Employees Enjoy Ball Game, Commissioner Gurley Throws First Pitch

The 37th Annual Southern League All-Star Game was held Monday, July 14, 2008, at Five County Stadium in Zebulon and was hosted by the Carolina Mudcats. This year's theme was "Experience the Magic of Baseball." Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Southern League All-Star game was a partnership between the Carolina Mudcats, Five County Stadium, the Town of Zebulon, Wake County and Miracle League of the Triangle.

The Miracle League of the Triangle, a baseball league for school-aged children with special needs, played a game with the Southern League All-Star players before the All-Star game. This was the second time Five County Stadium hosted the North verses South contest.

For more information: www.wakegov.com

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Wake Honored at NACo Conference

Wake County received five awards on Sunday, July 13 and Monday, July 14, 2008, during the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

Commissioner Gardner Honored With Courthouse Award
Wake County Commissioner Kenn Gardner received the 2008 County Courthouse Award, given to three commissioners each year for outstanding governance and strong leadership. The award includes $5,000 in scholarship funding. Gardner plans to award the scholarship to a foster care high school graduate.

Gardner was selected to receive the NACo Courthouse Award because of his passion for helping foster care children attend college and his long-standing dedication to environmental stewardship.

Achievement Award: Temas de interes para la Comunidad

This program airs every other Tuesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., and is conducted interview-style in Spanish. Public Health Educator María Inés Robayo is the host of the show.

WCHPC Strategy Plan Presented With Achievement Award
The primary purpose of the Wake County Historic Preservation Commission (WCHPC) is to safeguard the heritage of the County, including municipalities, by preserving districts and landmarks that embody the important elements of its culture, history, architectural history or prehistory; and to promote the use and conservation of such districts and landmarks for the education, pleasure, and enrichment of the residents of the County and state.

The WCHPC Strategic Plan 2007 focuses on three objectives: Building Relationships; Awareness; and Identification, Designation, and Protection and was collaboratively developed by the WCHPC, the Wake County Planning Department and Capital Area Preservation Inc.

Wake County Receives Award for the eRecording of Satisfaction Documents
Wake County began accepting electronic copies of satisfaction papers, documents that banks, mortgage companies and attorneys send to record full payment of mortgages and other debt, in November 2007. eRecording speeds up the document processing time and eliminates administrative tasks and costs for both the County and customers.

Staff receives, inspects and processes the document using a Web-based application. If the document meets all the legal requirements, it is recorded and assigned a book and page by the indexing database system. The indexed document is returned to the customer by e-mail. If the document does not meet all statutory requirements, it is returned to the customer with an explanation for the failed document. This allows the customer to immediately correct and resubmit the document. The total processing time for one document is less than five minutes.

Wake Recognized as one of the Top 10 Technologically Advanced Counties in the Nation
Wake County has been named one of the top 10 most technologically advanced, cutting-edge county governments in the United States by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo) in their 2008 Digital Counties Survey. The survey examines how county governments are evolving in their use of information technology to deliver services to their citizens. Wake County ranked eighth this year, up from 10th last year, in the over 500,000 population category. Wake County Information Services staff responded to questions that included more than 100 measurements and data points about online service delivery, infrastructure, architecture and governance models.

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First Life Coaches Finish Training

On Thursday, July 10, 2008, 68 Human Services life coaches were certified, after completing 20 hours of training. Life coaches are individuals that will coach Middle Class Express participants.

The ceremony represented completion of level one of the process for the life coaches. Next the coaches will be matched with participants and invited to attend an orientation, tentatively scheduled to begin at the end of July and run through the end of October 2008. All life coaches are Wake County employees.

If you are interested in becoming a life coach, contact Maria Gabriel at 212-7423.

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Push-Up Contest Raises Awareness

The WakeWise Wellness Program held their six-month check-up Extended Management Team update on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. The program began with a push-up contest between Deputy County Manager Joe Durham, Wake Wise Wellness planning team member Robin Cassidy and County Manager David Cooke. Cassidy won the two-minute contest with 67 push-ups. Durham and Cooke tied for second place with 64 push-ups each.

The WakeWise Wellness Program is part of the Wake County wellness initiative. The goal is to help county employees and their families stay healthy. WakeWise Wellness focus areas include weight management, better nutrition, improved fitness, tobacco cessation, stress management and health care consumer skill building.

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What’s all the Hollerin’ About?

On June 22, 2008, Sheila Frye, program manager for Maternal and Women's Health, won top honors at The National Hollerin' Contest. The contest has been an annual event for the past 40 years in Spivey's Corner, NC. It is dedicated to the preservation of the lost art of hollerin', the most basic form of communication.

Sheila grew up in rural Sampson County. During the summers she would work on the family farm and listen to old stories of long ago.

Sheila says hollerin' is about keeping old traditions alive and appreciating the past. She is not new to hollerin' and is a previous winner of the National Hollerin' Contest. She has also appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.

This fall Sheila will provide cultural diversity presentations and encourages folks to come and see what the hollerin' is all about!

For more information: www.wakegov.com

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Human Services Academy to Play Key Role in Agency Transformation

Novelist Mark Twain once said, “Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” Wake County Human Services (WCHS) staff prepare to become peaches. Or cauliflowers.

Human Services leadership will unveil the next big thing in Wake County in July 2008 — the Human Services Academy. The Human Services Academy, by coordinating and implementing training opportunities for all WCHS staff, will be a key component in the County’s goal of developing human capital. The training that will be available through the Academy will be systematized to advance the personal and professional growth of WCHS staff, ultimately making the agency more skilled in customer and community service.

Mandatory Training

Part of the training offered at the Academy will be mandatory for all Human Services staff, beginning with five core curricula: Health Literacy, Customer Service, Human Capital Development, Access to Resources, and Ethics. All WCHS staff will be expected to complete the core trainings by December 2009. Training dates will be announced over the next few months.

The benefits gained from the Human Services Academy will help the agency transform from being a safety net organization into one that builds the customer’s capacity to care for themselves.

For more information contact Martha Crowley at mcrowley@wakegov.com

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