Eastern Region

AEA Regional Director Update

Whatever happened to the theory of south Jersey weather being moderated by the ocean? It has been one interesting season this year, made worse by the fact that my stepson is learning to drive in this weather!

I did send out a newsletter, unfortunately, I got many returned by the Post Office. If you are an Eastern Region PWC member and didn't get a newsletter; or know someone else who didn't receive one, please let me know. I've also got quite a few bad email addresses for people, so please make sure yours is correct on the website's members section.

We had a social in DC in December at Clyde's and had a great time and some really good food. I was in DC with PWC President Robin Rush attending the Federal Employee's Forum, a joint group that meets quarterly and is comprised of Civil Rights, Human Resources, and the Presidents of all the recognized Employee Association groups. They address items of concern, everything from hiring, complaints, barriers, you name it. The great thing is that FAA Administrator Babbitt attended and pledged his continued support of the group. Additionally, he conveyed that while DOT Secretary LaHood couldn't commit to attending every meeting, he would participate periodically.

Hopefully, everyone has received their copy of the WATCH (look for my articles!). There is some incorrect information about the Conference in ABQ. The trip to Santa Fe will take place on SUNDAY, May 2, not Saturday, and the balloon rides will not take place. Please spread the word on that and really try to make it out there. The Conferences I've attended have been pretty great – a lot of training, networking and loads of fun!

In January, I was in Kansas City for the Board of Directors' Meeting. Board Christina Calvert and her husband Craig were gracious enough (or was it crazy enough) to have most of us stay at their beautiful home. Not only did it save PWC a lot of travel money, it allowed us to talk well into the night and work on issues. Christina set up some great training also, with Crew Resource Management (CRM), which was well attended. It was encouraging to see so many new employees and so many men attend. Special thanks to the ZKC FAA Managers' Association (FAAMA) for providing us with lunch on our training day.

By the way, it's not too late to get your recipes in to me for the PWC Cook Book. Thanks Lynette Jamison and Claudine Ratcliffe for your recipes!

Speaking of training, come out and join us at PHL ATCT on March 23 for a day of informative and interesting training. For those of you who remember her from last year's Training Conference in OKC, Gail Puckett will be providing EEO training and I'm working on getting HR to provide their Generations training; with such a mix of ages, it's sure to be something we can all relate to! In conjunction with the training, I'm going to do a recruitment drive and have a Social that evening. Join us if you can, and let your friends and coworkers know. Everyone is welcome!

We do have some absolutely fabulous news. Due, in large part to the intensive efforts of Lynette Jamison, the FAA now has a REAL Mentoring Program. WOO HOO! Way to go Lynette!

See more pictures on my AEAPWC Facebook page.

Veronica