Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award Winner - Krista Vagnieres

Congratulations are in order for Krista Vagnieres, who works at the front desk at Imagine!’s Coal Creek building, on being selected as the February 2018 recipient of the Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Krista’s nomination included the following praise:

Krista is a quiet force for good for Imagine!’s Coal Creek building and its visitors. Her persistence and attention to detail around has led to several instances of finding significantly lower priced supplies, resulting in substantial cost savings to Imagine!. In addition, Krista has developed training materials for new receptionists and used them to train six new substitute receptionists over the spring and summer. She even rearranged her workspace to make it accessible to one of the new substitute’s wheelchair. 

Great work, Krista, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!

Imagine!'s Dayspring Bulletin - February 2018

Imagine!’s latest Dayspring Bulletin is available online.

Imagine! Leadership Development Group Update

The latest update from Imagine!’s Leadership Development Group (LDG), submitted by LDG member Jen McIntyre. 

Imagine!’s Leadership Development Group has been busy this past month attending the Foundation Board Meeting, the Board of Directors Meeting, and the Executive Team Meeting. Additionally we all recently attend the Colorado State Joint Budget Committee (JBC) briefing held on December 5, 2017 down in Denver.

The JBC is comprised of three Senators and three Representatives and their duty is to study the “management, operations, programs, and fiscal needs of the agencies and institutions of Colorado state government.” Our LDG members attended the Briefing on the Department of Human Services, Services for People with Disabilities, and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, Office of Community Living. By attending this meeting and the Board of Directors Meeting, we were able to learn about the process of how the State of Colorado determines their budget which effects the individuals receiving services through Imagine!. The Governor of the State of Colorado presents his proposed budget to the JBC at the beginning of November. The budget is based upon the Governors priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Soon after, the JBC holds briefings where a JBC staff presents oral and written information to the JBC members and community representatives. The information presented is meant to formulate questions and discussions for each department in an effort to justify how funding is allocated. The briefing the LDG members attended was led by Robin Smart, JBC Staffer. She discussed such issues as the IDD system policy, the CHRP (Children’s Habilitative Residential Program) transfer from DHS (Department of Human Services) to HCPF (Health Care Policy and Financing), cost of living and case load adjustments and compensation adjustments for direct care positions, just to name a few.

Following these Briefings there will be JBC hearings held down in Denver. At these hearings, the different departments will have an opportunity to answer questions about their requests for funding, provide justification for requests and stir up discussion with the JBC members. The JBC members then make their formal proposal for how the funds should be allocated to different departments for the state of Colorado. It has been quite a learning experience for all of us to view and be a part of this process, which affects us all in ways we had not contemplated previously. We look forward to attending these upcoming meetings and learning more about the JBC process.

Innovations Super Hero of the Month - Michelle Cearley

Every month, Imagine!'s Innovations department presents the “Super Hero of the Month” award to the employee or provider who has best demonstrated excellence in one or more of our Innovations Quality Standards:

• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing 
• Effective and Efficient 
• Respect and Dignity 
• Opportunities 
• Integrity 
• Care 

This month, the award was presented to Michelle Cearley, who is the Program Coordinator for our Companion Homes program.

Michelle was nominated by her co-worker, who wrote:

I would like to nominate Michelle Cearley for an award. She is always amazing to work with. No matter what the situation is, I can go to her and she is willing to step in and take control or offer help. She is also super quick and stays on top of every situation until it is finished. Michelle is always upbeat and polite and she treats everyone with the utmost respect. Michelle always strives for improvement, and is willing to lend a helping hand whenever she can.

Imagine!'s Family Support Bulletin - January/February 2018

Imagine!’s latest Family Support Bulletin is available online.

Imagine!’s Family Support Services Life Saver - Maria Klickna

Imagine!’s Family Support Services Program (FSSP) hands out the “Life Saver” award to recognize and honor employees for their overall initiative, positive attitude, and diligent attention to job responsibilities.

This month's recipient is Maria Klickna.

Maria is an exceptional employee of Imagine! and is outstanding in her role as the Family Support Supervisor. Maria supports Imagine! overall by always volunteering for events, tasks, and program operations - while going beyond the requirements of her typical job assignments. She is dependable, loyal, and dedicated to her job and strives to provide excellent customer service to all she works with. We are lucky to have her!

Imagine!'s Early Intervention Rockstar - Doris Franco

Imagine!’s Early Intervention (EI) program has a terrific team working to create a world of opportunity for all abilities. To show their appreciation, this team chooses a “Rockstar” each month within their program. Team members submit nominations describing what the nominee has contributed, going above and beyond to support those we serve.

We would like to recognize Doris Franco as this month’s Rockstar:

"Doris exceeds expectations in her role as an EI Supervisor. She brings a positive and resilient attitude to our EI team and is always exploring creative ways to be proactive. For example, Doris's communication with not only the individuals she directly supervises, but with the entire EI team is stellar. Doris takes the initiative to communicate important information in keeping everyone up to date and supports the entire EI team in understanding the content. Doris also exceeds at customer service when working with family we serve. She creates a positive experience by naturally presenting her personal touch, or going the extra mile to make our families feel like they are receiving the best care and advocacy from us. Finally, Doris supports the greater Imagine! team by offering her Spanish bilingual skills to the entire agency. She takes on tasks to help translate information and always offers a helping hand when communication is needed with our Spanish speaking families. Doris is truly an EI Rock Star!!"

Mara Kuczun: Recipient of the January 2018 Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award

Congratulations are in order for Mara Kuczun, who is part of Imagine!’s Dayspring team, on being selected as the January 2018 recipient of the Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Mara’s nomination included the following praise:

Mara Kuczun is so good at her job that I feel I sometimes neglect to recognize her. After receiving some positive comments today from the families she serves, I realized that it is time she is recognized for the amazing job she does. She is one of Dayspring's top preferred provider because she advocates for the low income families and is always going above and beyond by accepting any referrals that come her way. She is Dayspring's only bilingual provider and even when she is over booked and receives a Spanish speaking referral, she finds a way to make it work. The service coordinators enjoy working with Mara because she is always on time with her paperwork, writes detailed notes, and is a great communicator. The families love working with Mara because the strategies and techniques she coaches the family on show results. One family said, "The wisdom and professionalism of Mara was wonderful. She not only helped our son, but helped my wife and I with techniques to cope and improve his deficiencies. She was always well prepared and offered abundant suggestions for improvement." Mara deserves to be recognized for the amazing customer service she provides the families she serves. The professionalism, integrity, and respect that she brings to all aspects of her work are pretty rare to find in an employee. 

Great work, Mara, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!