Your DAS Employee eNews (2024)

January 3, 2023

Happy New Year! I hope you were able to relax during the holidays and reflect on some of your professional and personal accomplishments from 2022. As we dive into the new year, I hope you’ll take some time to reflect on the excellent year we had at DAS in 2022. The article below lists some of our accomplishments last year. Thank you for all your hard work in 2022. I’m so proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to a rewarding 2023!

One immediate change we’ll see this year is a new Chief Procurement Officer in our General Services Division. I’m pleased to announce that beginning Jan. 9, Justin Lovett will succeed Kelly Sanders, who accepted a position as Chief of Staff with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC). I want to extend a very sincere thank you to Kelly for her outstanding work here at DAS and wish her all the best at DRC.

Justin, who will serve as Chief Procurement Officer/Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, is a native of Jackson County who most recently served as Jackson County Prosecutor for the last 10 years. Prior to that, his state government experience included working at the Ohio Attorney General’s office in the Capital Crimes Unit under four Attorneys General. He also is co-founder of a thriving local charity focusing on alleviating child hunger.

Justin graduated from Oak Hill High School and earned his Eagle Scout rank before receiving a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in political science from the University of Rio Grande. He also holds a juris doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law.

I’m excited to welcome Justin to the DAS team!

Scale to new heights in 2023

The Scale the Summits Statewide Step Challenge will take participants on a hike to eight thrilling summits from Morocco to Nepal.

This latest Take Charge I Live Well walking challenge for employees enrolled in the state medical plan and their enrolled spouses starts Jan. 15 and ends Feb. 15.

To register:

• Download the Virgin Pulse mobile app or visit das.ohio.gov/wellness and click The Hub tile.
• Log in and go to the Challenges page in the Social tab.
• Click Join Now.

A program overview webinar will be held from 12 to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4. For information about this and other webinars this month as well as to learn how to be reimbursed for your fitness facility membership, see the January edition of Wellness Happenings on the DAS intranet.

Looking back: 2022 at DAS

Below are a few of our agency’s many accomplishments from the past calendar year:

• Hosted eight well-attended Perspectives Series events featuring state agency leaders. View the discussions on The Ohio Channel.
• Raised a U.S. flag for the first time on the new 50-foot flagpole on the roof of the Rhodes Tower in honor of Veterans Day.
• Expanded the Kronos timekeeping system to nearly three-quarters of state employees.
• Finalized the fifth and final three-year collective bargaining agreement.
• Redesigned DAS.ohio.gov and myOhio.gov, including an upgraded DAS intranet.
• Finalized the sale of the Oliver Ocasek Building in Akron. The sale will result in a nearly $13 million cost avoidance of capital and operating expenses over the next five years.
• Streamlined the online civil service application making it easier for individuals to apply for positions in state government.
• Helped the state receive a Government Project Experience Award from the Center for Digital Government for a series of initiatives to fight attempted fraud, improve security, and enhance service and privacy for Ohioans seeking benefits.
• Reported an increase in the number of hires who self-identified during the application process as having a disability, an important objective of Governor DeWine’s Disability Inclusion Program.
• Continued the expansion of the OhioBuys procurement module with the implementation of Wave 4. We now have more than 50 agencies, boards, and commissions using OhioBuys.
• Recognized by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers for Ohio’s work to provide better service to citizens through Ohio Benefits.
• Implemented the expansion of maternity health care benefits and the addition of 40 hours of foster and kinship caregiver leave for eligible state employees.
• Added three MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) towers to better service Ohio communities.
• Featured displays in the Rhodes Tower lobby of all 88 Ohio county flags and state employees who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Added dashboards to the DataOhio Portal, including the State Employee Trends dashboard and the Community Wellbeing: Social Determinants of Health dashboard.
• Collaborated with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to transition Ohio to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
• Began sharing monthly calendars full of information related to cultural observances and Civil Rights Movement historic moments. Watch the DAS intranet for the latest calendars.

Save the date: MLK event Jan. 12

Join your DAS colleagues for the 2023 Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration at noon Thursday, Jan. 12 at Trinity Episcopal Church, located in downtown Columbus at the southeast corner of Third and Broad streets.

This inspiring celebration, sponsored by the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission, is the State of Ohio’s recognition of Dr. King, the 2023 MLK holiday, and its significance. The celebration is for the community and state employees.

State employees are welcome and encouraged to attend in person. DAS employees are invited to join during their lunch break. Because the event is expected to last approximately an hour and 15 minutes, DAS supervisors are asked to be flexible in allowing employees to flex their time or take leave time.

At the celebration, three individuals and five organizations will be recognized for their efforts to advance nonviolent social change. Governor Mike DeWine and the Commission announced the awardees today.

The celebration also will feature elementary, middle, and high school students who won first place at the Statewide MLK Oratorical Contest. They will serve as the keynote speakers.

The contest also is sponsored by the Commission along with an MLK-themed calendar. Inside the calendar are historic references and a chronology of Dr. King's life and the Civil Rights Movement. For information about obtaining a calendar, visit DAS.ohio.gov/MLK or make a request by emailing Bobbi.Bell-Bartholomew@das.ohio.gov.

The Commission receives administrative support from our Administrative Support Division.

January Diversity/Civil Rights Calendar

With each new year, there is a sense of new opportunities, new approaches, and new goals. Each year brings a blank slate, waiting for us to grow and improve. The same holds true for continuing our mission to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and awareness. Check out the DAS intranet for the Diversity/Civil Rights calendar for January.

Start the new year with professional development

Further your professional development, improve your skills, and learn how to be a better colleague or manager by taking courses that will provide you with the tips, tools, and resources to achieve greater success.

Consider registering for the following virtual and in-person courses available in the first quarter of 2023 from our State Human Resources Division’s Office of Talent Management:

Virtual instructor-led courses

• Actively Engaged in My Performance, Jan. 12, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Holding Difficult Conversations, Jan. 18, 1:30 – 4 p.m.
• Customer Service: Taking C.A.R.E of Ohio, Jan. 26, 10 a.m. – noon
• Resolving Conflict in the Workplace, Feb. 9, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Managing Your Time, Feb. 23, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Essentials of Effective Communication, March 8, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
• Holding Difficult Conversations, March 16, 9:30 a.m. – noon

Instructor-led course

• Customer Service in a Compliance Environment, March 2, 10 a.m. – noon

eLearning course

• Assertiveness in the Workplace, accessible 24/7 via Ohio Learn

Follow the steps provided in the Enrolling or Dropping a Course in Ohio Learn job aid to register or drop courses in Ohio Learn, which is accessed from myOhio.gov.

For general questions, contact: DAS-HRD.LTD.Training@das.ohio.gov.

Appeared @OhioDAS

On the move

Office of Information Technology

• Congratulations to Nani Carroll, IT Manager 2 for the Infrastructure Services Division, who retired Dec. 31 after 31 years of state service.
• Clayton Carver of the Enterprise Computing Services team was promoted to an IT Manager 1 position.
• Tina Miller of the Customer Service Center was promoted to an IT Manager 1 position.
• Brian Summers of the Enterprise Computing Services team was promoted to an IT Manager 1 position.

State Human Resources Division

• Ashlee Hill, State Payroll Specialist, joined the State Payroll team.

Tell Us About It

DAS eNews is published for DAS employees by the DAS Office of Communications.
To submit story ideas or share comments, please email Molly O’Reilly McGhee of the
DAS Office of Communications at DASCommunications@das.ohio.gov.

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