J Staff Intranet Blog

Living J Values

Congratulations to Carolyn Gerwick, Aquatics, for receiving a Live Up Award!  Carolyn was recognized for volunteering her time to teach a colleague to swim.  Carolyn received a certificate and a $50 Target gift card.  Way to go, Carolyn!

You can nominate a coworker who lives J Values by completing a short online form here.

KC SuperStar, The J’s annual signature fundraiser, was recognized as one of the Top 10 fundraising events in Kansas City by The Independent Magazine. The event has ranked in the Top 10 since 2014 – an amazing accomplishment.  Congratulations to everyone involved in the planning and execution of KC SuperStar!

Here’s the entire list of winners:

1. Catholic Charities, Snow Ball
2. Children’s Mercy, Red Hot Night
3. Boys and Girls Club, Kids Night Out
4. University of KS Health System, Tread and Threads
5. Catholic Education Foundation, Gaudeamus
6. Wayside Waifs, Fur Ball
7. Advent Health Foundation, Tiny Tim Holiday Fantasy
8. Avila University, Steer Dinner
9. The J, KCSS
10. Benedictine College, 47^th Annual Scholarship Ball

Happy Work Anniversary to These J Team Members:

• Jennifer Caldwell - Aquatics (1 year)
• Drew Dowd - Fitness + Sports (2 years)
• Carmen Dudley - Fitness + Sports (18 years)
• Linda Gordon - Group Exercise (6 years)
• Julie Jobe - Group Exercise (2 years)
• Rochelle Kohn - Child Development Center (6 years)
• Tyler Seaman - Fitness + Sports (4 years)
• Andrew Thompson - Fitness + Sports (4 years)
• Jillian Wilson - Aquatics (1 year)

Thanks to all of you for sharing your time and talent with The J and our members!

How Does MarCom Enrich Mind + Body + Soul?

The J is a unique place. We have a mission and a community. And, we’re a thriving business.

When The J enriches mind + body + soul, the business of communicating that is dependent on marketing.

MarCom brings knowledge into our workplace, about telling this story through advertising, PR, social media and more. This contributes to productivity and effectiveness, providing our internal customers with peace of mind, and helping participants to have a fulfilling program experience.

By offering marketing wisdom, we enhance participants’, and our internal clients’, learning and growing.

To live a healthful life, you need to ensure that you’re happy…inside and out. That means doing things that are congruent with your values. It’s important to be involved with work that aligns with your talents and strengths, to develop and sustain meaningful relationships that nurture your life, and to take time away from your hectic schedule to enjoy a quiet moment in nature or get some needed down time.

Another way to nurture your soul is to find a hobby or passion that excites you and brings you joy. If you’re not sure what that is, think about yourself as a child – what did you do that was fun and created excitement in your life?  It may be something you haven’t done recently, but it might just provide the spark you need to ignite your soul.

Sometimes being still is the answer. You can do that with meditation or yoga. It will help you eliminate the constant clutter that occupies your mind and allow you some quiet time to free yourself from the stress and anxiety of the day.

Getting in touch with your soul through your personal faith, reading spiritual books or perhaps just communing with nature can enrich your soul and invigorate your spirit. The key is trying to get in touch with your personal higher power or inner source that helps to guide and direct your life.

Adapted from post by Lori Rosenberg at lorirosenberg.com

The J is Hiring for Summer!

The J is a great place to work all the time, but summer brings extra hustle-and-bustle and fun as we welcome campers, baseball and softball players, swimmers and more.

We need to hire over 200 summer employees to run our great programs.  Please print our summer jobs flyer and share with any groups or individuals who can help us reach job candidates.

How Does Development Enhance Mind + Body + Soul?

The Development team works hard using J programs to enrich our bodies by utilizing weekly lunchtime Kinesis class (Cindy & Felice) yoga and bodypump (Felice), Crossfit (Alley) and spinning and Personal Training (Cindy).

We like to enrich our minds with lunch and learns through Jewish Community Foundation and programs from Nonprofit Connect.

Our souls are enriched by being part of the special J community 😊 and interacting with members and donors.

J Staffers Display J Values

Congratulations to Brady Wordsworth, DD Gass and Alex Mendiburu.  These J Team members were recently selected for Live Up Awards, which include $50 gift cards.

Brady was recognized for being a Paraeducator for a child with special needs who was enrolled in dance classes. Brady went to the dance classes each week to help focus the child and Brady even danced with the child to encourage him. 

DD and Alex learned that the parents weren't able to attend the Encore Winter Showcase, but the special needs child and two young brothers were going to be dancing in the show and their Au Pair was going to have to juggle the responsibility. Alex volunteered to entertain the child with special needs while he was not on stage. DD helped out getting the other two where they needed to go and then helped with the Dance check-out of kids.

Thanks, Brady, Alex and DD, for demonstrating J Values!  To nominate a coworker for a Live Up award, click here.

Predict the Winners and be a Winner!

The Academy Awards are February 24!  Print and complete a ballot to enter our Oscar contest.  The person who most accurately predicts the winners will receive a $25 AMC gift card.  (In case of a tie, we'll create a drawing from the tied ballots.)

Turn in your ballot to Felice Azorsky in the Admin Suite by 5:00 pm on February 22.

Good luck!

Never Stop Learning

Knowledge is the key to enriching your mind. By continually challenging yourself through various intellectual pursuits, you will also grow personally. You’ll be able to look at problems in a whole new way and understand more about the world around you and how you relate to it. You can accomplish this by continually reading and accessing knowledge from the people around you. You’ll gain new perspectives on cultures, viewpoints, and other ways of doing things.

Here are some ideas for enriching your mind:

• Take a course or work towards a degree
• Keep-up with current news and events
• Challenge your mind with word games, puzzles, Sudoku or other types of brain exercises
• Learn a new language
• Start playing an instrument
• Take up a new artistic pursuit such as painting, drawing or sculpture
• Try something that’s out-of-the-ordinary for you – a cooking class, museum visit or outdoor activity

When you try new things, you stimulate parts of the brain you may not have been using very much. This helps to keep your mind sharp and opens new pathways for learning and growing intellectually.

Adapted from a post by Lori Rosenberg at lorierosenberg.com

...Imagine the Future

All J Staff employees and employees of agencies on the Jewish Community Campus are invited to join me for bagels and coffee in the Campus Dining Room on:

• Wednesday, February 27
• 8:30 to 9:30 am

I'll share details of our upcoming expansion plans and The J's new role as property manager.

RSVP to Alley DeWitt by Monday, February 25.

This meeting is voluntary.  We hope many of our J Team members will choose to attend.

Happy Work Anniversary to These J Team Members:

• Erin Barham - Group Exercise (1 year)
• Sophia Corby - Fitness + Sports (1 year)
• Tracie Holley - Aquatics (9 years)
• Lauren Hopper - Fitness + Sports (4 years)

Thanks to all of you for sharing your time and talent with The J and our members!

Trivia Bowl was a great success and The J's teams had a lot of fun in spite of not taking home any prizes.

The event had 29 teams, 225 participants who drank 190 bottles of beer, 11 bottles of wine and the entire supply of Diet Coke.

We found out that the winning team is a group of people who travel from trivia game to trivia game, playing up to 3 times a week!

Thanks to everyone who planned and attended the event.

Thinking About Summertime...

Freezing rain, icy drizzle, slick sidewalks and roads.  Will winter ever end?

What are you most looking forward to about warmer weather?  Grilling on the deck?  Heading to the lake?  Playing outside until the streetlights come on?

Share your warm weather happy thoughts in the comments section below and we'll all dream of sunshine together.

Do You Know a High School Singer in Kansas City?

Auditions for KC SuperStar are open. Now in our 10th year, KC SuperStar is The J's major fundraiser and is an American Idol style competition that awards the most talented high school singer in Kansas City with a  $10,000 scholarship prize. This is an incredible opportunity for students to audition, work with professionals and grow as performers. There is no fee to register or participate. Preliminary auditions for this unique competition are March 3 & 6 at the Jewish Community Center. Please visit www.kcsuperstar.org to register and get more information.

 A brief quote from the mother of one of a finalist:

“I want you to know that the whole KC Superstar Competition has been the greatest experience for our daughter. She has loved every moment from auditions to practices to the final event. She has made some really nice friends... You all have influenced her to work hard and strive for the best she can be. AND I THANK YOU!  A lot of people go their whole life without getting an opportunity as such and she is well aware that she is blessed. YOU ALL ARE THE BEST!  Many, many thanks!” 

Congratulations, Cast + Crew + Staff!

The J's production of the musical "Cabaret" just received a great review!  A sample highlight:  "Seldom is a community theater cast as well balanced as this one. Everyone is good. Jennifer Renfrow as Sally and Arthur Clifford as the Emcee are standouts."  There are also compliments for the costumes, set, lighting and choreography.  Read the entire review here

The show runs through February 17 with evening performances Thursdays and Saturdays and Sunday matinees.  Every J employee receives a free ticket.  Visit the Box Office or call 913.327.8054.

How Does  Family Engagement Enrich Mind + Body + Soul?

Most of the programs in Family Engagement encompass Mind + Body + Soul!

AIM – Active Inspired Moms is one example. Our monthly sessions include things like Communicating with your children and celebrating/learning about Jewish holidays to enrich the mind; Krav Maga and self-defense to enrich the body; and guided mindfulness and DIY sugar scrubs to enrich the soul. We also have monthly Mom’s Night Out dates to feed our mind, body, and soul!

BYOBaby is another great example. The classes, which include JazzyBabies, Music for Milestones, StoryTime, YogaTots, Let’s Get Sense-y, and BarreBabies encompass each element of Mind + Body + Soul. The amazing relationships that are forming between the participants and to each other are enriching everyone’s soul, including mine!

US postage has gone up as of January 27, 2019.  Please set the postage meter to $.50 now (not $.47).  For more information go to: https://www.stamps.com/usps/postage-rate-increase/

Staff Provide Coverage for Reception

A big thank you to Delaina Melton, Ryan Meyer, Marlen Tudhope and many of the Admin staff for covering the main Reception window this week while Brian takes a well-deserved vacation.

We appreciate J Team members stepping up to provide this essential coverage.

Please say hello and thank you to the people at Reception this week.

Share Your Experience, Ideas and Goals

We rolled out our current J Value last week - Enhancing Mind + Body + Soul.  How do you, in your role at The J, help to enhance mind, body and soul for members, guests, coworkers and yourself?

Tell us what you're currently doing, any ideas you have or personal experiences.

Share your thoughts in the Comments section.  They won't show up, but they'll be compiled and shared throughout the coming weeks.

Everyone who contributes by Friday, February 8th at 5:00 pm will be entered into a drawing to win two tickets to the Johnson County Home + Garden Show, March 8-10 at the Overland Park Convention Center.

Happy Work Anniversary to These J Team Members:

• Bobby Carrico - Fitness + Sports (6 years)
• Salli Katz - Fitness + Sports (1 year)
• Lilli Monaghan - Fitness + Sports (1 year)
• Corey Moyer - Fitness + Sports (3 years)

Thanks to all of you for sharing your time and talent with The J and our members!

Living J Values

Congratulations to Kandice Gerdes, Marketing Communications, for receiving three Live Up Award nominations!  Kandice was recognized for volunteering time in the Heritage Center, going above and beyond to give last minute assistance to a coworker and for always demonstrating J Values in her work at The J.  Kandice received a certificate and a $50 Target gift card.  Way to go, Kandice!

You can nominate a coworker who lives J Values by completing a short online form here.

Living J Values

Kudos to Bobby Carrico, Membership Sales, for receiving a Live Up Award!  Bobby lived up to our J Values when he proactively offered to drive a fellow J Team member to work during a snowstorm.  Both  Bobby and his coworker needed to be at The J for an important Fitness + Sports Open House.  Bobby made sure his coworker had safe transportation.  Thank you, Bobby!

You can nominate a coworker who displays J Values by completing a short online form.  Winners receive a certificate and $50 Target gift card.

As part of Jewish Disabilities Awareness & Inclusion Month, Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Services are presenting a special educational program focusing on supporting individuals with disabilities both in Israel and in the Kansas City Jewish community. 

New Directions for People with Disabilities
7 PM | Tuesday, February 26
JCC Social Hall (wheelchair accessible)
5801 W. 115th Street, Overland Park, KS

This free event will feature Gidi Zur, CEO of Kivunim, an organization serving young people with disabilities in Israel. Zur will share information about Kivunim’s ground-breaking work in creating new programs and models to help those with disabilities live meaningful and independent lives while contributing to society.  

Before and after Zur’s session, there will be a community resource fair showcasing Kansas City organizations that work with special populations. The resource fair will be open from 6:40 - 7:00 pm and immediately following Zur’s session, 8:20 - 9:00 pm.

Please register at jewishkansascity.org/newdirections. If you have questions, please contact Daniel Rivin at 913.327.8124.

Mazel Tov, Lauren Levin & Family!

Lauren Levin, Coordinator of Jewish Experiences, is happy to share that her daughter, Libby, and son-in-law, Ryan, are expecting their first child in August.  Libby also works at The J, in our CDC and B'nai Jehudah CDC.

Congratulations to the entire family and we look forward to seeing photos of baby later this year!

Tax filing season is officially here, but that’s no reason to stress out. United Way of Greater Kansas City is once again offering MyFreeTaxes.com, a free tax e-filing system for households that made $66,000 or less in 2018. This IRS-certified and secure service is powered by H&R Block, and offers free filing for federal and up to three state returns.

Best of all, it’s easy (and free). That means less stress and more money in your pocket!

Our January J Staff Meeting minutes can be viewed by clicking here.  The meeting included:

• Guest presenter Yitzchak Mizrachi, director of the Vaad HaKashruth of Kansas City
• IT Security Tips from David Green
• Family Open House Update from Stacey Belzer
• Shalom Club Invitation from Alley Franke

And more...

Congratulations to these lucky J Team members who won raffle prizes at this morning's Pancake Breakfast:

• Carla Tretiak - Scheels Gift Card
• Amberlynn Macey - Yoga Mat & Yeti
• Mike Silverman - Homemade Soup and Book
• Bekah Burrow - Journal
• Felice Azorsky - Massage Gift Certificate
• Kim Hattrup - Oil Diffuser & Essential Oils
• Jackson Sanders - Barnes & Noble Gift Card
• Andi Madouras - SalonOne19 Gift Card

Please see Mary Beth in the Admin Suite for your prize.  Thanks to the 105 people who attended the breakfast on this cold day.  Also, thanks to our Management Team for prepping, cooking, serving and cleaning up and to Brian Woeppel for managing the t-shirts.

Mazel Tov, Marketing Communications!

 Our J website was just named a "Top Jewish Community Center Website" for 2019.  It was selected for design, user-friendliness and functionality.

 Thank you to Andrew Brown, Kandice Gerdes, Hannah Michelson and Blake Sidebottom for their ongoing work on website content, graphics, strategy and navigation.

The Member Experience Desk is serving Vaad-supervised kosher White Chicken Chili today from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm for just $5.  Stop by to get your soup and say hello to our MED staff.