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From Director Madden:
I hope you enjoyed the long weekend and had some time to reflect on the sacrifices our veterans and their families have made for us.
To help celebrate Veterans Day, last week we raised a U.S. flag for the first time on the new flagpole on the roof of the Rhodes Tower. A flag will fly from the 50-foot flagpole year round, but a larger flag, measuring 8 feet by 12 feet, will be raised for several holidays, including Veterans Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day as well as other important national holidays. I was pleased to join several veterans who are state employees for the flag raising.
As part of National Veterans and Military Families Month, we have the opportunity at noon Tuesday to learn about our colleagues’ efforts to make Ohio the most veteran/military-friendly state in the nation. Please plan to join this 45-minute “fireside chat” with Maj. Gen. (U.S. Army, retired) Deborah Ashenhurst who is the Ohio Department of Veterans Services Director and Major General John C. Harris Jr. who is the Ohio Adjutant General.
Please plan to join this Perspectives Series event on site in the Rhodes Tower Lobby Hearing Room. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed via The Ohio Channel.
 Four state employees who are U.S. military veterans joined Director Madden and Assistant Director Ryan Garber for the flag raising ceremony Thursday. Participating veterans (from left between Director Madden and Assistant Director Garber) were: Robin Mahady, Ohio Department of Veterans Services; Tammy Puff, Governor’s Office; Pete LuPiba, Ohio Office of Budget and Management; and Ryan Dalton with DAS. Also attending was Michael Murray with the Governor's Office (far left).
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State Government Spotlight
Governor announces outdoor recreation projects
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz awarded $1.7 million in grants last week to support dozens of new outdoor recreation projects in local communities across the state.
“We are excited to help communities all over Ohio create fun, safe, and inclusive outdoor recreation opportunities,” said Governor DeWine. “These grants help local parks improve and upgrade their outdoor spaces for citizens of Ohio.”
Leave Conversion ends at 4 p.m.
The deadline is 4 p.m. today for eligible employees who want to convert eligible sick, personal, and vacation leave time to cash or personal leave to sick leave.
Visit myOhio.gov for the Leave Conversion application, instructions, the leave conversion rates matrix, and job aid.
If you are unable to log into myOhio.gov, please contact the OAKS Help Desk at 1-888-644-6625 and select Option 1.
For more information about the leave conversion process, contact Hannah Lindner (614-752-2489) or Rhonda Cunningham (614-728-5863) of the DAS Office of Employee Services.
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Holiday Meals Campaign kicks off today
 The State of Ohio Holiday Meals campaign gives us one last opportunity in 2022 to give collectively to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. Every $1 donated provides $5.22 in groceries, which is the equivalent of 4.5 meals.
The MidOhio Collective:
- Provides over 170,000 meals a day for our neighbors in central and eastern Ohio.
- Has the advanced logistics to distribute millions of pounds of food — nearly 65% fresh — to our communities.
- Is serving more hungry families than last year. So far this year, they have served more than 122,000 first-time customers who have never visited a food pantry before. This is a more than 30 percent increase from 2021.
Donate here to the State of Ohio’s Holiday Meals Campaign.
Employee discounts available
Looking for some new entertainment options? Check out the many options offered to state employees … and at a discount! Discounted events coming soon to Columbus include the Harlem Globetrotters, Disney on Ice: Let’s Celebrate, the World’s Toughest Rodeo, and Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. COSI (Center of Science and Industry) and the Columbus Zoo also offer discounts throughout the year.
In Cleveland, the Cleveland Cavaliers recently tipped off their season – get great seats to see them take on the best of the NBA. Playhouse Square offers discounts to many upcoming shows including Cats, Hamilton, and Hadestown. Discount tickets also are available for the Monster Jam Arena Tour.
In Cincinnati and Sandusky, Great Wolf Lodges of Ohio are a great place to get away for a while, especially as colder weather is upon us.
To view all of your sports and entertainment discount options, log in to myOhio.gov, click the My Life and Career tab, filter by keyword by entering the word “discount,” and click the Employee Discount tile.
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DAS Spotlight
Clinkscale: Job seekers increasingly comfortable disclosing disabilities
Our State ADA Coordinator, James Clinkscale, of our State Human Resources Division, spoke Nov. 4 at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.
He gave an update on our Disability Inclusion Program and the progress of state employment for people with disabilities.
The accomplishments he shared included the fact that since the inception of the Ohio Disability Inclusion Program in 2019, there have been 347 State of Ohio hires who self-identified during the application process as having a disability. This employment data shows that State of Ohio job seekers evidently have become more comfortable disclosing that they have a disability, which is an important objective of the program.
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Final reminder: StateAlert testing Wednesday
DAS is conducting an exercise of our electronic employee emergency notification system, StateAlert, on Wednesday evening.
If needed, please update the contact information in your profile by going to: myOhio.gov>My Workspace>myInfo by close of business today. For questions or assistance, contact StateAlert@das.ohio.gov or Melinda Craig, State Business Continuity Manager, at 614-728-2884.
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Training Corner
Annual mandatory trainings due Dec. 30
All DAS employees must complete the following courses by Friday, Dec. 30:
- Securing Ohio courses:
- 2022 Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training
- 2022 Ohio Protecting Privacy Training
- 2022 Securing Ohio Mobile Device Security
- 2022 Social Engineering Red Flags
- The Ohio Ethics Law 2022: Just the Facts (of Jaw-Dropping Investigations)
- EEO Awareness and Sexual Harassment Prevention – FY 23
These courses are available in Ohio Learn. For more information, including how to access the courses, visit the DAS intranet.
Communicate and Caffeinate Friday morning
Join your DAS peers for the next Wellness Communicate and Caffeinate being held at 10 a.m. Friday. Participants will be invited to share tips to stay well during the holidays.
To have this session added to your calendar, open the attachment included in the announcement sent last week from das.employeeservices@das.ohio.gov or join the Teams meeting here.
“Communicate and Caffeinate: Espresso Yourself!” is an open forum and safe environment to share both obs-tea-cles and success stories with your peers across the agency. All interested DAS employees are encouraged to participate and communicate with their supervisor prior to attending.
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Recent Media Highlights
Appeared @OhioDAS
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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.
Follow us on Twitter @OhioDAS
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