey to

wellness


wetreatedthem,”Edingtonsaid.“Inwellness,youwaitedforpeopletogetoverweight,aBMI30orwhatever,wewaitedforthemtostopexercising,youwaitedforthemtostartdrinkingtoomuch.…Youwaitfordefectsandthenyoutreatdefects.”

Butthatstrategyfailed,Edingtonsaid.Itdidn’tdecreasetheratesofdiabetes,heartdiseaseorobesity,becausefixingadefectisn’tthesameasfixingthefundamentalproblem.“Goingthroughthe21stcentury,wehavetochangeourstrategies,”hesaid.“Canyoueversolveaproblemjustbywaitingforit?No.”

Now,he’smorefocusedonthenextstory:thefuture.“Mygoalistothrowawaybestpractices.…Becausebestpractic-

es,you’rejustlookingintherear-visionmirror,seeingwhatpeoplehavebeendoingforfive,10years,”hesaid.“Therealvisionaries,therealblackbelts,aregoingtomovetowardthenextpractices.”

Edingtonbelievesheknowswhatthenextpracticeswillbe,andhepublishedthemanewbooktitledZero Trends.ItdetailsEding-ton’shopeandvisionthatwellnessprogramswillsoonchangetheirpriorityfromimprovementtosustainability,andthatdoctorsandinsuranceproviderswillchangetheirbusinessmodelsfromfocusingontheunwelltofocusingonthewell.

That’spossibletodo,hesaid,becausethemajorityofpeoplerightnow,atthismoment,areactuallyhealthy.Whendividedintogroupsoflowrisk,mediumriskandhighrisk,64percentofpeoplearelowrisk.Theymaybecomelesshealthyinthefuture,butthegoalistostopthatfromhappening,tokeeplow-riskpeoplelowrisk.

The problem right now is that there isn’tmuch incentive to being a low-risk, healthyindividual,otherthanthehealthitself.

“Icall thoseourchampionsofAmerica inhealthcare, theones thatare lowrisk today,theystay lowriskover time,”Edingtonsaid.“What does America do for those people?Nothing. … We give all the reward to thehigh-riskpeoplelikethesmokers.Wetalktothem,weprayforthem,wedoallthethingswecandoforthemandthentheydon’tstopsmoking, and yet all these other people areheredoingtherightbehaviors.It’slikewhenadisruptivekidinschoolgetsalmostalloftheattention.”

Edingtonbelievesthebestwaytogetmorepeopletostayormovetothelow-riskcategoryistorewardthosethatareinit,ratherthanrewardingthoseinthemediumandhigh-riskcat-egories.Inotherwords,it’sbettertokeepyourgoodcustomerthangofindanewone.

“Ifyouwanttomovepeopletolowrisk,yourbestplacetostartiswiththelowriskpeople,tohelpthemstaythere,”hesaid,addingthatprogramcoordinatorshavetoaskthem-selvesaquestion:isthebehaviororactionthat’srewardedtheactionthatissustained?

Smokersandnon-exercisersshouldbeconsideredbadcus-tomers,headded,sayinghebelievesit’sbettertogive$100tonon-smokersthanitistogive$100toasmokerwhoquitssmoking.“Letthesmokerfigureitout.”

“Americaisfinallywakinguptohowyoucanmakemoneywithhealthyandlow-riskpeople,”headded.“Italktocom-paniesabouteconomicsnow,notabouthealth.Ofcourseit’sabouthealth,butyoudon’tleadwiththat.”

Themosteconomicallysuccessfulcompanies,hesaid,willbecompaniesthathavethehealthiestemployees,becausehealthissocloselyconnectedtomoraleandproductivity.Butthechallengetoahealthyworkforceisn’tindividualbehaviorchange.It’spopula-tionbehaviorchange,andnotjustwithinacompany,butwithinthecompany’ssurroundings.That’sbecauseemployeebehavioristiedtotheirfamilies,theirfriendsandtheircommunities.

Havingahealthysocietyisnotjustabouthavinghealthyindivid-uals,butahealthyvision,ahealthyculture,ahealthystandard.Thewellnessstrategymovingforward,hesaid,shouldnotfocusonnar-rowgoalssuchascholesterolandbodymassindex,butondefininghealthasbeingenergized,motivated,prospering,flexible,creative,optimisticandresilient.

“You’vegottogetthehigh-levelvision,”hesaid.“That’sthevisionIseeforAmerica,that’sthevisionIseeforTexas,that’sthevisionIseeforyourcounties.”

Edingtonstartedoffhisresearchin1977.Hisfocuswasoncon-necting employeehealth toperformance andprofit andon tyinghealthriskfactorstoemployercosts.About200publicationslater,hestoppedfocusingonhealthrisksandstartedfocusingonhealth.His work now focuses on the theory that people who don’t getworse,getbetter.

Countiesplayanimportantroleinensuringthatthepopulation–whethertalkingaboutthecountyworkforceorcountyresidents–livesahealthylifestylethatdoesn’tdegenerate.Countiesbuildparks,

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Glasscock County Treasurer Alan Dierschke, Burnet County Chief Deputy Treasurer DeAnn Fisher, Walker County Deputy Treasurer Erica Wood, TAC Wellness Coordinator Carrye Chen, Sonic Boom Co-founder Danna Korn and Hood County Commissioner Steve Berry play with hula hoops to get active during TAC’s Healthy County Conference.


providehealth care services,have large and influentialworkforces,promotecommunityactivitiesandmore.

Soanycounty,especiallythosecountiesworkingtogetherinTACHEBP, can becomewhat Edington calls a “champion company.”Championcompaniesaredefinedbyfourcharacteristics,headded:Theyarestrategic.Theyaresystematic.Theyaresystemic.Andtheyaresustainable.

Strategically,championcompaniesaskthemselveswhatbusinessproblemtheyaresolving.Systematically,companieshavetocreateplansthathavemultiplelayersandcomponentsthatcanbuildoneachother,whereonethingleadstoanother.Systemicmeansthattheprogramhas to take intoconsiderationnot just the individu-alsintheorganiza-tion, but the sys-tems surroundingeachperson–theirsphereofinfluenceand influences.“You have to getinto the culture,into the environ-ment,” Edingtonsaid. And sustain-ability means theprogram must beable to continueforthelong-term.

Sustainability issomethingSonicBoomencapsulatessinceit’sayear-roundprogramthatneverstops,solongasmemberscontinueafterthe8-weekchal-lengeisfinished.

“Ourgoalisthatwewanttohelpyouthinkanddowellnessandimproveyourdailyhealthhabitseveryday,”Kornsaid,addingthattheprogramregularlysendsoutchallengesofthedayandhelpfulnutritional information that ismore obscure and high-level thanisgenerallyseenontheInternet,suchasthenutritionalbenefitsofquinoaplants.“Wewanttoopenyoureyestosomeofthethingsthat youmaynothave everheardof,” she added. “Quinoa is 17percentprotein.It’sacompleteproteinfromaplantsource,soit’sgreatforavegetariandiet,it’sreallygoodstuff,loadedwithvitamins,irons,minerals,fiber,allthegoodstuff,andittastesgoodtoo.”

EvenWeightLossWarriors,partoftheSonicBoomprogram,isn’taboutweight loss, butweightmaintenance,Korn said. “Nobody,forthemostpart,inmostoftheplanetshouldgainanotherpoundaslongaswelive,andthat’skindofanoddthought,right?Itjustmeansweatleasthavetomaintain,”shesaid,addingthat,sinceitcangetharder forapersontomaintainhisorherweightas theyage,apersonmayhavetomakesmallchangestotheir lifestyleastheygetolder.Thesmallchangeswilladdupovertime,resultinginmaintenance.“It’sallaboutthelittletinychangesthatyoumakeinyourlife,”shesaid.“Youdon’tneedtorestrictyourself,youjustneedtomakeeducatedchoicesandmakeasmanygoodonesasyoucan.”

Butcreatingasystemicprogramistherealchallenge,Edingtonsaid,addingthatthebiggestbarriertochangingbehaviorischang-ingculture.

“Youdon’tthinkofmeasasystem,howIinteractwithmyfam-ily, how I interactwithmywork group, how I interactwithmycompany,howIinteractwithmycommunity.ButIamasystem,”Edingtonsaid.

“Thesmokersusuallyhangtogetherandtheninsmokingcessa-tion,youpickoneoutandthenyougooverandtrytochangetheirbehavior.Youtakethemawayfromthemostimportantpartoftheirlife,themostsignificantinfluentialpersonsintheir life,andthentheystopsmoking,whatdotheydonow?Theycan’tgobacktothesamebars,theycan’tgobacktothesamefriends,theycan’tgobacktothesameneighborhoods.That’sscary,”headded.“Ifyou’regoingtogetintosmokingcessationandotherthings,startwiththemostimportantpartoftheirlife,istheirsocialnetwork.Howdoyouuti-lizesocialnetworkstoimpactpopulationbehaviorchange?Idon’tknowtheanswertothat.”

Butit’snotimpossibletochangeaculture.It’sbeendonebefore,Edingtonsaid,withworkplacesafety.Onceuponatime,employeesweren’tassafetyconsciousastheyarenow;inthe1920s,workplaceconditions often involved slippery floors and toxic fumes.Today,therearelawsprotectingemployeesandinstitutionalizedstandardsfor employee safety; employees are expected to act in away thatensurestheirsafety.Thesameisn’ttrueofhealth,yet.

“It’snotokaytocomehereandnotbesafe.It’snotokaytocometoworkandnotdohigh-qualitywork.Mygoalistogetusuptothelevelwhereitisnotokaytocomehereandnotbeahealthywell-being,”Edingtonsaid.“It’savision,it’satransformation.”

Togetthere,Edingtonsaidseveralthingshavetohappen.First,communityandcorporateleadershavetoleadthewayand

have to create supportive environments for the transformation tooccur.Theyhave to create a vision, determine a purpose and setvalues that are transparentand significant to their employees andcommunity.

Second, theyhave to createhealth-orientedpolicies andproce-duresandgetsupervisorsandmanagerstobuyintothosechanges.Thechangesneedtopenetrateintotheculturetocreateself-leaderswhoareengaged.

ABOVE: Edwards County Treasurer Lupe Sifuentes-Enriquez and Menard County Treasurer Robert Bean watch fellow attendees as they throw a beach ball around during TAC’s Healthy County Conference. LEFT: Henderson County Mental Health Coordinator Amie Freeman, Bandera County HR Director Sharon Dowda, Shelby County Legal Secretary Debbra Johnson, Ellis County Human Services Director Diana Buckley, TAC HEBP Operations Supervisor Rob Ressmann, Cochran County Treasurer Doris Sealy and Marion County Treasurer Terrie Neuville play a game of invisible jump rope to kick-start the Sonic Boom wellness challenge.


“Youcanpaymoneyforparticipation,butyoudon’thaveenoughmoneytogetengagement,”Edingtonsaid.“Nobodypaysyoutobesafeintheorganization,nobodypaysyoutodoqualityworkintheorganization.”

Third, leadersandprogramsneed tocreatewinners,not losers.Leadershavetorecognizepositiveactionswithrewards,andpartici-pantscan’tfeelliketheycanfail.Focusingonsmallvictories,suchasweightmaintenance,createsresiliencyinsteadofdefeat.

“Howdoyouhelppeoplebelievethattheycandoit?Youdon’tgetthemtobelieveitbysayingtheyhavetowalk10,000steps.Theymaydoitforoneday,Idoubtit,”Edingtonsaid.

Fourth,programsmustbeevaluatedandmeasuredaccordingtodata,sothatleaderscanensuretheprogramisprogressingtowardthevisionandisinfiltratingtheculture.Feedbackfromemployee-levelwellnesschampions is criticalhere,Edingtonadded,and it’simportantthatwellnesschampionsbroadentheirrolesfromservingasarolemodeltobeingavoiceforthemasses.“Theirjobistolearnwhatisgoingoninthebottom,whatisgoingondownhereintheemployeegroupandthenfeeditbackup.That’sthemostimportantthingtheydo,”Edingtonsaid.

“We’vegottorecreateourselves,”headded.“It’sabiggerdealthananyofyouasanindividual.”

Personal WellnessOfcourse,organizationsandwellnessprogramscanonlymoti-

vatepeoplesomuch.Inreality,thebestmotivatorsomeonehasisoneself,andthebenefitssomeonecangetfromcaringforoneself:notjustreducedwaistlinesandmoremuscletone,butfewerhead-achesandmigraines,lessanxietyandstressandincreasedfertility.

“Lotsofpeoplewhoarerunningtothedoctorforanti-depressantsdonotneed them, they need to alter theirlifestyle,”Kornsaid.“It’simportanttorealizethatwhenyougetyourlifestyleinorder,everythingimproves.”

Focusing on individual responsibil-ity is important becausemost peopledon’t want to give up control or re-sponsibility for their health to some-oneelse,Kornadded.

“Idon’twantmyemployertobeinchargeofmyhealth,Idon’twantmydoctortobeinchargeofmyhealth,Iwanttobeinchargeofmyhealth,”shesaid, adding thatother countries that

have chosen to emphasize employer responsibilityhavedonesoinwaysthatAmericanscan’tgenerallyimagine.Japan,forinstance,createdalawaroundthepracticeofMetabo,inwhichemployees’waistlinesaremeasuredandcompaniesarefinedforemployeeswhohaveabove-stan-dardmeasurements.To avoid thefine,menmusthavewaistlines smaller than 33.5 inches and women mustcomeinunder35.4inches;themeasurementswerecho-senbecausetheyarerecommendedbytheInternationalDiabetesFederationasindicatorofhealthrisks.

Buttherearesomechallengeswithacceptingpersonalresponsibilityandmotivatingoneselftowardwellness.Apersonhastoknowthemselves:what’smostimportanttothem,whatscaresthem,whattheirchallengesare,whattheirassetsare.

TraceyYukich,aformercontestantonTheBiggestLoser,spoketoconferenceattendeesabouthowself-loathingandherfourkidshelpedmotivatehertolose120pounds.Foralongtime,shesaid,sheatetoomuchbecauseshedidn’tlikeherselfenoughtotakecareofherself.Butshamefinallyturnedtomotivationwhenshereal-izedshewasmissingoutonenjoyingherfamilyandwasn’tteachingthemtomakegooddecisionswhenitcametotheirhealth.

Soshestartedmakingsmallchangesforherfamily.Sheswappedhigh-sodiumseasoningforsodium-freeseasoning.Shestartedbuy-ingwheatbread.Shestoppedbuying juiceboxesandencouragedherkidstodrinkwater.Shestoppedencouragingthemtoeattheirfulldinner.Sheboughtvegetablesinsteadofchipsforsnacks.

Atfirst,herkidsweren’thappy.Theywantedtoknowwherethecookieswent, theywanted their juice and theirwhitebread.ButYukichstucktohergunsandforcedherselftobetherolemodelshewantedtobe.

“Thisiswhatyousaytothem:‘becauseIwantyouguystostartmakingbetter choices,’ and theyaregoing to lookat you, ‘huh?’Andyou’regoingtobelike,‘becauseIloveyouandIdon’twantyoutobeoverweightlikeme,’”Yukichsaid,addingthatwhenthekidsfirstrefusedtoeattheirvegetables,shedidn’tforcethemtochange.“Isaid,‘okay,don’teatit.ButI’mgoingtoeatit.Ican’twait.’”

Now,herkidsaremakinghealthierchoices.TheyareeatingthehealthymealsYukichcooksandfollowingherexample.

“Ifyoustartmakingsmallchanges,bigresultswillfollow,”Yukichsaid.“Youarenotonlydoingsomethinggreatforyourself,butforyourfamily.Andeveryoneinyourlifethatchoosestobetherethat’sstillaroundwillseethatresultandyouwillbeabetterpersonand

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Walker County Deputy Treasurer Erica Wood, Grayson County HR Assistant Rhonda McCollum and Henderson County HR Director Brenda Houston exercise during the Healthy COunty Boot Camp.


happierbecauseofit.”People alsohave tobelieve in themselves.Toomany

peoplemaybelievethattheirhealthissomehowpredeter-minedoroutoftheircontrol–thattheywillinevitablyfollowintheirparent’sfootsteps.

Butintruth,everyonecanbehealthyorhealthierjustbyeatingrightandwalkingeveryday.

“Thereishopeforallofusbecauseweallcontrolwhatgoes in ourmouth and howmany stepswe take eachday,”Wargofchiksaid.

Butsaysomeonehastriedtomotivatehimselforher-selftoexercise,anditdidn’twork.They’vetriedgoingtothegym,andjustdidn’tlikeit.Theytookaclassandwereuncomfortable.

Inorderforexercisetobesustainable,ithastobeen-joyable,anddifferentpeopleenjoydoingdifferenttypesofthings.Ifapersonhasbeenleadingamostlyactivity-lesslifeforawhile,orhasbeentoobusygoingthroughallthenecessaryday-to-dayroutinesoflife,theymayjustnotknowwhatitistheylikedoing.

Sinceitcangetdiscouragingtotrydifferentworkoutsonlytofail,healthexpertshavecomeupwithaformulaandaquicktesttohelpindividualschooseexercisestheyaremostlikelytoenjoy,basedontheirinterests,theirsocialtendenciesandtheirlifestyles.

“Yourpersonalitytraitsreallyhaveanimpactonthekindofexer-ciseyouwanttodoandyourwillingnesstogetinvolved,andwhatwedoiswewanttomatchactivitiestodifferentpersonalitytypes,”Wargofchiksaid.

AccordingtothebookThe 8 Colors of Fitness bySuzanneBrue,theformularesultsineightdifferentfitnesspersonalitytypesthatcorre-latetohowmuchapersonwillenjoyaparticularworkout.Apersoncantakeaquickassessmentonlineatwww.the8colorsoffitness.comtofindoutwhichcolor they fallunder.Questions include thingslikewhetherapersonlearnsbestthroughunderstandingpatternsorviadirectexperience,whethertheyenjoymakingplansoraremorespontaneous,andwhethertheylikesurprises.

The assessment thendivides test-takers into color-codedfitnesscategories.

Bluepeople,forinstance,aregoal-driven.“Theygravitatetowardtraditionalexercisebasedonprovenmethods,testedandtrusted,”states the8Colorswebsite. “Itdoesn’tmake sense to spend timeexperimentingonnewroutineswhentheyalreadyknowtechniquesandapproachesthathaveworkedinthepast.”Bluepeoplealsolikekeepingtrackoftheirworkoutsandmeasuringsuccessviatime,dis-tance,sets,repsandresults.Thebestworkoutforabluepersonalitytypemightbegoingtothegymalone,listeningtomusicorbooksontype,doingcardioactivities.Itmayalsohelpthemtochant,sing,orrecitepersonalmantrastothemselvesduringaworkout.

Goldpeople,ontheotherhand,aremotivatedmorebyhavingabalancedlife.“Goldsfindsuccessbyschedulingexerciseintotheirlives,”thewebsitestates.Theywantpredictableenvironmentsandstep-by-steproutines.“Goldsenjoymixingabitofsocialinteractionintotheirexerciseroutineandwantanupbeatenvironment.”

Or, apersonmightbe red: casual and spontaneous, they crave“stimulationandadventure fromthephysicalworld.”Redpeople“love games, sports, contests and competitions.With their quickreflexesandin-the-momentattention,Redsaredrawntofast-pacedactivities that involve speedand thrills,” states thewebsite,which

recommends tennis, basketball ormountain biking. “Solitary, in-door,routineexercisealoneistooconfiningforReds.”

Greensarealsomotivatedbythephysicalworld,buttheyarelesssocialandmoreintrospective.“Minimalistsatheart,theirdemeanoris understated, quiet andunobtrusive,” thewebsite states, addingthatgreenswon’twant togo to thegymand thatbeing inside isstressfulforthem.“Natureistheirnature.…Incorporatingaregi-mentedtrainingprogramintotheirlivesisunlikelytohappenwith-out a specificpurpose– suchas getting in shape to fully enjoy afavoriteoutdooractivity,orachievingaprizedgoal,likebeingpartofaclimbingorbackpackingexpedition.”

Silverpeopleareinterestedineverything,but“withsomanyin-terests,exerciseforitsownsakecanbeboring.It’sbestwhentakenoutofthecontextofexerciseandwrappedintheguiseofsomethingelse, such as a challenge, adventure and exploration, or spendingtimewithpeople,”thesitestates,addingthatSilversmightliketotry ballroom dancing, yoga or bikingwith friends. “Silvers don’twanttospendtoomuchtimeintransition.Theirschedulesaretightandtimeisvaluable.Convenience,afterall,relatestoflow–movingfromoneactivitytoanotherwithlittleeffort–muchthewaySilversconnectwithideas.”

Saffronsarethosewhoarerelaxedontheoutsidebutintenseontheinside.Theylikeflexibilitybutwillapplythemselvestoachal-lengewith theoutmostdedication. “They love creatinga rhythmandkeepingitgoing,”statesthewebsite,addingthatSaffronspreferbeingoutdoorsandhavingamind-body-soulcomponenttotheirexercise. “BecauseSaffrons rarely consider themselves aspartof agroup,theydealbetterwithafewlike-mindedpeople,ratherthanorganized gathering. For the same reason, Saffrons often chooseunusualsportsactivities,e.g.,ultimateFrisbee,Taikodrummingorbouldering.”

Thelasttwopersonalitytypesarewhitesandpurples.Whitetypesdoalotofresearchandlookfor“orderlyenvironmentsforexercise,whichprovidethenecessarycalmforthemtorelaxandreceivethementalbenefitsofexerciseaswellasthephysical,”whereaspurples“areoccupiedwithaconstantquestforincreasedcompetencyandself-improvement”andmaybenefitfromafitnessclasswithothers,thesitestates.

“Themessagehereisthatwearereallyverydifferentpeople,wearenotallthesame,andsowhenwesayexercise,itmeanslotsofdif-ferentthingstolotsofdifferentpeople,”Wargofchiksaid.“There’sunlimitedwayswecangetpeoplemovingintherightdirection.”✯

Palo Pinto Commissioners Court Assistant Iris Stagner, Polk County HR Supervisor Adrena Gilbert, Polk County HR Receptionist Zuni Baskin (front in circle) and other Healthy County wellness coordinators and supervisors cheer their fellow conference attendees on as the others participate in an invisible jump rope competition.


The 2012 Healthy County Conference was full of tips and wisdom for anyone wanting to live a healthier lifestyle, feel better about one’s self, or help motivate loved ones to do the same.

Some of the wisdom is fact-based nutritional information, some of it is experience-based inspirational information, and some of it is advice on creating healthy habits, and odds are, pretty much anyone can benefit from at least one bit of it.

1. Keep it small.Small changes really do add up, experts say, and they are easier

to maintain, experts said.“If you eat 100 calories fewer every day or you burn 100 calo-

ries more, you’re going to lose 10 pounds in a year,” said Danna Korn, who cofounded the Sonic Boom corporate wellness program. “Do you have any idea how easy that is to do? Leave the cheese off your sandwich and you’ve lost 100 calories at least. People think nothing about taking the little creamer and dumping it into your coffee, those creamers have 30, 35 calories in them and that doesn’t sound like a lot, but you have three cups of coffee and

you’ve just added 100 calories to your day. So it’s really easy to make these little tiny changes.”

2. Stop making excuses. Not just about why it’s not a good idea

to exercise tonight or why it’s okay to buy some Ben and Jerry’s, but for everything in general. It’s going to take practice. Excuse-making is a bad habit, something a person falls into over time that becomes a person’s

go-to crutch. “I stopped making excuses. And you kind of

have to eliminate it from your life,” said Tracey Yu-kich, a contest on NBC’s The Biggest Loser who is now

a motivational speaker. “I tried to do it with my teenager and it is so hard. She’s like, ‘I just don’t feel good and I just don’t want to do this and I have this,’ and I’m like, you are just full of excuses, just remove them from your life, don’t even speak it, just stop saying it, just stop it, because if you keep going, it becomes a pattern and you will always do that.”

That doesn’t mean not saying ‘no’ to something or not changing plans, Yukich added. It just means owning one’s choices.

“If you want to do something, you’re going to find a way, right, absolutely, you’re going to find a way. If you don’t want to go to that family reunion on Sunday, you are not going. You’re going to figure out a way not to go. Should you go? Yes, it’d be the right thing to do, but if you don’t want to do something, you’re not going to do it.”

3. Write it down. If a person really wants to make a lifestyle change – whether it’s los-

ing weight, changing priorities, eating healthier – one of the best things to do is set it in stone. The same is true of commitments – someone who writes down their commitment is more likely to follow through than someone who doesn’t, said health care strategy expert Lisa Wargofchik.

“There’s a test that’s been done around flu shots with college stu-dents, with those that wrote down ‘yes I will get my flu shot,’ folded up the piece of paper and gave it to somebody, versus those that say, ‘yeah I’ll be there, I’ll get my flu shot,’ and didn’t bother to write down the commitment,” Wargofchik said, adding that those who wrote the commitment down followed through at a higher rate than those who didn’t write it down. “When they write it down, the commitment sticks.”

4. Talk about it, visualize it, blog about it, take pictures, record progress.

Once a person has achieved their goal, the work doesn’t stop. There’s always the risk or concern of falling off the path or reverting back to older ways. A good way to keep moving forward is to create reminders to keep from forgetting why the goal existed in the first place.

Yukich, for instance, keeps pictures of herself from the first Biggest Loser episodes, back when she still weighed 250 pounds.

“When you want something that’s so important to you and losing weight was very important to me, you look at those pictures because they are a reminder of what you don’t want to go back to,” Yukich said. “They are also a reminder of a lot of pain and a lot of hurt and how I thought about myself and about the changes that I wanted to make going forward.”

10 Lifestyle Tips from Healthy County Wellness Experts


5. Praise & help yourself; don’t wait for others.

Oftentimes, people want-ing to reach a goal will look for help and praise from their friends, colleagues and loved

ones. But that’s not always feasible or sustainable. Friends

work out together, praise each other’s weight loss, sign up for a

class together, but eventually, everyone follows their own goals according to their

own determination. “Our husbands, we want their praise, ‘you look good, you did good,

honey, keep going,’ we’re looking at our girlfriends, ‘oh my god, that exercise, you look so good,’ our kids, our parents, we are constantly, as a society and as human beings we look for that feedback from other people,” Yukich said. “But you’ve got to stop waiting on everybody else to be your cheerleader. You know why? Because you don’t need it. Why? Because you are your own cheerleader. Because you want it for yourself.”

6. Shop the outside of the grocery store.

Many grocery stores are laid out in such a way that fruits, vegetables and fresh meat are off to the outside, whereas processed food, junk food and soda are found in isles. So skipping those isles can save a person from buying those foods, and keep money available for the apples and asparagus.

“I have so many people come to me and they say, ‘I’ll tell you what, I cannot eat healthy like you do because I cannot afford it,’” Yukich said. “Let me tell you something. I spend less money buying real food than I ever did buying all the crap before.”

7. Eat according to the label.

A lot of people may take the time to read a food label, but they don’t take the time to actually eat according to the food label.

“The Trisket box, it says, ‘Servings: 12 crackers.’ That’s 150 calories for 12. There are 10 servings in a box. You don’t eat the whole box,” Yukich said. “You literally have to take them out, count them, put them in little baggies and throw the box away.”

8. Don’t hide veggies in the drawer.“You have the veggie drawer that you pull out and you’ve got

all your veggies in there and you’re so proud. And you shove them in your drawer and you shut it. Yes,” Yukich said. “And guess what, trash day is Thursday and you’re like, crap those zucchinis are bad and I didn’t even cook them, and then your husband is like ‘I can-not believe you bought all of that stuff and then you wasted all that money,’ and then you’re just throwing it away.”

Don’t blame the zucchinis. The problem is the drawer. Don’t put them in the drawer.

Instead, take the vegetables out of the grocery bags and chop them up immediately after getting home, making them easier to eat as snacks and to prepare in meals later. And then put them in containers at the front of the fridge, where it’s most convenient to see them and grab them.

“Take that zucchini, take that yellow squash, wash them, cut them up, put them in each individual container. I take the grapes, I take them completely off the stems, I put them in containers, I put them in the refrigerator,” Yukich said. “It takes some work, but I have four kids, I have many unique excuses as to why I can’t do this, but it works for me and my refrigerator is stocked, my refrig-erator looks good. …. Everything is ready, it’s done.”

9. Drink more water.Often times, people may mistake thirst for hunger. So that anxious, grumpy, tired feeling may be subsided just by

drinking a glass of water.“Most people are chronically dehydrated,” Korn

said, adding that many people are ill-informed about how much water they should be drinking a day. Most people were taught to drink eight ounces eight times a day, but it actually flunctuates according to body weight; a person should drink half their body weight

in ounces each day. So someone weighing 150 pounds needs to drink 75 ounces of water a day – or eight ounc-es 10 times a day. That’s for average conditions.

10. Special order items when going out to eat.

Yukich doesn’t go out to eat much, but when she does, she always tells the waitstaff exactly what she wants. “I re-ally make a good relationship with my waitress,” Yukich said, adding that she’ll make small talk and help the waitress understand her needs. “I’ll say, ‘Listen Brittney, I want my salmon, I don’t want

any salt, butter or seasoning. I just want it plain. And then, instead of mashed pota-

toes, I would like to have double veggies. … Brittney, if you screw up my order, I’m going to

send it back.’ And guess what you just did. She just realized that what you are ordering is important to you, and

guess what, you are paying for it. Right?” ✯


When it comes towellness programs andparticipation,manycountiesandcompanieshaveadifficulttimeget-tingemployeestoactivelyembracetheprogramforits

fullbenefits. Somepeoplehave ahard time recognizingharmfulbehaviorsormotivatingthemselvestochangetheirownbehavior.Theymaynotbelievetheycandoit,theymaynotknowthattheyhaveachoice.Theymaybehavefailedatitbefore,oracceptedthelifestylethey’vehadsincebirth.

ButLisaWargofchik,ahealthcarestrategyexpert,offeredsomeadvice for employerswanting tohelpmotivate their employees toparticipate inwellnessprograms, and the advice,basedon studiesandscienceinbehavioraleconomics,isgoodforotherinitiatives,too.

“Whenyoutrytomotivatesomebodyoryoutrytoengagesome-body, thereareseveral steps inthatprocess.Westartoffbycom-municating,”shesaid,addingthathopefully,communicationisfol-lowedbyactivation,thensustainedchange.“Butonceyouputthatmessageoutthere,whatgoesoninsomebody’smind?Whatmakesonepersondo itwhentheysee themessagewhensomebodyelsedoesn’t?”

Behavioraleconomicsisthestudyofwhyandhowpeoplemakethe choices theymake, especially when those choices go againstdesireandlogic.

“Igotothecasinos,I’muphereconfessing,andIknowthatI’mprobablynotgoingtowin,butIkeepgoinganyway,right,sowhydowedothat?Whatinourmindmakesusdothat?”sheasked.“MostofussetNewYear’sresolutionsandwesay‘Iwanttoeatbet-ter,Iwanttoexercise,’andwedon’t.Whyisitthatwedon’tdoit?”

Asitturnsout,humanirrationalityfollowsadistinctsetofrulesandpatterns,forthemostpart.Apersonororganizationthatun-derstandstherulescanchangebehavior;hopefullytheknowledgeisusedforgood,notevil.

Rule #1: People choose the default.Giventhechoiceofasandwichandasideatarestaurant,most

peopleorderthedishas is,withwhatevertoppingsandsidestherestauranthaschosen.So if thedefault sidedishwitha sandwichispotatochips,butthere’sanoptionofanapple,mostpeoplewillstilljustgowiththepotatochips.Ifarestaurantwantscustomerstostartchoosingtheapplemore,allithastodoismaketheapple

10 Principles for Motivating Others

thedefaultselection,Wargofchiksaid.“Trytothinklesschoiceandmoredefaultandthatisawayto

motivatepeople,”shesaid.

Rule #2: The framing principle.Thisrulestatesthatthepositioningofanitemnexttootheritems

matterswhen trying to sell the item.Say amagazine is trying tobundleitsonlinesubscriptionandit’sprintsubscription.Itsellsitsonlinesubscriptionfor$45ayearandonline-plus-printbundlefor$100.Mostcustomersinthatscenariowilloptforonlytheonlinesubscriptionbecause theprintbundle looks too expensive.But ifthemagazinepositionsitdifferently,sellingtheprintsubscriptionfor$100,theonlinesubscriptionfor$45andtheprint-plus-onlinebundlefor$100,allofasudden,thebundlelookslikeagooddeal.

Movie theaters use this principle with popcorn and drinks,Wargofchiksaid.

“Iusedtosay,whenIgotothemovietheater,Idon’tneedalargepopcorn,thatseemskindofbig,right,large,I’mnotalargekindofeater.ButnowIgoin,Iseethesuperduper,andIgo,oh,Idon’tneedthat,butgivemethelarge,right?”shesaid,addingthatpeoplesee the large as smaller andmore reasonablewhen its positionedagainstthesuperdupersize.

“Thinkaboutthewaythatyouputthingsoutthereinyourad-vertisingandhowyou’retryingtogetpeopletoyourevents.Itreallymatters howyouposition it,”Wargofchik said. “If you are goingtogivethemarangeofchoices,makesurethatyouhighlightthatbeneficialchoice.”

Rule #3: People like certainty more than uncertainty.Thisisbest illustratedbycellphoneplans.WhenAT&Ttried

toeliminateitsunlimiteddataplan,customerscomplained,eventhough66percentofthemweren’treallyaffectedbythemove.

“Theygotlettersandphonecallsandallkindofgriefforit,butwhatcameoutofthatisthatonlyone-thirdofthosepeoplewereusingallthewayuptothemaximum.Therestofthemjustwantedthesecurityofit,”Wargofchiksaid.“Thosepeoplesaid,don’ttakethisawayfrommeeventhoughI’mnotusingit,becauseIlikethecertaintyofknowing.”

Partofthisrulealsopertainstotheimmediacyofgratification

Healthy County speaker gives brief lesson in behavioral economics


–ifpeopleareimmediatelygratifiedbydoingsomething,theyaremorelikelytodoit.

“It’s hard to get somebody to quit smoking because you sayyou’vegottoquitsmoking.Youwantthemtoquitsmokingbuttheyaren’tgoingtoreapthebenefitsofthatforseveraldaysout.Theygottogothroughalotofpainandwithdrawbeforetheygetthere,”Wargofchiksaid.“Soweneedtocreateinstantgratificationorinstantincentivestokeeppeoplegoing.That’swhyweliketotellpeopletosetshorttermgoalsversuslong-termgoals.”

Rule #4: Cash is not king.Differentpeoplearemotivatedbydifferentthings,soit’simpor-

tanttohaveawiderangeofincentivesforawiderangeofpeople.Somepeoplearemotivatedbycashrewards,butothersaremoti-vatedbypublicrecognition,vacationdays,competition,ormedalsandtrophies.

“Youcan’tpossiblygetintoeverybody’sheadsowhatyouwanttomakesureofisthatyouhaveafullrangeofincentivestoencouragepeopletoparticipate,”Wargofchiksaid.

Rule #5: People are optimistic and overestimate their chances of winning.

Thechanceofwinningsomethinginasweepstakesorraffleisan-otherbigmotivationforsomepeople,sinceprettymucheveryonelikestowin,nomatterwhatitistheyarewinning.

“That goes back kind of to the gambling thing,” Wargofchiksaid.“Whenyou’retalkingaboutasweepstakes,peoplelikehavingachancetowin.Theycontinuetoparticipateifthereisevenanop-tionouttheretohelpthemwin.”

Rule #6: People like what they already own.Peopledemandmoretopartwithsomethingthanthey’dpayto

getit,andtheybelievewhattheyhaveisworthmoreiftheyhaveit

thaniftheydon’thaveit,“sobecarefulabouttakeaways,”Wargof-chiksaid.

Rule #7: People hate losses more than we like gains.Therearetwowaystomotivatepeopletodoself-examinations

forskincancer:tellingthemitwillreducetheriskofsufferingfromskincancerinthelonghauliftheydoit,orthatitwillincreasetheirriskofskincanceriftheydon’tdoit.Studieshaveshownthatthosetolditwillincreasetheirriskofskincanceriftheydon’tdoitaremorelikelytodotheself-examinations.

“Youwanttomakesurethatasyouadvertisethings,youdoitfromaplaceof,youdon’twantpeopletolosesomethingbutrathertogainsomething,”Wargofchiksaid.“WhatamIgoingtogainbyparticipatingintheprogramversuswhatamIgoingtolosebynotparticipating?”

Rule #8: People tend to procrastinate.“Weallwanttodietandexercisebutwealwayswaittillthelast

minute.Wedothiswithourcars,right,weknowtheyaredueformaintenance,weknowtheyaredueforinspection,butwewaittillthelastpossiblesecond.Wedothesamethingswithourbodies,unfortunately,”Wargofchiksaid,addingthat thewaytobeat theprocrastinationtendencyistogiveemployeesatimetocommittoparticipationimmediately,likeduringteammeeting.“Wewanttomakesurethatwegivepeopleanopportunitytocommitupfrontsotheyarenotwaitinguntiltheendoftheday.”

Rule #9: People are more motivated by stories than by statistics.

That’s why its so important for organizations to have healthchampionswhocansharetheirstoriesoflifestyletransformations,whetherit’showtheylearnedtoeathealthy,howtheylostweightorhowtheytrainedforamarathon.

“Use testimonials to help drive programsuccess,”Wargofchiksaid.“Peoplearemorelikelytojoinifsomeoneelsehasdoneit.”

Rule #10: Make it fun.People are kids at heart and are more

likely toparticipate in something if its fun–apuzzleorgame.Soorganizationsshouldgetcreative.TheFunTheory.comhas lotsofinnovativeideasforhowtomakeotherwisemundane activities fun. For instance, onevideo asks whether the filmmakers couldget more people to choose the stairs in-steadof theescalatorsbymakingthestairsfun to take.Theypaintedeach stair into apianokey,riggingeachwithamusicalnotesothateachstairplayedadifferentnoteaspeoplewalkedupanddownthem.Thetrickworked: 66 percent more people chose totakethestairswhenitfunctionedasapianothanonanaverageday.

“We are all kids at heart,” Wargofchiksaid.“Thebestwaytogetustoexerciseistohavefun.”✯

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Niece Equipment, LPMr.RichardAntoine3039Highway71EDelValle,TX78617-2343Telephone:(512)252-3808Product:Sales/rentalofheavyequipment,suchaswatertrucks,watertowers,fuel/lubricationtrucks,etc.www.nieceequipment.com

Official Payments CorporationMs.PeggyCompton11130SunriseValleyDrSte300Reston,VA20191-5476Telephone:(806)580-0980x7491Product:Electronic,phone,andpointofsalepaymentservicestechnology.www.officialpayments.com

PARSMs.JoannaMinna4350VonKarmanAveSte100NewportBeach,CA92660-2080Telephone:(800)540-6369x150Product:RetirementsolutionstopublicagencieswithFICAalternatives&457deferredcompensationplans.www.parsinfo.org

PerdueBrandonFielderCollins&Mott LLPMs.SueGlover3301NorthlandDrSte505Austin,TX78731-4954Telephone:(512)302-0190Product:Delinquenttax/miscellaneouscollectionservices&appraisaldistrictrepresentation.www.pbfcm.com

Hyland Software, Inc.Ms.LoriKershner28500ClemensRdWestlake,OH44145-1145Telephone:(440)788-6668Product:DeveloperofOnBase,arapidlydeployablesuiteofenterprisecontentmanagementsoftwaresolutions.www.hyland.com

Indigent Healthcare SolutionsMr.RobertBaird2040NLoop336WSte304Conroe,TX77304-3592Telephone:(936)756-6720Product:Softwareforcountyindigenthealthcare,hospitaldistricts&hospitals.www.indigenthealthcare solutions.com

Information CapitalMr.EdHazeldean5870Highway6NSte300Houston,TX77084-1857Telephone:(281)858-8555Product:Informationmanagementsolutions.

JI Specialty Services, Inc.Mr.SamFrancisPOBox26655Austin,TX78755-0655Telephone:(512)427-2300Product:third-partyAdministratorprovidingclaims,losscontrol,riskmanagement,relatedservices.www.jicompanies.com

KellPro, IncorporatedMr.JonathonHenry101S15thStSte100Duncan,OK73533-4359Telephone:(580)255-5553Product:Softwareandimagingservices.www.kellpro.com

Precinct Tracker Road & Bridge (MSE Solutions)Ms.SuzanneAirhartPOBox174Kountze,TX77625-0174Telephone:(409)246-4802Product:Softwareforroadandbridgeoperations.www.precincttracker.com

Professional Claims Managers, Inc.Mr.J.BrianHobbs10210NCentralExpy,Ste500Dallas,TX75231-3424Telephone:(800)557-0797Product:Professionalclaimsservices.www.professionalclaims managers.com

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc.Mr.AlanMcVicker15500Highway59NHumble,TX77396-2137Telephone:(713)455-5200Product:Auctioneers/appraisers.www.RBAuction.com

SAMCO Capital Markets, Inc.8700CrownhillBlvd,Ste601SanAntonio,TX78209Phone:(210)832-9760www.samcocapital.com

ShoreTel IncMr.ShaneHarper960StewartDrSunnyvale,CA94085-3912Telephone:(408)331-3588Product:All-in-oneIPphonesystemwithintegratedUCandcontactcentercapabilities.www.shoretel.com

Southern Health PartnersMs.StephanieBennett2030HamiltonPlaceBoulevard,Suite140Chattanooga,TN37421Telephone:(704)583-9515Product:Inmatehealthcare.www.southernhealthpartners.com

tacassociates


Vendors of county services

Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)Mr.ThomasN.Shehan301TarrowStSte119CollegeStation,TX77840-7896Telephone:(979)845-6677Product:Customizedtraining,technicalsupportforlawenforcement/securityprofessionalsthroughE-learningorhostsites.www.teex.org

The Cooperative Purchasing Network TCPN - Region 4 - ESCMr.JasonWickel7145WTidwellRdHouston,TX77092-2021Telephone:(713)744-6394Product:Cooperativepurchasingnetworkforgovernmententitiesandschools.www.tcpn.org

TXU EnergyMs.KelliRod6555SierraDrIrving,TX75039-2479Telephone:(972)868-8329Product:Electriccompanywww.txu.com

Tyler Technologies, Inc.Mr.JeffPuckett6500InternationalPkwy Suite2000Plano,TX75093-8238Telephone:(972)713-3765Product:Integratedsoftware&servicesolutionsforfinancials,courts&justice,appraisal&tax,schools,land&vitalrecords.www.tylertech.com

UltimatematsMr.DavidChapman1311MonticelloDrProsper,TX75078-8411Telephone:(972)527-8904Product:Anti-fatiguemats,logomats,entrancemats.www.ultimatemats.com

US Script, Inc.Ms.MelissaDaniels6815ManhattanBlvdSte400FortWorth,TX76120-1274Telephone:(800)569-1035Product:Pharmacyservices,pharmacybenefitsmanagementforindigenthealthcareprograms,jails,andMHMRs.www.usscript.com

Vanir Construction Management, Inc.Mr.BobFletcher4540DuckhornDrSte300Sacramento,CA95834-2597Telephone:(916)575-8888Product:Constructionmanagement.www.vanir.com

Wiginton Hooker Jeffry ArchitectsMr.CharlieKearns500NCentralExpySte300Suite300Plano,TX75074-6792Telephone:(214)803-8642Product:Professionalarchitecturalservices.www.whjarch.com

Thank you to Our Associates!

While Texas counties serve those who live within them, TAC under-stands that counties can’t do so without the products and services that local and corporate businesses provide. It’s a winning relationship.

TAC’s Associate Status offers organizations interested in doing busi-ness with counties opportunities to communicate their messages to county officials while simultaneously gaining access to information on issues that are critical to county government operations.

Associate Status does not constitute a TAC endorsement, but we hope the relationship is good for counties, good for business and good for our citizens.

VOICEFind Your

Register today!

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shuffle?

WhY attend?

T0 EXCHANGE

TheFUTURE

IDEAS SHAPE& !Who Should Attend?

COUNTY Officials

and Key StaffSupervisorsALL

To REGISTER ONLINE go to www.county.org or for more information contact us at (800) 456-5974.

Like us on facebook at www.Facebook.com/TexasCounties

countycrossword


Clues & answers from County magazine

April EditionIf you’ve read the March/April edition of County, maybe you know the answers to these clues. If not, they are all somewhere within these pages. The solution will be in the May/June 2012 edition.

1 2

3 4 5 67 8

9 10 1112

13

14 15 16 17

18 19 2021

222423

25 2627 28

29 3031

32 3334 35 36

37 38 39

4140

42 4344

4546

ACROSS5 County with library earning Star designation12 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner13 TAC HEBP wellness program tool (2 words)15 Friend of County Government (2 words)17 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner20 Fostered to create super-hero employees21 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner24 Practice of measuring employees’ waistlines25 TAC HEBP wellness program (2 words)28 U.S. Department of Treasury campaign29 TAC HEBP renewal notice month31 Accounts for 10 percent of a person’s overall

health (3 words)

34 County with library earning Star designation35 Choice most likely to be chosen36 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner37 Study of why and how people make choices

(2 words)39 Number of fitness personality types, according to colorful theory40 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner41 Counties earn gold stars for this44 Dallas County’s first trail project name45 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner46 Health book of the future by Dee Edington (2

words)

DOWN1 Orig. Bowie County seat2 Bastrop County EMC3 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner4 Accounts for half of a

person’s overall health6 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner7 TSU McCoy College of

Business Administration prof (2 words)

8 Past City-County Cooperation Award winner9 Accounts for one-fifth of a

person’s overall health10 Also accounts for one-fifth

of a person’s health11 Navarro County justice of

the peace14 Went from Biggest Loser

to motivational speaker16 Name of library’s cat17 CMI theme (2 words)18 Friend of County Government (2 words)19 Abandoned Dallas County

rail segment in 1993 (2 words)

22 County featured on pages 46-47

23 Friend of County Government (2 words)26 County carved out from

Bowie County27 Crop that is 17 percent

protein30 Denton County CERT

coordinator32 County Gov. Month33 Travis County tax asses-

sor-collector38 Harris County clerk42 County with library earning Star designation43 Earned Monahans

Chamber of Commerce Merit Award

calendarofeventsEvents and education for counties


APRIL 2012 National County Government Month

11 – Legislative Exchange Regional Meeting,Amarillo.

11-13 – TDCAA 2012 Investigating and Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases, SanAntonio.

15-19 – VG Young Institute: School for County Treasurers,CollegeStation.

15-20 – Correctional Management Institute of Texas’ Jail Administration: Management & Operations,Huntsville.

18 – Legislative Exchange Regional Meeting,CorpusChristi.

19 – Legislative Exchange Regional Meeting,Waco.

23-27 – West Texas CJCA Annual Conference & Business Meeting,Odessa.

25 – Legislative Exchange Regional Meeting,McAllen.

25-27 – UT School of Law Continuing Legal Education,RoundRock.

MAY 2012 2-4 – 2012 TAC County Management Institute,Austin.

8-11 – Texas Association of County Auditors 60th Annual Auditors Institute, Austin.

10-11 – Texas College of Probate Judges, Galveston.

14-18 – 26th Annual Texas Jail Association Conference,Austin.

16-18 – TDCAA 2012 Civil Law Seminar,Austin.

20-23 – North & East Texas CJCA Annual Conference & Business Meeting, Galveston.

JUNE 2012 4-5 – Texas Justice Court Training Center Criminal Law: Traffic,Tyler.

4-7 – TAC County Investment Officer Level II Training,SanAntonio.

Note:MoreinformationregardingeventscanbefoundonlineviatheTACEducationCalendar,www.county.org/education/calendar.

10-14 – Tax Assessor-Collectors Association Annual Conference,Amarillo.

13-15 – TDCAA: Digital Evidence Seminar,FortWorth.

18-21 – 2012 South Texas CJCA Annual Education Conference & Business Meeting,SanAntonio.

24-28 – County & District Clerks Annual Conference,Galveston.

24-28 – 2012 Justices of the Peace and Constables Association Annual Conference,SouthPadreIsland.

JULY 2012 13-17 – National Association of Counties Annual Conference,Pittsburgh.

15-20 – TDCAA Prosecutor Trial Skills Course,Austin.

22-24 – 134th Texas Sheriff’s Association Annual Training Conference,Dallas.

25 – Regional TAC Pool Meeting, Lubbock.

26-27 – Texas Justice Court Training Center Civil Procedure: Causes of Action,LeagueCity.

27 – Regional TAC Pool Meeting,SanAntonio.

AUGUST 2012 1 – Regional TAC Pool Meeting,Tyler.

6-10 – TDCAA Advanced Trial Skills Course,Waco.

9-10 – Texas Justice Court Training Center Juvenile Law,SanMarcos.

27-30 – Texas Jail Association Jail Management Issues,SouthPadreIsland.

28 – Regional TAC Pool Meeting,Austin.

29-31 – 2012 Pre-Legislative Conference,Austin.

February Crossword Puzzle AnswersF I S E L

J O H N O N

B L A N CC A N C E L U E B E L L

O G SM A N A G E R S

A G R I L I F EC O L E M A N D O N A L L R E D

T O W N S E N DJ O I C J A Y J O H N S O N

T R A I L B L A Z E RR O T H E R M E L

S O N I C B O O M

C O N N I E H I C K M A N

D O W E L L B E W E L L

P R E P A R I N G W I L C O

B E S T P R A C T I C E S

F A T A L I T Y R E V I E W C M I

E X C H A N G E S

W E I G H T W A T C H E R S

HOWARD

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VACCIN

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readingsimplications


Quotations of interest that may affect counties

Research, articles, publications and Web sites

WELCOME TO UTOPIA: NOTES FROM A SMALL TOWN by Karen Valby tells the intertwined stories of four residents and their families living in Utopia, Texas, in Uvalde County. Valby follows the lives of four Utopians — Ralph, the retired owner of the general store; Kathy, the waitress who waits in terror for three of her boys to return from war; Colter, the son of a cowboy with the soul of a hipster; and Kelli, an aspiring rock star and one of the only black people in town—as they reckon, on an intensely human scale, with war and race, class and culture, and the way time’s passage can change the ground beneath our feet. University of Texas Press.

THE PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL: THE HIDDEN FORCES THAT SHAPE OUR DECISIONS by behavioral economist Dan Ariely discusses why smart people make irrational decisions every day. Ariely demonstrates how irrationality often supplants irrational thought because of the structure of the human mind. The book helps readers recognize decision-making patterns so that they can make better decisions in business and in life. HarperCollins.

TEXAS HEALTH ATLAS by Lawrence E. Estaville, Kristine Egan and Abel Galaviz, includes nearly 200 pages of demographic and health-related maps that display county-by-county and regional information on everything from the distribution of pharmacies, trauma centers and emergency rooms to the number of lung, colon and breast cancer patients. Texas A & M University Press.

INDEPENDENT FOR LIVE: HOMES AND NEIGHBORHOODS FOR AN AGING AMERICA,edited by former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros with research scholars Margaret Dyer-Chamberlain and Jane Hickie, takes a team of experts in aging, architecture, construction, health, finance and politics to assess the current state of housing and propose solutions for how Americans can age independently in their own homes and neighborhoods. The book offers solutions, case studies and action plans for working with policy makers to address the larger issues of aging in place. University of Texas Press.

CREATIVE SERVICESNewYorkCity—home to artists and

performers who typically lack employer-provided health insurance — is allowingthisgroupofprofessionalstoworkfortheirhealthcare.Underanewprogramdeemedthe“LincolnArtExchange,”artistscanget$40worthofhealthservicesforeachhourtheysharetheirtalentswithpatients.

The credits can be used toward doctorvisits,hospitalstays,emergencyroomcare,surgeries,prescriptionsandtestsatLincolnMedicalandMentalHealthCenterintheBronx. Artists and performers typicallymake too much money to qualify forpublic health programs (about $24,000a year) but not enough to afford privatehealth insurance, Renata Marinaro, thedirector of health services for the Actors’Fund, told theAssociated Press.Applicantsmust interviewfortheprogram,butonceaccepted,canworkas littleorasmuchasthey want — provided their services areneeded.Utah is also toyingwith the ideaforasimilarprogramthatoffershealthcareinexchangeforcommunityservice.

— Governing magazine’s Idea Center

JUVENILE DELIQUENCY The independent ombudsman of the

state’sjuvenilejusticesystemwillinvestigatereportsofincreasedviolenceamongyouthsinthestate’ssecurefacilitiesfollowinganin-depthreviewbyThe Texas Tribuneofyouth-on-youth assaults over the last 10 years.TheTribune reported in March that therate of reports of youth-on-youth assaultsrequiring additional action by staff morethantripledfrom2007to2011,accordingto data obtained from theTexas JuvenileJusticeDepartmentundertheTexasPublicInformationAct.Althoughthetotalrateofallassaultsreportedatthestate’ssixsecurefacilitiesdroppedduringthattimeperiod,therateofassaultsthatrequiredadditionaldisciplinaryactiongrewto54assaultsper100 youths in 2011 from17 assaults per100youthsin2007.

— The Texas Tribune

SUPREME SPECULATION WiththefateofPresidentObama’shealth

care lawhanging in thebalance, a lawyerfor the administration faced a barrage ofskepticalquestionsonMarch27fromfour

oftheSupremeCourt’smoreconservativejustices,suggestingthata5-to-4decisiontostrikedown the lawwas a livepossibility.The court’s decision is expected by June,and much may change as the justicesdeliberate and exchangedraft opinions inthecomingmonths.

JusticeAnthonyM.Kennedy,thecourt’sswing justice, asked a host of questionsindicatingdiscomfortwiththelaw.

“Can you create commerce in order toregulate it?” Justice Kennedy asked theadministration’s lawyer, Solicitor GeneralDonald B. Verrilli Jr. He later told Mr.Verrilli that the federal government faced“a heavy burden of justification” andpressed him to articulate “some limits onthecommerceclause”oftheConstitution.“You are changing the relationship of theindividualtothegovernment.”

Justice Kennedy’s questioning is oftenhard to read, and near the end of theargument he noted that “most questionsin life are matters of degree.” But hisquestioningwas,onbalance,skeptical.

— The New York Times

ECONOMICS LESSON At$1trilliondollars,studentloandebt

has eclipsed credit card debt for the firsttimeinAmericanhistory.Tomakemattersworse, come July 1 the interest rate onfederally subsidizedStafford student loanswillautomaticallydouble,from3.4to6.8percent, unless Congressional action istakentoextendthelowerratebeforethen.Dependingonwhichsideoftheaisleyouchoose, extending the lower ratewill costbetween$3billionand$7billionperyear.

Loans for college are often taken outdirectlybyparents,orguaranteedbythem,andthedebtcaneasilyrunintosixfigures.Thiscouldultimatelythreatentheircreditratings, retirement funds, and even theirhomes. According to Finaid.org, parentdebt relating to their children’s educationhasmorethandoubledinthelast10years.In2010,forthefirsttimeever,$100billioninstudentloandebtwasdisbursed.That’sabout10percentofalloutstandingstudentloan debt handed out in one year. Thewillingnessofparentstocosignfortuitionloansexistsacrossalllevelsofincome.

— Credit.com

informationprojectData about counties, by Tim Brown


CensusDataShowsAreas’Adult-to-ChildPercentages

OnFeb.16,theU.S.CensusBureaureleaseddetailedtablesofdata fromthe2010Census forupto331differentraceandethnicgroupsdowntothecensus

tract level for North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee andTexas.TheseSummaryFile2(SF2)tablesincludeinformationonage,relationshipandhomeownership.Whilethedataisnotavailableattheblocklevelusedinredistricting,itisavailableat

2000to2010.Thelossofpopulationwaslikelyacontributingfactor,butsincewedon’tknowtheagesofthosewholeft,itisimpossibletosaywhetheritistheprimaryreasonforthehighpercentage.

WhilethecountieseastofDallasdidnotlosepopulationoverthesameperiod,theyoftenonlygainedafewpeople.Thismayhelpexplainwhytheyalsoshowahighratioofadultstojuveniles,asthesmallpopulationgainfailedtooffsetthelossofpartoftheyoungergeneration(thosemostlikelytohavechildren)astheymovedtourbanareasforeducationalorcareeropportunitiesanddidnotreturn.

Thedarkercolorsinthefarwesternpartofthestate,indicatingahigherratioofadultstojuveniles,canpossiblybeattributedtotheattractionsofBigBend,Marfa,FortDavis,etc.,asmanypeoplehaveretiredtobenearthoselocationsovertheyears.✯

Percentage of Population Aged 18 and Older in 2010

sparselypopulatedareas,theycanapproachthesizeofentirecounties.Generally,thesesubdivisionshaveapopulationrangeof 1,200 to 8,000 people. InTexas, there are several censustractswithlessthan500people,whileothershavemorethan20,000.

Because someof the census tractshave so fewpeople, theBureauwillsometimesomitthedataforthoseareasinordertoavoidrevealingpersonalinformationaboutthepeoplewhoreside there.This explainswhy some of the census tracts inthe accompanyingmaps are shown inorange, asdata isnotavailableforthoseareas.

Theotherareasofthemapsshowthepercentageofthetotalpopulationofeachcensustractthatisatleast18yearsold.Thefirstmapshowstheentirestate,whilethesecondmapshowstheareafromjustwestofSanAntonioeastwardalmosttotheLouisianaborder.

Inthesecondmap,McMullenCounty(inthebottomleftcorner) is representedby a single census tract showingmorethan80percentofthepopulationisatleast18yearsold.SanSabaCounty (in the upper left corner) contains two censustracts.Alargeareashowingahighpercentageofthepopulationisatleast18yearsoldfillsmostofthecounty,whileasmallercensustractshowingalowerpercentageofthepopulationisatleast18yearsoldcoversthecityofSanSaba.

Urbancounties,suchasBexar,HarrisorTravis,havemorecensus tracts– farmore thanareeasily seen in the statewidemap.Yeteachofthesecountiesalsoshowsconsiderablevariationinthepercentageofthepopulationaged18andolder.Notonlydotheyshowareaswitheverybracketofthelegend,theyalsoeachhaveareaswherethedatahasbeenwithheldduetothesmallsizeofthepopulation.

The first map, showing the entire state, shows the entirecounty of Loving in orange, which is expected given thenumber of people in the county (pop. 82, according to the2010Census).Asmightalsobeexpected,thelighterareasonthemap, indicatingayoungerpopulation,oftenoccuralongtheborderandintheurbanareas.

Many counties west of FortWorth have a relatively highpercentage of their populations aged 18 and older. In largepart,thesearethesamecountiesthatlosttotalpopulationfrom

Central and Southeast

Texas

Age 18 Plus (Percent) 9.2 - 70.0 70.1-75.0 75.1-80.0 80.1-100.0

thecensustractlevel.Censustractsareofvaryingsize.Sizeislargely

determinedbyacombinationofpopulationandgeography, including political boundaries. Inpopulousareas,censustractstendtobesmall.In

onelastlook


County officials and employees (and anyone else in a Texas county) are encouraged to submit their high-resolution digital photographs and captions for publication to County

Editor Maria Sprow at [email protected]. Photographs should be taken by the sender and be at least 2MB in size; emails should not exceed 10MB.

AngelinaCountyJudgeWesSuiter(thirdfromright)accompaniestheLeader-shipLufkinclassfortheLufkin/AngelinaCountyDayattheCapitolonFeb.28,wherethegroupmetwithSpeakerJoeStraus(picturedatright)aswell

asTexasDepartmentofTransportationDirectorJohnBartonandTexasDivisionofEmergencyManagementChiefNimKidd.LeadershipLufkinisanine-monthpro-gramdesignedtoeducateexistingandpotentialleadersofAngelinaCounty;thetriptotheCapitolwasjustonestopduringathree-daytriptoAustintolearnaboutthestructureandcomponentsofthestategovernment.Thestateleaderstalkedaboutthenecessityforthecreationofnewfundingsourcesforroadsandtherolecountygovern-mentplaysinpreventing,respondingtoandrecoveringfromadisaster. ✯

For more information visit the website at www.county.org

2012 REGIONAL TAC POOL MEETINGS

MEETING DATES

Wednesday, July 25 – Lubbock

Friday, July 27 – San Antonio

Wednesday, Aug. 1 – Tyler

Tuesday, Aug. 28 – Austin

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Judges, commissioners, pool coordinators, auditors,

treasurers, HR/Risk managers, purchasing agents

WHY ATTEND?

Learn about TAC Pool programs and services that benefit

your county now and what’s on the horizon.

TexasAssociationofCounties1210SanAntonioStreetAustin,Texas78701-1806

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDAUSTIN, TEXAS

PERMIT NO. 1183

“I tried controlling my Type II diabetes for years without much success. A breakthrough occurred after I signed up for the TAC HEBP Condition Management program. Enrollment in the program meant I took free diabetes nutrition classes and had instant access to a nurse. Before the condition management program my blood sugar was uncontrolled, now I feel like I am in charge.”

~ Bandera County HR Director, Sharon Dowda

Research shows that individuals with chronic conditions have a much higher cost of care when they do not properly manage their disease. Membership in TAC HEBP gives your employees access to a number of resources including a condition management program that is free for the county. The end result — healthier and happier employees and lower long-term costs for the county.

To get information about HEBP and find out more about Sharon’s story call us at (800) 456-5974 or visit www.county.org/dowda.html.

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