2022 Spring HR Insider Newsletter

Spring 2022

Insider Human Resources Creativity | Collaboration | Integrity | Stewardship | Professionalism | Science-Based

Spring 2022

Spring Edition 2022

Benefits

HRA Rollovers Davis Vision Access Discount Plan

Retirement Mission Square Market Mission Square Upcoming Webinars Volatility Webinar TCDRS Lunch Bites

Training Online Training & Development Second Quarter Training Schedule Wellness ACI Webinar - Mental Health Awareness Records Tips for Content Authors and Site Owners

Recruitment St. Mary’s Career Trek New Hires

Promotion

Important Dates Deadlines; Anniversaries; Birthdays and Events

CLICKABLE LINKS:

MEDICAL DENTAL FSA/DCAP/HRA

LIFE/AD&D/LTD

RETIREMENT

ICMA-RC

Spring 2022

Benefits

Mission Square Market Volatility Webinars Retirement Recent market changes may have you concerned about your assets. Many investors consider changing their in - vestment strategy when market drops occur. A sound approach is to remember that market fluctuations are nor - mal and that staying the course may produce greater returns in the long run. Try focusing on what is within your control, like saving more. Learn more about market volatility by clicking HERE .

HRA Rollovers

The 90-day run-off period for the Health Reimburse - ment Arrangement (HRA) which gives you an oppor - tunity to submit claims for reimbursements for the pre-

to $1000 of your dental/vision HRA will be combined with your 2022 dental/vision HRA. NPOS Plan -

vious year, ended on March 31, 2022. Up to $2,500 of your remaining funds will rollover to the 2022 HRA plan and any remaining funds will rollover to your Retirement Health Savings (RHS) account. You may expect to see your rollover funds in your Profi - cient account by mid-April. The $2,500 of 2020 HRA funds will rollover as fol- lows:

Up to $2500 will rollover to your 2022 HRA which can be used for medical, dental, and vision expenses. Employees identified as having funds rolling over to an RHS account for the first time will be contacted by Hilda Campos for com - pletion of the appropriate documents to setup an RHS account.

To attend a seminar on Investing During Mar- ket Volatility, register HERE. This online webinar will be available 3 times during the month of April. You can also sign up for an individual appointment with Sallie Harborth, MissionSquare Retirement Plan Specialist to assist you with establishing goals for retire- ment and developing a strategy for your reti- rement plan.

Mission Square Retirement Upcoming Education Webinars

HDHP Plan - Up to $1,500 of your medical HRA will be combined with your 2022 medical HRA. Up

Retirement Basics Wednesday, April 13th

Financial Planning Basics: Do You Have a Tailo- red Financial Plan in Place? Wednesday, May 11th Everyone can benefit from a financial plan that is tailored to individual needs and circumstances. A financial roadmap can motivate you to save money, help you meet your financial goals, and improve your overall financial security now and in the future. Retirement Income Planning Thursday, May 26th Most of us imagine retirement as a happy time, a reward for a lifetime of hard work, full of possi- bility and potential. We have good reason to see retirement in a positive light. Americans are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. In fact, for some of us, retirement will make up a full third of our lives. Of course, this means that our retirement assets will have to do more for us over a longer pe- riod of time. This makes planning for our retirement essential.

Retirement income planning is the process of un - derstanding how much income you’ll need during your retirement years to support the retirement li- festyle you want, and positioning your assets to pro- vide that income. While there’s no such thing as a “one size fits all” plan, there are steps you can take to maximize the possibility of a financially secure retirement. 10 Question Retiree Guide Wednesday, April 27th and June 22nd Transitioning into and through retirement can be rewarding and challenging. So having a plan is im- portant. We’ll focus on 10 key questions you should ask, from saving, to Social Security and Medicare, and managing your investments, withdrawals, and taxes.

Davis Vision Access Discount Plan from GuardianLife

If you are enrolled in dental coverage, you can receive discounts on vision care services or supplies from your vision provider if they are under contract with the Davis Vision network. The Guardian Davis Vision Access plan

is a discount program that helps you save and stay on top of your eye care. This discount program does not serve as traditional vision insurance. You must pay the entire dis- counted fee directly to your Davis Vision network doctor and discounts are not available

from providers outside the Da- vis Vision network. Additional discounts include laser vision correction and shopping from online retailers. Find a participating doctor near you by visiting Guard- ian website or call 1-800-877-7195 Upon login, click on Benefits > Overview > click on Vision under coverage.

AVERAGE DISCOUNTS

Eye Exams

15% off usual charge

Frames, Standard Lenses and Lens Options

20%% - 80% usual charge

Contact Lens

10% - 20% off usual charge

Contact Lens Professional Services

15% - 25% off usual charge

Laser Surgery

Up to 25% off usual charge

Register HERE for all webinars. All webinars are held from 12:00 - 1:00 CST.

4 / 12

5 / 12

Spring 2022

Mission Square Retirement Webinar: Investing for Retirement Thursday, April 21st, 10:00am -11:00am Whether you’re just staring out or need a refresher, this session will discuss basic investing concepts, including risk, asset allocation, diversification, rebalancing, mar - ket timing, and dollar-cost averaging. Click HERE to join Zoom meeting Meeting ID: 980 7256 1691 Passcode: 098377 It is the policy of the EAA to secure the highest quality goods and services for EAA funds available. This in- cludes awarding contracts to those vendors that provide the most advantageous goods capable of meeting the needs of the organization. This session will review the EAA Procurement Proce- dures, M/WBE Program & Inclusion Initiatives. Topics include: • Procurement thresholds and types • Procurement Methods • Contracts and Agreements • M/WBE Program and Goals Join Zoom Meeting HERE Meeting ID: 841 1849 9163 Passcode: 200904 See Your Possibilities: Session I – Leading Through Change Thursday, May 13th, 9:00am -12:00pm Change is constant — that is a given. How to be an effective manager or supervisor in the midst of change is not. However, it’s important to learn how to man - age and lead through change because it is frightening to many people. They might even see it as a threat to their environment and living under a threat — real or imagined — is devastating to morale and motivation. This session will show what steps to take when change occurs and how to lead your team effectively. Click Contract & Procurement Procedures Thursday, April 28th, 10:00am -11:00am

schedule an appointment prior to or after the webinar. Click HERE to register for counseling. See Your Possibilities: Session II – Managing Emo- tions Through Change Friday, June 10th, 9:00am -10:00am People don’t turn off their emotions when they enter the workplace. If they’re angry or upset at home, those feelings are likely to carry over to their jobs. Handling strong emotion is an important managerial and supervi- sory skill. It can mean the difference between high and low productivity, keeping and losing good employees, and maintaining or destroying the overall effectiveness. In this session, you’ll learn how to manage emotions. Click HERE to join Zoom meeting Meeting ID: 827 3464 4080 Passcode: 192955 EAGIS Password Management Wednesday, June 29th, 11:30am -12:30pm Learn how to update your password for EAGIS Online Reporting portal and best practices for using the sys - tem. Click HERE to join Zoom meeting. Local government entity employees who have access to a local government computer system or database and elected officials must take a DIR-certified cybersecurity course as required by Texas Government Code Section 2054.5191. On May 3rd, staff will receive an email from Human Resources with additional instructions regarding this training. This training must be completed by May 14, 2022. EAA Field Safety Training (Mandatory for Field Personnel) Thursday, May 16th, 10:00am - 11:00am This training will discuss the importance of safety awareness and hazard prevention. Topics include situa- tion awareness, slips/falls, lift/ladder safety, equipment, vehicle inspection, driver safety, and personal protec- tive equipment (PPE) and basic COVID19 protocols while working in the field. This session will be recorded and made available in SharePoint for those who are unable to attend this event. Click HERE to join Zoom meeting. Meeting ID: 853 5756 6430 Passcode: 455559 M A N D AT O R Y T R A I N I N G Cyber Security Awareness Training (Mandatory for EAA Staff) Tuesday, May 3rd

Last month TCDRS kicked off a new monthly Facebook Live series “Lunch Bites.” On the second Friday of every month from 12:00 p.m. - 12:20 p.m. TCDRS repre - sentatives will discuss & answer your questions live on a specific topic. To view past events, click HERE or tune in live HERE. Texas County District Retirement System (TCDRS)

Wednesday, April 13th: Savings and Investment Basics Wednesday, April 20th: Preparing for your Retirement Wednesday, April 27th: 457(b) Plans & IRAs TCDRS Pre-Retirement Webinar: Planning for a Successful Retirement Retirement is not just about the money. If you are thin - king about retiring in the next five years, join TCDRS for a webinar about how to plan for a successful reti- rement. They will not only talk about the financial as - pect of retirement, but the emotional transition as well. Plus, they will walk you through the steps for proces- sing your TCDRS retirement. Click HERE to register for this event held on Tuesday, May 10th @12:00 p.m.

TCDRS Hosted By: Mid-Career Topics Retirement planning is more than just understanding your TCDRS benefits. Join TCDRS as they host spea - kers from the Association of Financial Educators to provide you with additional information related to bu- dgeting, saving, and other financial resources to help you plan for retirement and the unexpected on your road to retirement. Click HERE to register for one or more events of the following webinars. Online Training and Development Training

We encourage all employees to sign up for webinars as they become available and continue to explore online tra- ining resources. Check out our HR Training/Events Calendar in SharePoint for upcoming virtual events designed for the EAA. In addition, online training is available thru Fred Pryor, NeoGov, TML, and New Horizons. Please contact Margaret Ross if you have any questions or have difficulty logging into these portals.

2nd Spring Quarter Virtual Events

HERE to join Zoom meeting Meeting ID: 861 8452 9584 Passcode: 653828 TCDRS Retirement Seminar Wednesday, May 25th, 10:00am -11:00am

See Your Possibilities: Performance DNA Perso- nal Profile Discussion Friday, April 15th, 9:00am -10:30am This session will discuss the Performance DNA© Personal Profile assessment. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses in behavior, driving forces, and competencies will lead to personal and profes- sional development and a higher level. Topics Include: Personal effectiveness and self-awa - reness, Do’s and Dont’s of communication, Unders- tanding and appreciating other styles, Perceptions, Strengths, Weaknesses, Energizers, & Stressors,

Value to the organization, Super-powers and secret weapons After the discussion, the consultant will schedule a one-on-one meeting with each participant to create a personal development plan. Registration is required. Space is limited to 15 par - ticipants. To register, email your request to Margaret Ross by Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Once registered, additional details regarding the Performance DNA© Personal Profile assessment and link to attend will be provided.

This seminar will be an overview of retirement benefits through TCDRS. Learn how the TCDRS plan works, beneficiary details, survivor benefits, vesting and re - tirement eligibility requirements, retirement payment options. Click HERE to register for the seminar The TCDRS Online Personal Benefit Counseling web - site is available any time whether you would like to

7 / 12

6 / 12

Spring 2022

Wellness

4. Capitalization usually doesn’t matter in search – except for Boolean operators. Searching for Dogs is the same as searching for dogs. But searching for Dogs OR Cats is not the same as searching for Dogs or Cats. In the first case, you will find items referring either Dogs or Cats. In the second, you will most likely find content with both Dogs AND Cats in the content becau- se “or” will be ignored and the default operator is AND. 5. Use property searches if you know for sure that a particular word is in the title or name of a docu- ment. You can use filename:value to search for words in the file name or Title:value to search for a term in the Title. Note: if Title is blank, the Title:value syntax will also look for the value of the file name. If Title is not blank, this query will only look at content in the Title. This syntax is helpful to know because sometimes, you know for sure that a word is in the name of a document, but you can’t remember the entire document name. 6. Use a wildcard if you want to be sure to get va- riations of the term you are looking for or if you are not sure about spelling. The asterisk (*) is used as a wildcard and will widen search results. When used fo- llowing a set of characters (i.e., edu*), the results will include everything beginning with “edu” such as: edu - cate, educational, education, etc. The wildcard can not be used preceding a set of characters, such as *ion.

sults you are looking for in search is that you are not giving the search engine enough of a clue to find what you want. It’s a good idea to use more than one word to search. If you don’t get the results you want, try adding more terms to your search. To be certain that the search engine knows how you want to connect the terms, you must separate the words with an operator. For more re- sults, the operator is probably “OR” – and you need to make sure that you capitalize OR. 2. Use AND to narrow your search results. Most search engines, including SharePoint, assume that two words together with no operator separating them im- plies AND as the operator. In other words, a search for apples pears is the same as apples AND pears. Get in the habit of including the operator – in capital letters or it will be ignored. 3. Use double quotes to find exact phrases. If you want to learn about “social media” and don’t want a bunch of results that include documents that include the word social and media – but are not about “social media,” put the term in double quotes – “social media.” This tells the search engine to find the exact phrase in - side the quotes. Recruitment On Wednesday, March 23rd, the EAA staff hosted 9 stu - dents from St. Mary’s University Career Treks program at the Field Research Park (FRP). This is a new program initiated by St. Mary’s University to further enhance the students’ experience with future careers and paths of study. Thomas Marsalia, EAAAquifer Sustainability Manager, took students on a walking tour of the FRP and its research programs. Earlier in the month, Mr. Marsa- lia was also a guest lecturer at a St. Mary’s University Environmental Science class where he expounded on the EAA’s mission and its varied programs in support of that mission. St. Mary’s Career Trek

ACI Webinar: Mental Health Awareness: Shedding the Stigma Thursday, June 16th, 10:00am - 11:00am

Mental health issues can affect anyo - ne regardless of age, gender, geo- graphy, income, social status, race/ ethnicity, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, background or other as- pect of cultural identity. This session will outline the differences between mental health well-being and men- tal health issues. It explains on how to nurture mental health wellness and indicators when support may be needed. Click HERE to register

Records

Tips for Better Search Results in SharePoint Tips for Content Authors and Site Owners:

2. Use meaningful file names and titles. File names and titles are very important metadata attributes. By de- fault, SharePoint search results prominently feature the Title of a document. If Title is blank, results feature the file name. Tips for Searchers 1. Use OR to expand your search to include more terms. One of the reasons that you may not get the re -

1. Use metadata in document/record libraries. Search engines use algorithms to know whether the terms you are searching for match the items to be sear- ched. If your term matches the terms in the File Name, Title, or other metadata, the item will usually be wei- ghted higher than if the term is in the document text. For assistance with adding metadata to your records or active working SharePoint sites, contact Nichelle Cun- ningham, Sr Records Coordinator.

Stay up to date with the latest job vacancies and scheduled career fairs by visiting the CURRENT VACANCIES

Calendar of Events directly on the EAA Careers page. Once you’ve subscribed, you will receive updates to vacancies as they become available.

8 / 12

9 / 12

Spring 2022

New Hires

We would like to recognize and congratulate our 2nd quarter 2022 EAA employee anniversaries. Thank you for your dedicated service and we wish you many more successful years ahead! Anniversaries

Nikki Young - Senior Community Outreach and Development Administrator

Name

Date Of Hire

Recognized at Board

Years of Service

Newfel Mazari Shelly Hendrix Mark Hamilton

03/27/2017 04/02/2012 04/14/2002 04/23/2007 05/21/2012 06/04/2012

04/12/2022 04/12/2022 05/10/2022 05/10/2022 05/21/1012 06/04/2012

5 Years 10 Years 20 Years 15 Years 10 Years 10 Years

Nikki joined our Communications & Development department on April 4, 2022. Nikki comes to the EAA with over 20 years of experience in commu- nity engagement, public relations and program de- velopment. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts

Jose Barela

Thomas Marsalia Charles Bradshaw

degree from Southwest Texas State University. Nikki is responsible for a wide variety of communication activities including coordinating and/or executing development and community outreach efforts in support of the mission of the Edwards Aquifer Authority and the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy.

Deadlines and Events

June 10 June 16 June 16 June 17 June 20 June 24 June 29

See Your Possibilities Session II EAAVirtual Staff Meeting via Zoom

NEW SPRING INTERNS

ACI Webinar: Mental Health

Payday

We are pleased to announce that Jesse Chadwick has been promoted to Aquifer Sustainability Supervisor effective March 19, 2022. Jesse began her employment with the EAA on April 22, 2019, as a Hydrologic Coordinator. In this capacity, Jesse was responsible for collecting hydrogeological data including water quality sampling and water level measurements, maintaining data collecting equipment and systems, and performing data analysis. In her new role, Jesse will be responsible for leading the conservation easement monitoring program, supervising the refinement and implementation of the EAA’s role in the COSA EAPP, and contributing to the development of the EAA’s Next Generation sustainability initiatives and research activities at the Field Research Park. Joshua joined the EAA on January 24, 2022. Joshua is currently pur - suing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the Universi- ty of Texas at San Antonio and will graduate in 2023. P R O M O T I O N Joshua Collins- Communications Intern ElyssaWorley - Communications Intern Elyssa joined the EAA on January 24, 2022. Elyssa is currently pur- suing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the Universi- ty of Texas at San Antonio and will graduate in the summer of 2023.

Juneteenth Holiday - Office Closed

Timesheets Due

April 01 April 08 April 08 April 14 April 15 April 15 April 21 April 21 April 22 April 28 April 29 May 03 May 06 May 12 May 13 May 13 May 20 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 30 June 03 June 10

Timesheets Due

EAGIS Password Management

Battle of Flowers Day - Office Closed

Payday

Birthdays

EAAVirtual Staff Meeting via Zoom See Your Possibilities Performance

Payday

MissionSquare Webinar San Jacinto State Holiday

Tamara Pinzon Tamauj Thomas Martin Hernandez Chuck Ahrens Ben Urbanczyk Richard Gonzalez

April 13 April 14 April 16 April 18 April 24 April 27 April 30 May 8 May 20 May 21 May 31 May 31 June 09 June 09 June 13 June 19 June 25

Payday

Contract & Procurement Procedures

Timesheets Due

Annual Cyber Security Training

Walker Cagle

Payday

Javier Hernandez

EAAVirtual Staff Meeting via Zoom

Earl Parker Chad Furl

Timesheets Due

See Your Possibilites Session I

Anastacio Moncada

Payday

Joey Tovar

TCDS Retirement Seminar Field Safety Protocols Training

Adrian Lopez

Thomas Marsalia Geary Schindel

Timesheets Due

Jesse holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geosciences from Princeton University and a Master of Science in Earth Science from Montana State University and has over 11 years of experience in the field of geology and sustainability. Congratulations Jesse!

Memorial Day - Office Closed

Roel Loera Paul Aton

Payday

Timesheets Due

10 / 12

11 / 12