Holiday Greetings from EOD – Nov 29, 2019
Holiday Greetings from your Executive Operations Director – November 29, 2019
I hope that you have had a Thanksgiving Day filled with good moments and plentiful food with family and/or friends.
Exciting News! Operating and Capital Campaign 2019/2020 statements were produced and sent via email from our new database system REALM. This is exciting as we have been inputting data and working toward launch for some time. This brings us a big step forward. Thank you to Tom Carlton, Project Manager, who has been working with the system to produce statements, as well as align our pledge and payments processes in REALM. Melanie Kitchner and Vickie Doebele have done a great deal of work inputting data into REALM these past many months. Thank you. 2019 year-end tax statements will be generated early in January.
A new kitchen staff hire was made Wednesday. Join me in welcoming Sydney Bias on Sunday. Sydney has had lots of experience in kitchens, has his food handling license, and has run the soup kitchens at Ebenezer Church here in Evanston. Sydney lives close by. Please stop in and say hello as he begins his first day of training and kitchen coordination.
This Wednesday, the two lobby washrooms were painted and new vinyl base trim was installed. Once dry we will install lovely framed artwork that we inherited through the Rummage Sale. Please enjoy the new and improved, lighter and brighter washrooms.
Simultaneously, Dan from Dahlia Floors has been installing new tiles and vinyl base trim in the lift lobby area (tunnel) and outside the furnace room, which abuts the existing tiles in the lower level. The LULA has also been recently repainted and new tiles were installed today to match the area outside the lift doors. This area has needed care for some time. I have also ordered new treads for the stairs leading to the lobby from the tunnel. It really looks fresh and nice. These were planned as operating fund expenditures. As part of the Capital Campaign new lobby, wing, and classroom flooring will be installed. Johna VanDyke is working on that project. Thank you, Johna.
Carol Nielsen and I made a visit to a cabinet company to get samples and figure out new cabinetry for the kitchen rehab project. Carol has done a great deal of work with the architect Thomas Ahleman and his associates. The kitchen will close just after a memorial service on January 4 and will reopen in March.
Work continues by the Capital Campaign Implementation Team, of which I am a member. A town hall meeting will be held on Sunday, December 15 following the Sunday service Pageant. You will be provided with updates on the work done on the parking lot and highlights from the kitchen work. CCIT will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. Please join us.
The Stewardship 2020 Task Force, requested by the Board of Trustees, has met to discuss strategies for the upcoming March 2020 Pledge Drive. We have an outline of ideas for the drive. We are looking for co-chairs. If you are interested or know someone who may be, please contact me. Members of the team are Shirley Adams, Jean Butzen, Kristen Larsen, Susan Comstock, and myself.
Our new phone system is operable. The sticking point is our level of comfort with our door intercom system and the phone working together. So far this week it has worked for 8 days. If this continues we will launch into the phone system switchover. Adam Gough has been heading up this effort. Thank you, Adam.