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New naming conventions at King County
King County is changing the way new employees access King County systems. We have changed the login standards for various email-based systems to move toward a single, universal sign on. A single, universal sign on is simpler to remember, easier to automate new account creation and increases the county’s ability to protect against phishing, scams and other cyberthreats.
What will it look like? Whether you sign into your PC or email, it will be first letter of first name plus last name. For Juan Hernandez it will be: jhernandez to sign into the PC, laptop, all work stations, and eventually PeopleSoft and the email is jhernandez@kingcounty.gov. It will NOT be Hernandezj or HernanJ or any other combination. Simply jhernandez.
Does this affect all employees? This only affects new employees. Current employees will continue to use the existing naming conventions for the time being.
Standard and Exceptions – There will be exceptions, of course, for employees who use an alternate name to their first legal name, or duplicate names. We have a process in place for these exceptions.
Why are you telling me this? This affects how people contact you and the email on new business cards. Employees who joined the county Feb. 1, 2017 and after have the new naming standard.
Questions? Contact Jamie Holter (old employee) at Jamie.holter@kingcounty.gov
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Tech Tip: Skype Bites: How to get Skype for Business into your Outlook and Calendar Ribbon
Lots of people email me, Jamie Holter, and say, “I can’t even get Skype on my computer! Your Skype bites are of no use to me!!” Well, here’s how to do it in 30 seconds.. well… 39 seconds.
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Employee discounts to Washington State Spring Fair
Employees can get discounts to the 2017 Washington State Spring Fair. Single gate tickets prices are: Adult $9.50 (usually $12), Student (Ages 6-18) $7.50 (usually $10), Kids (Ages 5 & under) ALWAYS FREE! The Spring Fair runs April 20-23 in Puyallup. To purchase tickets, visit thefair.com/corporate, click the “Buy Tickets” button, and enter access password king17. Discounted tickets are available through April 20 only at thefair.com/corporate. Learn more.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Program webpage.
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CPR classes available this spring
King County employees are welcome to sign up for available CPR classes. Dates for March-July classes are as follows:
Basic Heartsaver CPR/AED Training (Open to all King County employees), Register at http://kccpr.eventbrite.com
- Thursday, March 23, 2017- 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 pm, Chinook Bldg., Room 126
- Monday, April 12, 2017- 9am-12 pm, KC Elections, Renton
- Monday, April 12, 2017- 12:30-3:30, KC Elections, Renton
- Tuesday, May 23, 2017- 11:30-2:30, Chinook Bldg, Room 115
- Thursday, June 22, 2017- 10 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Chinook Bldg, Room 126
- Wednesday, July 26, 2017 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., Chinook Bldg, Room 126
Refresher Heartsaver CPR/AED Training (Open to all King county employees) Register at http://kccpr.eventbrite.com
- Thursday, March 23, 2017- 9 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. Chinook Bldg., Room 126
- Tuesday, May 23, 2017- 9 a.m.- 11:00 a.m., Chinook Bldg, Room 115
- Thursday, June 22, 2017-1:30 pm.-3:30 p.m, Chinook Bldg, Room 126
- Wednesday, July 26, 2017- 9:00 a.m.- 11 a.m., Chinook Bldg, room 126
BLS CPR (Healthcare Provider) Training (Open only to Public Health Certificated staff) Register at http://kcbls.eventbrite.com
- Tuesday, April 25, 2017- 1 p.m.- 4 p.m., Chinook Bldg., Room 126
- Monday, June 8, 2017- 11 a.m.- 2:00 p.m., Chinook Bldg, Room 115
- Thursday, July 13, 2017- 9:00 a.m.- 12:00 pm, Chinook Bldg, Room 126
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Nominations needed for Administrative Professionals Day, April 26
The Administrative Professionals Recognition Program is seeking nominations to recognize employees who embody the attributes of excellence and innovation. For information about eligibility and to nominate an employee before Wednesday, April 26, visit the Administrative Professionals Program website.
Also, save the date for the upcoming celebration to honor this year’s award recipients to be held Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at King Street Center, 8th Floor Conference Center. If you would like more information about this event, contact Paige Myers at 206-477-4551 or paige.myers@kingcounty.gov.
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The story behind MV Sally Fox’s cribbage boards
Crossposted from the Captain’s Blog
Mike Sudduth, left, plays a game of cribbage with Richard Franklin, right, as another game of cribbage takes place at the table next to them aboard the MV Sally Fox. Sudduth donated the specially inscribed boards as a way to honor his friend, Sally Fox, who was an advocate for passenger-only ferry service to Vashon Island and the vessel’s namesake. King County photo by Ned Ahrens.
Regulars on King County Water Taxi’s Vashon Island route know them well: glossy wooden cribbage boards stationed at one of four seating areas in the lower passenger deck of the MV Sally Fox.
On almost every run, enthusiasts of the popular card-and-board game can be seen huddled around one of these game boards, studying their cards, positioning their pegs and hoping for a coveted hand of 29.
Seasoned cribbage players such as Mike Sudduth know the game’s lingo inside and out. After all, the Management Services Analyst for King County Metro and Vashon Island native started the island’s first sanctioned cribbage club in 2006.
Read more at the Captain’s Blog
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The changing face of Capital Project Management
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) is facing the same workforce challenges that confront many clean water utilities across the United States. Hard working senior employees throughout our organization are retiring. We need to recruit new employees and help them onboard to a career protecting public health and our environment.
The passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 sparked the beginning of many wastewater careers. A costly and damaging fire on the Cuyahoga River in Ohio triggered an amendment of the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The amendment, known as the Clean Water Act, included requirements and construction grants to build treatment facilities across the United States. Even after construction grants were phased out in 1987, wastewater systems continue to be expanded and upgraded to serve growing populations of people increasingly aware of environmental issues.
Many of WTD’s most experienced people- about 45% of our workforce- began their careers during the height of that infrastructure boom and are eligible for retirement within the next five years.
Read more at Clean Water Stories
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Leadership and activism: the King County logo honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Crossposted from Bytes and Boxes
As County employees, we hope to serve our communities in a way that is just, fair and inclusive of all of our residents. We proudly display the image of Dr. King on our websites, written materials and buildings. But Dr. King’s likeness was not always the County logo. So, how did we get here?
The King County Archives has a collection of records related to the events that led up to adoption of the current logo on March 12, 2007.
Originally, in 1853, King County was named after Vice President of the United States William Rufus DeVane King, a slave owner and supporter of the Fugitive Slave Act. For 134 years, King County carried his name until 1986 when Councilmen Ron Sims and Bruce Laing introduced proposed Motion 86-66 (adopted as Motion No. 6461) to the Council.
Read more at Bytes and Boxes
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Profiling amazing women working throughout King County: Eden Rogland Peak, KCIT IT Senior Applications Developer
This article is featured courtesy of Jamie Holter, Communications Manager, Department of Information Technology
Eden Rogland Peak, KCIT IT Senior Applications Developer
How did you get your start in IT? I spent a year after getting my Humanities B.A. working for AmeriCorps and at the end of my service I chose to use the education stipend I earned on computer classes at South Seattle College. At first it was just for fun but I was inspired by some great teachers and decided to go ahead and finish the Software Engineering program.
That led me to an internship for the college web team working on their main site online learning program. My supervisor there was a wonderful mentor and role model and she, and my former teachers, actively helped me in my job search for a full time position. I ended up at the University of Washington coding for a small research group. We had a team of three programmers, all women. The team lead quickly challenged me to move from asp classic to .NET. I learned a ton from her.
Do you bring a different perspective to IT? I’m not sure if my perspective is different, but my experience has been that collaboration is the key to success in IT. I would never have gotten this far or stayed in the field if I hadn’t been encouraged, found mentors, and been truly included in development teams. The myth of the lone coder is probably not productive for women or for men.
Do people treat you differently because you are a woman? I don’t think people intentionally treat me any differently. Sometimes I think women in IT can be underestimated. This can happen in assumptions about skill level and also what our role is on a team. I do think King County is ahead of most other organizations on encouraging diversity in hiring and in creating a respectful workplace culture. I feel lucky to work in a great group.
Do you have advice for young women considering a career in IT? Go for it! Don’t assume you have to have majored in a STEM field to go into programming. Don’t assume work-life balance will be impossible. Try out as many technologies as you can. Find a mentor. Don’t rule out IT as a career based on negative news reports about a few companies. There are a lot of different organizations out there and they’re all different. It’s about finding a good fit.
If you could go back in time, what do you wish you would have done? Worked for a startup in 1999- 2000 for the fun of it!
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