Oregon Federal Executive Board

Partnerships for a More Cost Effective Government MARCH 2013

Vol. 6-13

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: PSRW Severe Weather Pg. 1 Pg. 2

OPM furlough updates

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has released additional guidance on administrative furloughs with respect to employees on detail, volunteering for Leave Without Pay, the Thrift Savings Plan, scheduling furlough time off for employees with part-time or uncommon tours of duty and electronic notices in their March 8, 2013 update. The updated guidance is now posted on OPM's administrative furlough guidance webpage at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furloughguidance/#url=Administrative-Furlough. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has posted guidance regarding the effect of nonpay status on TSP accounts at www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/oc95-4.pdf, specific guidance regarding the March 1st sequester at https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/oc137.pdf, and can be reached at 1-877-968-3778 for additional information. Courtesy of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, March 11, 2013

Active Shooter Training Pg. 2 DHS Anniversary Calendar of Events Committee Reports Pg. 2 Pg. 4 Pg. 5

FY13 Retirement Seminars:

CSRS May 14-15 August 14-15 Open Open

Education and Training Leading in the New Reality, Public Service Week, May 7

Location: Gus Solomon Courthouse 620 SW Main St., Room 101 Portland, OR 97205 FERS March 12-13 May 28-29 September 11-12 FULL Open Open

The Oregon Federal Executive Board celebrates Public Service Recognition Week this year by once again bringing a free training session to local federal employees. Management consultant Jerry Strom will present Leading in the New Reality - Facing Workplace Challenges in a Time of Scarcity" on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013, 8:30 11:30 a.m. at the Portland Building, 1100 SW Fifth Ave., in downtown Portland. Mr. Strom will explore the amazing opportunities that exist in todays work environment what works in meeting our immediate challenges, and how we can better prepare ourselves for the future. This highly-focused presentation, based on several recent studies and surveys, will help you improve your effectiveness as a leader, manager/supervisor, and employee facing the new realities at work. Understand what people want, and what you need to know to achieve your goals. Jerry Strom has over a decade working with government leaders and teams to maximize their potential, while gathering a wealth of insights on the most effective people-centric strategies. Watch this newsletter and email announcement from the Oregon FEB for more information in the coming weeks.

Location: 1120 SW Fifth Ave., 2nd Floor Room C, Portland , OR 97204 All Federal Employees: $125 Non-Federal Spouse/Guest: $75 Register: www.oregonfeb.us Questions: ofebtraining@oregonfeb.us

Oregon Federal Executive Board Gus Solomon Courthouse 620 SW Main St., Suite 330 Portland, OR 97205 Executive Director Ron Johnson 503.326.2060 rjohnson@oregonfeb.us Management Analyst Jeff Sargent 503.326.3030 jsargent@oregonfeb.us

Resiliency workshops gaining momentum

The Oregon FEB has conducted three tests of the FEB Resiliency Workshops in preparation for the announcement of free open enrollment and agency specific sessions, starting in late March 2013. The workshops will be scheduled as frequently as possible to meet employee needs. The controlling variables will be the availability of presenters/classrooms and the demand for these free sessions. The workshops will take approximately three hours to conduct and they will be held in the morning and afternoon based on employee and agency needs. Workshop participants will receive a free copy of The Resiliency Advantage, the book by noted local psychologist Dr. Al Seibert, upon which the workshop is based. For more information or to request registration in a future session, please contact Ron Johnson, Oregon FEB Executive Director, at rjohnson@oregonfeb.us.

www.oregonfeb.us

Oregon FEB News & Events, March 2013

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Ready Report
Be ready for severe weather

Emergency Preparedness Announcements and Activities

The first week of March was National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. Guest bloggers on FEMA.gov's website took over their blog all week long, offering their perspectives on how people can be a force of nature in their community and share severe weather safety. Here is a look back at their posts: Weather a key ingredient to a never-ending fire season; from Justin Dombrowski, Director of Response, FEMA Region 9, and John MacLean, author and FEMA reservist Preparedness Matters: Preparing our Stores and Clubs for Severe Weather; Mark Cooper, Senior Director, Walmart Global Emergency Management Preparing Communities for Severe Weather; from Rachel Little, member of FEMAs Youth Council April 2011 The Hardest in My Career; Jim Stefkovich, Meteorologist, National Weather Service, Birmingham, Ala. Linkin Park Has an Emergency Plan Before Severe Weather Strikes; Jim Digby, Director of Touring/Production Manager, Linkin Park Production Tailoring the Message to a Nonprofits Audience; Neil McDevitt, Executive Director, Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre Responding to severe weather while developing tomorrows leaders; Scott Hart, Community Emergency Response Team, Rowlett, Texas Courtesy of www.fema.gov, March 8, 2013

FPS delivers sound advice on active shooter response

Federal Protective Service Inspector Robert Endresen asked those in attendance to leave their building by a different route that day than they normally do. Why? Because the first option in an active shooter scenario should be to escape. However, you primary route may lead to danger. Having alternate routes and practicing them could save you precious time, and your life. This was just one of the many valuable lessons shared at the February 21st meeting of the Oregon & SW Washington Crisis Continuity Coalition (C3), the local interagency emergency management working group. Inspector Endresen shared other best practices on how individuals should respond to an active shooter incident, a review of historical incidents, the evolution of police response and tactics, what to do when law enforcement arrives and employer responsibilities. He also showed an excellent video produced by Ready Houston, Run. Hide. Fight. It can be found on YouTube through the Oregon FEB website at www.oregonfeb.us or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0. At the meeting, new FEMA Region 10 Continuity Program Coordinator Andrew Cleaves also shared the latest FEMA updates, including lessons learned from FEMA's response to Hurricane Sandy and a regional meeting coming in April to Salem, Oregon. The next C3 meeting will be held Thursday, April 18th, at the Portland office of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Contact Jeff Sargent, Oregon FEB, at jsargent@oregonfeb.us for more details.

DHS Ten Year Anniversary

Ten years ago today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began its operations, unifying 22 legacy agencies within a single department with a common mission: to safeguard America and integrate our Nations capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats and disasters of all kinds. DHS has helped transform the way we secure our Nation over the last ten years, making our efforts more agile, proactive, and coordinated. Today, we are also smarter about how we assess risks, and how we mitigate them. And a decade after the creation of a Cabinet-level agency bearing that name, homeland security has come to mean much more. It means the coordinated work of hundreds of thousands of dedicated and skilled professionals, and more than ever, of the American public: our businesses and families, communities and faith-based groups. We are safer and more secure than ever before, and DHS stands ready to confront our future challenges. During March, we will recognize and celebrate the work of DHS employees through a number of initiatives. Earlier this week, I delivered the State of Homeland Security at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of men and women the Coast Guardsman who rescues a sailor; the TSO who keeps a loaded gun off a plane; the cyber expert who prevents harm to our banking system; the FEMA worker who comforts a destitute family; the Border Patrol agent who spends days and weeks in 100 degree plus temperatures patrolling our border; the scientist who figures out a better way to protect a plane; we commemorate our beginnings; our maturation; and our future. This is not a day just to look back and pat ourselves on the back. Its a day to re-commit and to move forward. Janet Napolitano, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security For the complete statement, please go to http://www.dhs.gov/blog/2013/03/01/dhs-10-year-anniversary. Courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security, March 1, 2013 Oregon FEB News & Events, March 2013 Page 2 of 4

Calendar of Events

MARCH 12th13th 14th APRIL 11th 18th M AY 7th Public Service Recognition Week 8:30 11:30 am - Leading in the New Reality 8:30 am 4:00 pm 8:30 am 12:00 pm Location: Portland Building 1120 SW Fifth, Auditorium B, Portland 97204 Cost: Free of charge Location: Gus Solomon Courthouse 620 SW Main St., Room 101, Portland 97205 Cost: $125 Feds, $75 Non-Fed Spouses Locations: Gus Solomon Courthouse, 620 SW Main, Portland GSA Federal Complex, 905/911 NE 11th Ave., Portland Location: Portland Building 1120 SW Fifth, Conference Rm. C, Portland 97204 Cost: $125 Feds, $75 Non-Fed Spouses Shared Neutrals Board Meeting Oregon & SW Washington Crisis Continuity Coalition (C3) 9:00 10:00 am 1:00 3:00 pm Location: TBD Location: Citizenship and Immigration Services 1455 NW Overton Street, Portland 97209 FERS Retirement & Estate Planning Seminar Oregon FEB Policy Committee 8:30 am 4:00 pm 8:30 am 12:00 pm 1:30 3:00 pm Location: Portland Building 1120 SW Fifth, Conference Rm. C, Portland 97204 Cost: This session is FULL Location: Indian Health Service 1414 NW Northrup Street, Suite 800, Portland 97209

14th15th

CSRS Retirement & Estate Planning Seminar

22nd23rd 28th29th

Oregon FEB/PACE Setter POD Drill FERS Retirement & Estate Planning Seminar

Time TBD

8:30 am 4:00 pm 8:30 am 12:00 pm

Go to the Oregon FEB Calendar on our website and click on an item for more details. Registration info for all classes can be found at www.oregonfeb.us.

St. Patricks Day, March 17th

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint's religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast-on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage. Courtesy of History.com

Hot Tips

Warning: Apple App store offering TSP App not sanctioned by TSP.

A free iPhone App, TSP Funds, currently being offered through the Apple App store asks TSP participants for their account login information. This app is not being offered through the TSP and the TSP does not recommend using this.

Oregon FEB News & Events, March 2013

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Committee Reports
OFEB COMMITTEES
Policy Committee The next meeting will feature a review of congressional and administration actions on sequestration, the continuing resolution, the debt ceiling and deficit reduction. Oregon FEB programs and services will also be discussed. Next Mtg: Mar. 14, 1:30 pm Contacts: Ron Johnson 503-326-2060 Lynn Voigt FY 2013 Policy Committee:
Chair Lynn Voigt Farm Service Agency Vice-Chair Andy Smith Bureau of Land Mgmt. At-Large Members

(503) 692-3688 X222

Pacific Northwest Combined Federal Campaign The final 2012 Pacific NW CFC fundraising total is $1,494,491, 91.2% of last year's campaign. Local charity applications are being accepted for 2013 CFC. The submission deadline is April 1st. Applications can be found at www.yourcfc.org. The Pacific NW CFC will also merge with Coos/Curry/Douglas counties in Southern Oregon for 2013. Crisis Continuity Coalition (C3) The February meeting featured an hour-long training session on active shooter preparedness by the Federal Protective Service. The April meeting will be hosted by the Portland office of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and preceded by a new citizen naturalization ceremony. Shared Neutrals/ADR The programs Personnel Committee is working on revising the Shared Neutrals Program Guide. Three new mediators are being added to the roster, and planning continues for the 2013 Annual Meeting. A date is expected to be announced in April. Next Mtg: TBD Contacts: Ron Johnson 503-326-2060 Jeff Sargent 503-326-3030 Next Mtg: Apr. 18, 1:00 pm Contacts: Jeff Sargent 503-326-3030 Celeste Davis 503-414-7774 Next Mtg: Apr. 11, 9:00 am Contacts: Maria Mondragon-Davis 503-808-2930 Zac Hayes

Bill Abadie Army Corps of Engineers Clara Conner Federal Highway Admin., WFLD Celeste Davis HHS/Indian Health Service Camron Doss General Services Admin. Colonel John Eisenhauer Army Corps of Engineers David Ferguson Transportation Security Admin. Gregory Fowler Federal Bureau of Investigation Roy Fox Bonneville Power Admin. Lisa Freedman USDA Forest Service Captain Daniel L. LeBlanc Coast Guard MSU Portland Cynthia Maltsberger Customs & Border Protection Maria Mondragon-Davis USDA Forest Service Hugh Morrison U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service John E. Patrick Portland VA Medical Center

541-750-7023

Oregon Federal Executive Board

Gus Solomon Courthouse 620 SW Main Street, Suite 330 Portland, Oregon 97205 Office Hours: 7:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., M-F Ph: 503.326.3010 Fax: 503.326.2070 Executive Director Ron Johnson Ph: 503.326.2060 Email: rjohnson@oregonfeb.us
Oregon FEB FY13 Chair Lynn Voigt, State Executive Director, Farm Service Agency, Oregon.

Crisis Continuity Coalition:

Chair Celeste Davis HHS/Indian Health Service

Pacific NW CFC:
2012-13 Chair Bill Abadie Army Corps of Engineers

Shared Neutrals/ADR:
Chair Maria Mondragon-Davis USDA Forest Service

Management Analyst Jeff Sargent Ph: 503.326.3030 Email: jsargent@oregonfeb.us www.oregonfeb.us

Oregon FEB News & Events, March 2013

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