Podcasts about oib

Send us a Text Message.The Race to Be Myself is a 4 part memoire where Caster talks about:The beginning: how she grew up, how she liked to hang out with boys and play sports, and what happened in puberty. The rise: How she got into running and eventually decided to be more serious about training. She also talks about getting more serious about school because she wanted to sun with for a university where she could have access to coaches and other resources that would help her be a better runner.The awakening: Her struggles during the years of high level running and all the tests and treatments she ended up doing (and in some cases not doing) in order to be able to continue running. The redemption: The ban from competing in the female category for events from 400m to 1 mile, and what Caster did next.Mokgadi Caster Semenya, OIB, is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 meters. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 and went on to win at the 2016 Olympics and the 2017 World Championships, where she also won a bronze medal in the 1500 meters. After the doping disqualification of Mariya Savinova, she was also awarded gold medals for the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics. Since being banned from competing in her favorite race distance (the 800 meters) due to naturally high testosterone levels, Caster ran a 5000m, got married to her wife Violet, and started a family of her own.Support the Show.Any feedback or suggestions on this review or any of our other podcast episodes would be greatly welcomed. Leave us a review using your favorite podcast player or contact us on social media.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runningbookreviews/Twitter: https://twitter.com/reviews_runningInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningbookreviews/ Podcast webpage: https://runningbookreviews.buzzsprout.com If you have been enjoying the podcast and want more, you can find some extras on our By Me a Coffee site! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/runningbookreviews

This week, host Troy Edgar meets with Stephanie Hoaglin, U.S. Army, Director of Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Modernization in Huntsville, Alabama. She discusses her career path and the importance of modernizing the Army and the challenges of securing funding for the $16 billion, 15-year Modernization Plan. The Organic Industrial Base, or known within the Defense Community as the OIB, consists of 23 arsenals, depots, and ammunition plants that provide essential maintenance and repair capabilities for the Army's equipment and systems. Stephanie started her career in one of those arsenals as a physical scientist at the Army's Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC), in Rock Island, Illinois.  She then advanced to the Joint Munitions Command (JMC) and then eventually to her current role within the Army Materiel Command in Huntsville.   Stephanie has had great mentors and shares how these Army leaders have helped guide and inspire her through her incredible career. This is a great episode for anyone who may also be considering serving our country in the military or as a civilian.     Ameritocracy™ is produced by Prospect House Media and recorded in studio locations in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

In the studio today is Kendra Farrow, Project Director with the Older Individuals Who Are Blind – Technical Assistance Center at the National Research & Training Center on Blindness & Low Vision Mississippi State University.   Kendra and Carol discuss the question, “Why not ask the Older Individuals who are Blind right up front if they want to work?" Are we missing the boat with these talented individuals who are commonly not given the option for VR services that can benefit them? Whether it's training, job development and placement, or job retention, VR services in conjunction with IL services, can lead to successful employment outcomes for Older Individuals who are Blind and contribute to their sense of purpose and meaning.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music} Kendra: When somebody who is 55 or older loses vision and they call about services and they say, well, how old are you? And if they're over 55, they're just pushing them into the older individuals who are blind program. They aren't necessarily then offered the services that they could benefit from. We're cutting ourselves short, and it's a very easy closure once the person has regained their confidence with the older blind program and learning some skills, once they start seeing I can do these things, maybe I want to go back to work now that I have some confidence again.   Intro Voice: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the Manager Minute. Joining me in the studio today is Kendra Farrell, Project Director with the Older Individuals who are Blind. Technical Assistance Center that is housed at the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University. Holy moly. That's a mouthful. So, Kendra, how are things going in Mississippi?   Kendra: Oh they're good.   Carol: Awesome. Thanks for joining me today. So for our listeners, I want to give a little background. The Technical Assistance Centers that are funded by RSA, we hold a regular TAC collaborative meeting so we can leverage resources and keep each other informed so we can serve all of you better. And in a recent collaborative meeting, I asked the group for any possible ideas where we could collaborate on a podcast. And sure enough, Kendra brought up an interesting conversation that she had with a group of experts that was talking about eligibility for the OIB program, and that led to a deeper discussion about a place where VR might be missing the boat on serving a very important group of people. So, of course, my background as a former director of a blind agency, it really resonated with me, and I wanted to let our listeners in on the conversation. So let's dig in. So, Kendra, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and how you came to be the director of the OIB TAC?   Kendra: Yeah, I started out my career working in direct services, providing vision rehab therapy services to individuals of all ages at a nonprofit agency. And after doing that for 14 years, I saw a job posting with the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision. We call it the NRTC for short, and they gave me a job. I was hired on a research grant related to employment for people who are blind or have low vision. And once we got started with that a little bit, there was the opportunity to apply for the grant to have the Technical Assistance Center for Older Blind services. And my colleague and I said that we kind of felt like maybe we were doing a disservice to the field if we didn't apply because we have a long history at the NRTC of doing like some external program evaluations for older blind programs. I think we had conducted program evaluations for, I think it's over 25 of the states over the years. Since I've been here, we've only worked with maybe 5 or 6, so not as many. But, you know, we have that background and we've had publications and done different things related to the older blind services back when it was a discretionary grant in the 90s. Before it was a formula grant, only a couple of states had it. So we were kind of like the place where the information was stored, like collected. What is currently collected on the annual 7OB report that is provided to RSA by all of the programs we collected that data. I don't know if it went to RSA too, but we collected that data and then published on it to establish the importance of the services that were being provided. So we do have a long history, long before I came here in 2015, when the opportunity to apply to be the Technical Assistance Center, my colleague and I decided that we should try to get the grant. So it's completely changed my job with the NRTC, I was working my colleague was the project director for a number of years until she retired, and then we had some other directors in between. And so, because I have the historical knowledge, and when the most recent director left, I decided that it was time to just step up and direct the project, because it's the hard thing to have a national perspective on the older blind services. It's not something that's easy to find. You know, we tried to post and hire somebody, and there's just not a lot of people that can come and hit the ground running with having that national perspective.   Carol: Yeah, you nailed that for sure, because I know when I was at Minnesota Blind, we always relied on the NRTC and the resources. You guys had such amazing curriculum. We would have staff go through and take your courses. You were the go to people. So you're definitely the right people. And you're right, there isn't a lot of folks that have that nationwide perspective that you all had. So why don't you tell us a little bit about the mission of the OIB TAC? What is your focus?   Kendra: According to RSA and the grant and the cooperative agreement that we work under, we provide technical assistance and training, and we provide that on four different topic areas, which include community outreach, promising practices in service delivery, financial and management practices, and data collection and analysis, including program performance kinds of things.   Carol: I love it because I had the opportunity you brought me in. We were able to collaborate on a state and that was super fun to watch you and your team, and to see how we could do a little collaboration between the and you. And I really appreciated that. I know you also have had some personal experience with VR. Can you tell us a little bit about that?   Kendra: Yeah, I have always been legally blind. I was a high partial when I was young and grew up just doing the best I could with what I had, and had a few services as a child in three school, large print books. You know, I wasn't really considered in my mind to be blind. But then when I got to college, you know, the reading is harder and everything, and I started working with VR. They provided some assistive technology that I needed to be successful in college, and my vision did start to go downhill. And so I needed more services. And I have kind of been in and out just through my various jobs and different challenges with technology through the years, trying to keep myself up to date and able to do the things that I do to be employed.   Carol: Thanks for sharing that, because I think it's always interesting when you come from working in the system, you can see some things maybe differently. You have a different viewpoint about VR and some of the things that what was working and what doesn't work.   Kendra: One of the unique things is that I have received VR services in three different states, and so just the differences between the states is very interesting to observe. And, you know, the separate versus a combined agency, you know, how that feels different and that kind of thing is very interesting to think about.   Carol: That I did not know that about you. So that is very interesting because people always say there are 78 VR programs and there are 78 ways of doing everything.   Kendra: I've only seen three.   Carol: Let's talk about this conversation you had with a group of experts around disabilities that is going to lead to our conversation today. What is the opportunity that VR is missing?   Kendra: Well, individuals who lose vision later in life. Often people think, what would I do in those circumstances? And so we go on some of our preconceived ideas about blindness or vision impairment. That is going to be hard to work. And the truth is that many of those people, when they're in the situation of losing their vision, they're in their 40s, 50s, 60s, a lot of times they are planning to work until they're maybe like 69 or 70, because you get higher rates on your Social Security retirement account, your payments, if you work until you're older and they usually are planning to do that. And so to take an early retirement is putting them in a financial disadvantage that they weren't planning on. And also people want to be busy. They want to contribute. It makes you feel good to work and to contribute. And so when somebody who is 55 or older loses vision and they call about services and they say, well, how old are you? And if they're over 55, they're just pushing them into the older individuals who are blind program, which eligibility begins at age 55. So they aren't necessarily then offered VR services that they could benefit from. And these are people with decades of experience that have job skills. And we have such a need right now for people to fill positions that are open. You know, we've had this mass wave of retirement and we don't want to see more people retire if possible. You know, I think employers really want people to stay in their jobs, especially those that are experienced and have lots to give yet to their fields. And even if they can't stay within the job that they were in, it's not outside the scope of imagination to think that they could still go back to school and learn a different profession and apply some of their job skills in a different field.   Carol: I know you have hit the nail on the head with this. It really made me think back to my time at SSB in Minnesota, because I thought about our folks coming into the older blind program and how we, you know, you just funnel them in. Oh, you're not going to still want to work. And anywhere you go today, you go to the grocery store, any place you are, you're shopping, you're out and about. You see a lot of older individuals that are back at work. People may have retired and they're like, you know, I want to do a little something or they're working still full time because you are right. I just got my Social Security statement the other day, and there is a significant difference between collecting at 62 and collecting at 70, like substantially different. And so you want to prolong that as long as you can. So your end days you aren't just living in complete poverty. I think that is super smart. I know when you and I were chatting about this, we were thinking, some of this comes down to just that. Overall, in our society, some of the ageism, I know I have felt that turning 60 this last year and. People going, oh, you're 60 now. When are you going to retire Retire? Because I retired from the state of Minnesota when I was 57, because I'd started working during high school, and I knew I was going to go into this TA world and was really excited about that. I had never intended on retiring- retiring. I was going into this other work, but now people are like, you turn 60 and it's like, when are you going to retire? And I'm thinking, well, not yet. I don't want to yet. And even going to my doctor's office, I was there to get a shot. And they're like, well, you know, you're of a certain age now. You need the RSV shot, too. And I feel like, wow, stuff has changed. And I know you felt like you've had that. I believe you turned 50 recently.   Kendra: I did, and even before that, like, I don't know, maybe nine months or a year ago, somebody said to me, just out of the blue, when are you going to retire? And I'm like, hello, I'm not even 50 yet. What are you talking about?   Carol: I know it's kind of hilarious. You go, what's up? And why are we putting that, you know, on our customers that are coming in the door because they're 55 years old. It's like all of a sudden you have no value to work.   Kendra: Well, let me just say this, that after we had our initial conversation about making this a podcast topic, I said to myself, is there a way I can kind of test this theory about people wanting to work? So we get technical assistance calls, you know, sometimes from consumers. And so I've had three individuals call me since we had that conversation, and I determined that I would not ask them their age, that I would simply ask them as the first question out of my mouth was, would you like to work? And out of all three of those technical assistance calls, all three said yes. And after the conversation, none of them actually told me their age. But one did tell me that he was 70 and another lady, that she was like, well, can I work? I said, sure you can. Do you want to work? She said, yes. I said, okay, here's the number, call them and make sure you tell them when you're asking about services that you want to work. I said, that's the key. You need to tell them that right up front. That's my little story.   Carol: Yeah. You've got your research going. I think that's cool. I think you and I chatted about just those misconceptions, you know, what are some of those misconceptions about blindness being the most difficult disability to get individuals into employment? Because I sure didn't think that coming to SSB, I had worked in some other agencies with different sort of disability groups, and I'm going, gosh, I felt like this group would be like the easiest group to get into employment, but I know people have a lot of misconceptions. What are some of those?   Kendra: Well, they think that there's higher liability to the employer if you're thinking about something more industrial moving around, that there's safety concerns. And I think there's a huge thing about safety concerns that the rest of the team is going to feel like that employee is a burden, like they have to help them, like you're going to have to help the person use their computer or use the photocopier. And yeah, you might have to help with little things, but the Blind employee can totally contribute in just the same way as any other employee, and is going to have strengths and weaknesses like any other employee. You know, not all sighted employees are good with their computer, and co-workers help each other with their computers all the time. Just getting ready to do the podcast. Today, my coworker had to come in here and help me set up the microphone, and that's okay. I mean, that's a normal thing that coworkers do for each other. You know, it's just the way the workplace goes. So it's not that we don't help each other, but everybody helps each other.   Carol: That is such a great way to put it, because I'm thinking this boomer generation, it's hysterical. You know, you're working with some of the younger folks and they're doing cool new things and you're like, oh, how do I do? How do I do that on the on the computer? We do all help each other all the time. But why is it that if a person is blind or visually impaired somehow that that help seems like, oh, like that's extra. You know, it's an extra thing when it isn't if it's anybody else.   Kendra: Right. I don't understand why that is. And maybe they, I don't know, I'm just guessing, but they just think that the productivity might be less too. And it's true that we do things differently. But I can tell you that there are certain things I can do faster than my sighted colleagues because I use keystrokes. And, you know, I could show them how to use the keystrokes to their Windows, keystrokes, anybody can use them. And so a Blind employee can actually be helping their coworkers become more efficient because they do things in a different way. And it also makes the world better because the things that are sometimes inaccessible to me, the sighted employees are telling me, we hate that too. It doesn't work well, and I think if they would update that system, if they would make it so that it would be accessible for me, it would probably be nicer for the sighted employees too. So having those diverse members of an employment team is really good, because what's good for the blind employee, or helps them to be more effective in their role, is going to help the entire team. I was just having a conversation yesterday with a couple of my coworkers. We have some virtual employees and we have in-person employees, and the hybrid team is, you know, we were talking about when we have a meeting that it would be good if we went around and had like a little introduction slash icebreaker, even though we all know each other, but to know who's in the room to make sure how the microphone are picking up somebody's voice, if they're virtual to the meeting, you know, because then they'll know, oh, the person who sounds really far away, that's Jennifer over there in the corner, you know, because she's introduced herself. You heard and she says, oh, yeah, for Thanksgiving, I had my daughter and my husband with me, you know, or whatever, you know, just a little sentence icebreaker conversation to hear the voice and to remind yourself, because we don't meet every week and or even every day. And we have a big team. There's like, I don't know, like 16 of us and some are always virtual and some are here in person and some are on different teams so they don't interact, except that one meeting every month. So anyway. But that would be good for everybody. It's not just, it's not just the blind employees, but it's something that would be really helpful for those of us who depend on listening to identify who people are as they're talking during the meeting.   Carol: That makes perfect sense. I love that you talked about keystrokes. Dave Andrews back at SSB, he was teaching me keystrokes. I still use him today because it's much quicker when I'm doing different things. Yeah, that resonated with me. So what do you think OIB staff should say to those customers periodically?   Kendra:  In the conversation we had with the experts back in the original conversation that got me thinking on this topic altogether, they were suggesting that it should be offered right at the beginning, as we're making somebody eligible to ask them if they're interested in employment and then again later once they start building up their confidence and their skills. Because sometimes when people suddenly or even not so suddenly lose vision, it's a real hit to their confidence level. And they're like, I can't even pick out a pair of pants and a top that match each other. How am I going to go to work? I can't even warm up soup on my stove and not burn myself, or feel like I'm going to make a mess all over the place when I pour it into the bowl. How can I go to work if I can't even do basic things to take care of myself? It's so important that they can build up that confidence first, because it's hard to think I can use a computer if you can't even make yourself a bowl of soup. So doing those independent living goals and being able to build up that confidence once they start seeing I can do these things for myself. I don't have to ask my husband to always come in here and pour the soup into the bowl. I can do that myself. I can pick out my own clothes. I have a labeling system that helps me know that I match, and I can put on my makeup, and I can look appropriate to go out of the house. Okay, I have that confidence. Well, now maybe I want to go back to work now that I have some confidence again.   Carol: That is so true. I saw that over and over, just that building of confidence with the young people that came in that had lost their sight are older individuals who are blind, that had been losing their vision and getting that confidence back. It helped throughout everything in your life, you know, and not feeling like I can only stay in my house. I can't go out and travel. I don't know how to use the bus. I can't get anywhere, I don't have cane skills, or I haven't learned to use a guide dog or whatever it may be, and even how I'm using JAWS or whatever mechanism to read and do all of that. You see, as those skills get built, that you just see the person completely change. Like it was the most incredible thing for me in the agency, to watch folks in their journey and go from where they were to where they wanted to be, and it's pretty cool. I think the other thing that might be missing, you know, people think about even later on in life, so you're 70 and you want to go back to work. Everybody doesn't want to necessarily work full time. Like some of the people I would like to work part time. I want to work 20 hours a week or whatever. I think we always think this is an all or nothing type of thing.   Kendra: Yeah, definitely. I see a lot of people that would like to work a little bit, even if they're not going to work full time. And so that's still a successful  VR closure. Those people can contribute, and the employers do want to fill those positions that are open, even if they have to hire a couple of part time people to fill a full time position that's open, I think they'd be willing to consider it. You know, we're cutting ourselves short, and it's a very easy closure once the person has regained their confidence with the older blind program and learning some skills, or if they come in there and they still are working and don't want to give it up, I mean, that's the thing that always killed me when I was working in Direct Services, people would call me up on the phone and they said, yesterday was my last day of work because I lost my vision, I quit my job, and now I need to know how to become a blind person. You need to help me with that now. And I'm like, why did you quit your job? Why didn't you call me yesterday? I could have helped you keep going with what you were. You know, it's in society's mind that it's hard to work. But before people lose vision and before they're connected and know about services, it's a thought in their head, too. So that's why they get funneled into these programs and why they allow it, because we're just reinforcing those misconceptions about blindness.   Carol: So, Kendra, what suggestions do you have for VR and OIB to help make a dent in this?   Kendra: Well, I think just being aware first that it could be happening and then talking with our teams and really encouraging the staff that are working within the OIB programs to make sure that they're asking, do you want to go to work? And then the counselors need to understand when you get a referral for somebody over 55, don't look at that as a hard person to work with. This should be an easy person to work with, you know, compared to like maybe a transition student, that is. And I'm not implying that they're, you know, some people are really good at working with that population. But just in comparison, like this person comes with the soft skills, they know how to have professional conversations. They've had years of working experience. You don't have to teach them the soft skills. They just need to know, how can I adapt the things that I used to do visually to doing them non visually? That's all they need to know. And then they need that, you know, your assistance to make sure that they have the equipment and the training to use that equipment, and they should be able to be successful in employment. It should not be hard to get a successful closure out of that.   Carol: That is so well said. You know, you look across the country and I've seen what's happened during the pandemic and the kind of the drop in numbers of individuals that are in VR and people going, gosh, we're looking for customers. You know, we're looking for people to come in that want to go to work. And here's a group that's there and we're missing the boat on that. So I think your advice is super well-timed and important. It's a really important message for VR to hear. So I know we'll hear from you in the future, because you have a whole host of ideas for some other future podcasts, and I really look forward to talking to you about those. So thanks for joining me today. I really appreciate it.   Kendra: Sure, thank you for the opportunity.   {Music} Outro Voice: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

This week's guest has not one, but TWO Olympic gold medals. Middle-distance runner Caster Semenya joins Jonathan to discuss what fairness in athletics really looks like. From her experience undergoing public scrutiny to her favorite sport to watch on TV, we learn all about this amazing Olympian and her fight to be allowed to compete. Caster Semenya, OIB, is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 meters. The Race to Be Myself is her debut memoir. She lives in Pretoria, South Africa, with her wife, Violet Raseboya, and their children. You can follow Caster on Instagram @castersemenya800m and Twitter @MightyCaster. You  can follow W.W. Norton on Instagram @w.w.norton and Twitter @wwnorton. Caster's memoir The Race to Be Myself is available now via W.W. Norton or wherever books are sold. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producer is Chris McClure. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A raw and honest conversation about Palestine, Germany and Palestinians in Germany. Sarah El Bulbeisi discusses the history of the Palestinian diasporic experience in Germany, the erasure, tabooization and criminalization of this very experience and the structural hostility, racism and trivialization faced by the Palestinian community and anyone in support of it there. Finally, she grapples with the notion of post-War guilt and its impact (or lack thereof) on the German perception and treatment of Palestinians.This episode was recorded on Friday Oct 27 at 16:41 Palestine time.Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.Sarah El Bulbeisi completed her PhD at the Institute for Near and Middle East Studies at the LMU Munich, Germany and currently works as a post-doctoral research assistant at the Oriental Institute Beirut. Before joining the OIB she coordinated the DAAD project “Violence, Forced Migration and Exile: Trauma in the Arab World and in Germany”, a Higher Education Dialogue between Palestinian and Lebanese universities as well as with the LMU Munich. Prior to that, she worked as a lecturer and research associate at the Institute for Near and Middle East Studies at the LMU Munich. Her PhD thesis “Taboo, Trauma and Identity: Subject Constructions of Palestinians in Germany and Switzerland, 1960 to 2015” draws on conversations, life stories and participant observation and explores the tension between the (family) histories of first and second generation Palestinians, which are characterized by the experience of expulsion and dispossession, and the reshaping of this experience in the Western European representation of the so called Middle East conflict.***** ABOUT THIS SERIES ***** The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX ****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

Joining Carol Pankow in the studio today is Damian Schlinger, State Director of the North Dakota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Learn how Damian and his team moved from a double-triple check culture to one that encourages and enhances staff autonomy using techniques and strategies that have had tangible results. Listen as Damian explains how his agency is eliminating low-value activities and is focusing on keeping customers engaged to achieve quality outcomes in North Dakota.   Listen Here   Full Transcript {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. Damian Schlanger, State Director of the North Dakota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, is joining me in the studio today. So thanks for joining me, Damian. How are things going in North Dakota?   Damian: Things are going well. Good morning. Thanks for having me on, Carol.   Carol: Well, it was so funny. I was telling Jeff, the podcast producer, I'm like, you know, when you were talking at CSAVR this fall, I felt a little bit like Simon Cowell. You know, there's a panel up there. I'm looking down and you started talking and my head went up. I'm like, Who is that guy? And I went right up to you after that general session. I'm like, Can you be on a podcast? I just think you have the most awesome things that are going on, and I wanted to make sure that we could spread that out to the rest of the country. And I really love the quote on your slide deck during the conference, "Take care of your employees and they take care of your business", by Richard Branson. And I just think you only had maybe 8 minutes to talk there. And I thought we could have a little deeper conversation this morning. So let's dig in. So can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, like how long you've been at North Dakota VR and where do you come from? Because I know you did come out of VR. Can you tell everybody a little bit about your background?   Damian: For sure, yeah. So I'm a relative newbie to vocational rehab, so I was just two years as of this last December here. So but I've always been in a helping profession. So the last 20 years I spent in the medical industry in various different roles, I started out actually as an athletic trainer. And for people that don't know what that is, my wife would always say, if somebody gets hurt on a field or at a game, the guy that goes running out, that's what my husband does. So that kind of gives me an idea that's good. So it was really good and it was a great career for the longest time. But then I had little kids in that night and weekend thing really didn't always work out. So yeah. So then I found my way into clinic management. I had a great mentor and supervisor and first I managed some walk in clinics and then some surgical clinics, and then I found my way to occupational medicine and that's actually where the link with VR happened. So sometimes we would get injured workers that couldn't go back to their previous place of employment because the injury was so severe. So we had to figure out what could they do. So we would do functional capacity assessments and things of that nature. And then I would be on the call sometimes with a Voc Rehab counselor, and they would ask, Could they do this? Could they stand? Could they sit? So yeah. So then when I was looking to further my career in a Voc Rehab position came open for a director, I thought, Oh, that would be perfect. Yeah, that's kind of how I got my way here.   Carol: Very cool. That is kind of wild. I know we've all fallen into it in different ways, and that's really neat. I'm glad to know that about you. Give us a little picture about North Dakota VR. Like, how many customers do you guys serve? How many staff you have, and maybe a little bit about the challenges you're facing. You've got a very different complexity in your state.   Damian: Yeah. So we have definitely a high rural population. A lot of our state is rural and then there's obviously these big population centers throughout the state. So that's somewhat of a challenge. And then what has been great is across these last few years coming out of the pandemic, things have really increased to the point where we're starting to challenge our all time highs in certain areas. And I know certain states might listen to this and go, Oh, that's really small or whatever, but it's whatever your situation is, if you can challenge some of those all time highs, I think that's great. So certainly our clients served about 3800 of those each year.  In our OIB, we actually helped 555 individuals last year. I think there was like 313 applications. But some of those things are going really well and coverage into rural areas is just a part of what we do. We have eight regions is kind of how we carve our state up and then we know there's a lot of windshield time in covering those more rural areas.   Carol: So about how many counselors would you have that cover all of that?   Damian: In the state, there are about 40. So in our bigger regions there might be as many as seven or eight, and then the smaller ones are usually 2 to 3.   Carol: Gotcha. Well, I remember my grandma lived in Bismarck, and so even when I was learning to drive, my mom made us have so many hours behind the wheel. And I'm like, I'll drive to grandma's because it took us about 10 hours to get there. It was a long state to get through, to get to Bismarck. But I get my time in. So I completely understand that whole windshield time that folks have. So I know when you came in, you really hit the ground running. How did you come up with these activities You have focused on this past year around your staff?   Damian: One thing that I've been fortunate to do is because I've been in different spots, usually I'm in a spot for about four years is when I look backwards on my career. And so it's given me an opportunity to get into different situations where sometimes it's a realignment, sometimes you're starting up, sometimes they have great success and they just need to be polished. Some of the clinics or areas that I've been in. But what was interesting about ours is that they had really good, I call it Good Bones, almost like a house, You know, it's got good bones. You know, you don't have to replace a whole lot of things, but just to try to align everybody. So one thing that was interesting is that they had not, I don't know if team building efforts or coming across regions with different ideas was commonplace. I think they would sometimes share best practice, but it was almost like if it happened, it wasn't necessarily something they concentrated on. And when I visited the regions, all these folks, whether it was Frontline or regional administrators, had great ideas and then I had seen them. Maybe we're only enacted in that one region and I thought the other seven regions could really benefit from that. And plus, who doesn't love, you know, you have a great idea. And to see that come out of your mind and get legs and run across the state is a fantastic feeling. So that's a lot of what we concentrated on was just trying to get people to just share ideas and come together across the state.   Carol: Yeah, I think that's super cool. I know you have this dual approach. You really are focused on both the staff and your customers or clients or whatever you may call them in your state. And like in VR, we're always talking about clients in business and I think staff does get left out of this conversation. So I know you walked into this culture that was kind of double triple checks. You talked about that at the conference. How did you go about kind of beginning to revamp that culture?   Damian: I always think about assuming positive intent. I do a lot of reading on psychology and things of that nature and even the double and triple check cultures, if they exist, and those existed in the medical community that I started as well. It comes from a good places that you want to do the very best for your client, your patient, your whatever you call them, right? You want to have them have the best service ever. So I also know there's individuals that are really performance driven, but it's the same goal, right? They want to have great things happen for the customer. So it's about blending those two perspectives. So when I started to think about that even early in the career, I'm embarrassed to talk about it. But I ran headlong into a brick wall because I thought about the patient very much and thought about performance. Like how many could we serve, how quickly we could we get them in and out because nobody wants to be someplace for an hour and a half, especially if you're sitting in a clinic. But then what I realized is that my staff, I didn't share some of my thoughts necessarily openly outside my head a whole lot. You know, we think about things a lot, and that continues to be a challenge for myself. But trying to understand, it's like I introduced a higher challenge to them. But then what I didn't understand is I wasn't necessarily investing in listening to them or growing their skills. So it's like those two pathways have to emerge together. So I actually pulled the staff together and I apologized to them. So then I was aware of it, you know what I mean? I couldn't just concentrate on the clients. It had to be growth of the team members as well as the service to the client as well. And so that's when I found out really Myers-Briggs, Keirsey Temperament Sorter, all those things. The big five, those were like the map. Otherwise it felt like I was stumbling around in the dark. But when I found those that felt like the key, really understanding individual motivation and the types of folks that are out there and then how to grow them, and then when they feel great and they're engaged and they're growing, the clients, it just it's natural. It's like peanut butter and jelly.   Carol: Oh, absolutely. You sing to my heart because I love that. I was always big on the Clifton Strength Finders. We did that because a lot of times you focus on people's deficits. So we're going to fix that. But why don't we build on the strengths people have and make them even like superpowers? And so really leaning into what are people doing well and helping them to do more of that.   Damian: Yeah, and there's all kinds of them out there too. I love, yeah, like you said, strength finders. We've done that as well. And actually what was interesting here just recently, we're starting to do a lot of like self directed project teams. And I also have done Disc assessments which really talks about personalities as they perform inside of a team because it's great if you have an individual, but who are we kidding? Like even in high school, my kids have been doing project based learning since they were in middle school, so I'm glad that that's happening in the schools because that's what real life is like. You rarely work as a lone wolf, so understanding that and who might be the best person to run the project? Who might be your document creator? Who might be your reporter or communicator, it really helps fit those skills in. A lot of those are based off of the same research. That's Carl Jung and all that. I remember doing actually a personality profile one time where they divided you into animals. You're either a golden retriever or a beaver or but it's all based on the same kind of four categories, you know.   Carol: So yeah, it is super helpful. I know for folks maybe not using that. I liked that too. We did that with some of our self directed teams and we realized like we were kind of new into it and we were super excited and we're having these teams that there was a team and they were all awesome at talking, but there wasn't like that leader person to, okay, here's our agenda and keep that going. And we realized like that was bad on us because we hadn't sort of sorted that out correctly to have all the different styles within the team so you could get something all the way accomplished, right? You can't put all the same people together because then they're all just chatting. And so I learned a lot just applying those kind of principles. I think that's cool. Now, I know you guys did a survey and I understand that the state was using the Gallup Survey. Can you describe like how that process went?   Damian: Yes. So actually, the first survey that they did statewide came out actually a month or two before I even started. And what I like about this is it gives you an objective measure because I think you can get into any setting or into any region or whatever position you are, and you can kind of get a feel for it across time. But it is just that it's a feel and it's just a perspective from whatever seat you're at. So it was great about the Gallup survey is that you can break it down for region. I think you had to have at least five individuals because then they wouldn't parse the data out. They would really want to make sure things are confidential. But then you can take a look at certain groups. You could take a look at your leaders. So like your regional leaders, you could look at state office, you could look at all the leaders together, all of VR together. So that was really important to understand, like what the needs and concerns were for certain audiences. So then what they did is, so they did it in October of what would that have been? 20? And then they did another one in the spring and now they do it every October. Just to make sure that we understand where we're at. So we were at a, I think, 31% engagement at that time. And so we recognized that that was low for sure. And I know that they say through Gallup, at least their research is when you're at 50% roughly engagement, that's super. Anything north of that is fantastic. So even if you're around that, that's great. So then we really did a lot to make sure that we understood. It's like it was a new day and actually we were just coming off that it was 100 years of VR. So it's like, what are we going to do to reinvent it for the next 100 say? So we did a lot of looking at going out to our regions, understanding where the crux of the issues when we're trying to deliver service to clients. And that was new. There was one lady that had said, I don't know the last time I've seen a director, it's been years, you know, so you really want to make sure that we went out to them physically and saw them as well, because that means a lot they feel invested in. So it's just through that, including in projects. We created small teams in each region to then address their issues and talk about them and then took action. And a lot of it was just saying yes to a lot of the things they wanted to do, and that turned it. So we went to 61% and then now this last year I think I might have pressed the pedal a little too far on our performance. So there's always that balance to play. So back down to about 50%. So then I recognized, okay, you know, we're going to do a little bit more, make sure we're mixed and growing skills to match the challenges that are out there.   Carol: That's really cool because you can see, like the fruits of your labor. It's directly in those percentages. I get that. I know you had talked back at the conference when you were telling us your stories and you really threw your staff for a loop by that, going out and popping in on Zoom and all those different things, and they really didn't know what to make of you. I thought that was kind of cool. So what kind of tangible things have you seen change as a result of the efforts you put into place these last two years?   Damian: Oh, sure. There is so much, and I think there's probably tangible parts of it, and then there are also parts that you just feel like, I don't know if you still want to call them tangible, but maybe they aren't. Like when I think of the sort of soft indicators, I can tell that the team members know we have a place within HHS because HHS is where we're housed in the state. And then they're also, of course, aging divisions and DD divisions and so on and so forth. And there's hundreds of millions of dollars, lots of staff. So I think initially there was maybe that feeling like you're the redheaded stepchild, but now they know it. And of course, because now the workforce issue is such a great thing, not just in our state, but throughout the nation, they know we have a place at the table. So a lot of that was even just inviting in, like my supervisor, who was one of the executives at HHS, talking about our importance in a staff meeting of leaders and then also in our all staff meeting. So that made them feel connected to the rest of the group. So I know if you want to actually call that tangible, but it was a big thing.   Carol: Oh, yeah, I call it tangible. That's pretty cool.   Damian: Good. And then just relationships with a lot of our providers are certainly other warmer. They're more frequent, they're more collaborative. One of the regional administrators said back in the golden era, he would call it that, you know, we did X, Y and Z. So we really restored a lot of that because we realized that as our providers go, so goes VR. So that was a critical relationship to mend and then also elevate. And we're trying to do that with a lot of other areas advocacy groups, employers, our sister divisions or sections within HHS. It's all working in that direction.   Carol: Good for you. Good stuff. What are your next steps like? What do you want to do next? Or are you just continuing on this trajectory? Do you have some big ideas? Where are you going?   Damian: Oh, sure. And actually this is a great time. So we just took a look at our strategy now have our strategic plan set for 2023. So we really have four major areas of concern. So one is certainly staff development. We continue to have new challenges. The needs of our clients change every year and we want to make sure that we really keep up on that. Another one is what we call just efficiency and design. So a lot of it matches our main areas or strategic priorities. We are still a lot of paper and pen and we don't use a lot of electronic systems, so we do want to transition to that type of situation and also see if we can centralize some teams. So we worked with different states, Texas, Indiana and in Nebraska just to see what they have going on, because we want to use the best of what anybody's done throughout the nation. And then we're also looking at other things like outreach, continuing to expand outreach awareness, whether it's meeting with partners like I just talked about or social media. We just want to be where the eyeballs are as much as possible to attract as many clients as we can. It was actually a really great compliment and I feel so great for all the people that work in VR. I just did our budget detail testimony this last week and one of the senators asked, he said at the end of the presentation, he said, everything seems to be going up and going well in VR, where some of ours aren't as busy. He goes, What's the secret? I did not want to leave the podium and I'm not a great public speaker. I usually want to get off of there as soon as I can, but that was a really great feeling. It just speaks to the work that's been done across the last couple of years because I think we concentrated on the right things and the right stakeholders. So we're excited about that and looking forward to this next year. So self directed teams is a big part of that. So if my leaders hear this podcast before Monday morning, maybe they'll have a little bit of heads up, but we're going to continue to grow in that direction.   Carol: That's very cool. I know there's nothing better than being able to tell the story of the agency and people really noticing, because I know folks are still struggling across the country. A lot of your colleagues are kind of at this holding pattern or really buried down with not having enough staff trying to get the clients to come back and all of that. But it seems like you're on this upward trajectory and getting some. How about the staff? I just was curious like, what is your vacancy rate look like right now? Are things picking up for you? Are you fill in those jobs? How's that going?   Damian: That's a great question. And actually it's good timing, too, because when we did that testimony last week, we got some recent turnover numbers. So it was interesting. So when I got here a couple of years ago, we saw that across the data that I had was the last seven years of our counselors was about 28% turnover and it had been in 2019 as recent as high as 35% turnover. So I mean, it just undermines your ability to complete that mission. I mean, you can do a pretty good job, there's no doubt about it. But it's hard. So we looked at some of the crux of what was going on there, and certainly it was involvement being heard, feeling like they had the ability and autonomy to do a lot of things. So there was some situations like that or even simple. We were able to increase the counselors limit of decision making or spending up to $10,000, and it had been capped artificially at five. And I said, You took the procurement training at $10,000. Why are we capping it at five? So there was a lot of little things like that that really helped the autonomy of situations. And you know what? I've been talking in a line here and I forgot the original question. Let's go back to that. What was your question, Carol? My apologies.   Carol: Well, no, I was just asking about how it was going with your staffing, Attrition and turnover.   Damian: Yeah, my apologies. Sometimes we get talking in one direction and I'm like...   Carol: We're good. I'm all good. I'm flowing with you.   Damian: Okay, So anyway, so yeah, so there was definitely a lot of turnover and that was a situation. So we wanted to make sure we did as much as possible because usually people want to throw money at an issue and it's usually one of the last solutions, not one of the first. So we were able to get good engagement out of that. There was no doubt, and it slowed the turnover train a little bit. So it was 23%. This was overall not just counselors in 2021. So it's like, okay, that slowed down, but it's still a quarter of my staff every year. So what was really great is the we really have progressive leaders in HHS and then also in our HR department. I know a lot of people think of state government as stodgy and slow and so on and so forth, but actually they've been more inventive and collaborative than anywhere I had worked at before. So they really took a look at, we were able to increase wages for some of the individuals that were coming in, knew that was a big deal. So we've had extremely low turnover in the last couple of years and I know some of that's just because it's been a couple of years. But also that helped and it was kind of an unconventional approach because they had tried to approach increasing wages in different methods. One was a booklet and it's hard for individuals to make decisions of a whole booklet. So we just went with a very simple one pager, talked about we had the funding to do so, federal authority to do so. We have the flexibility to move some money between lines. And so then we were able to and I know that caused some disruption for our staff that had been existing there, like, well, these new people are getting paid more. I almost had to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. And so what happened is eventually HR and our exec spot into, yes, we need to increase wages for our staff. So then we were able to do that this last October. So that's been huge and that slowed it down. Now I think the stat was 18% this last year and we can see month to month it's diving. So yeah, it's inclusion. Being with your teammates, feeling like you're heard, they have to be compensated. Right. It's always kind of the four main things, I think, but it's working well.   Carol: Good for you. You've hit that on all the fronts. I was just reading an article about autonomy. They're saying folks first they wanted that flexibility in their work schedule, work life balance. But now the big buzzword is people wanting that autonomy. They want to be able to make decisions. A lot of times we have that just overarching smack down. You know, 14 people are reviewing every single thing and approving and you're like, oh, my goodness, these people have been trained. They've gone through school, like, let them go.   Damian: Agreed.   Carol: Yeah, good for you. You've hit it on every front. That is pretty amazing to be able to get through the increases. Have you seen any kind of trend like former staff coming back because they've heard, well, there's more money now and there's, you know, like we have autonomy and all these things are going on. I wondered if you're seeing anything like that.   Damian: You know, I haven't seen anything in that regard yet, even though there are I mean, across these last couple of years, I saw a couple stars leave for some higher compensated areas. And I thought, boy, I'd love to be able to get them back. So we haven't gone there yet. But if I can just continue to keep and grow, the individuals that we have, they're bright. We have some new faces that are wonderful, but I think that's a good thing. And then also, once they stay here and they're here for a while, it gives that opportunity for promotion and that just all feeds in together positively, I think.   Carol: Yeah, very cool. Very cool. So how about all this work now you're thinking about your positively impacting your staff, you're having less attrition. You've done a lot of neat things culturally. How is it translating into your outcomes for your customers? Are people getting into employment? Is there more people getting into work? What are you seeing on that front?   Damian: Oh yeah, and this is all fresh in my head. So this is a good time to have this podcast. But we took a look at and we always do that because I think what's interesting is that when you have discussions amongst your leadership, of course we're going to all have different perspectives on things. But what matters is the objective data, like objective truth matters. So we always make sure that we have that at the fore. We keep a dashboard. So we take a look at that month over month, year over year, because it helps indicate like where are the weaknesses in our system that we can shore up because they're not just weaknesses in building a car or an iPhone. This is service. To clients you know, that they care about. So we've taken a lot of look at that. When I take a look at like our closed our number of successful closed, we think within this next biennium we can actually get to the high point that we've ever had. Back in 2000, we had a really high watermark and we're on our way to do that in the next couple of years. But even if you look month to month and across this last year, the number of individuals of client served, the number of "in plan". We could see month to month that it's building, not that we're adding the months together, but each month it's increasing. So in going with that, we're also trying to decrease what it takes to do the work. So that's where that double triple check culture had to go away. It's like, let's concentrate on doing it once and doing it right and then we can move on to the next person, you know, instead of having to revise it. But it's been great. So staff engagement numbers we talked about, OIB applications are up. Actually eligibility. I think that's something that I spoke about at conference that was wonderful. And actually this came from the outside one of our providers. And then there was a few clients that talked about how long it takes to get the process rolling, and that engagement upfront was so key. And actually even our data individual, Warren, talked about this a lot and it was a concern of his because the data showed it. So then when we looked at it, it's like, yeah, we are taking too long. So just in a lot of adjustments that our assistant director Alicia made with comparing with other states, we found that we were going above and beyond the regulation, but it didn't necessarily add any value to the process. It didn't add any value to the client nor the business client. So she said, Why are we doing this? So we got to rid a lot of those things. And it was I mean, from April to I think it was November, we saw the change. It was like 32% faster. So that was wonderful. And that also helped the provider community feel like they were heard too. So it's just a win win all the way around. I think it was great. And that's all. While our client satisfaction either stayed the same or improved, that's when you know that counterbalance to it. I mean, you can go faster and then not please people. But also it stayed the same or got better. So we know we're in the right place.   Carol: Well, and we've done a whole series on rapid engagement. I think I've done three podcasts with different states about rapid engagement and just thinking about what people's expectations are today. You know, VR is kind of based on this very methodical system, and it's built in a lot of these time frames. But if you took all of those like 60 days for eligibility and then you're going to have 90 more days to do a plan and it's six months before they get a service.   Damian: Oh, yeah.   Carol: You come in from your medical background, you know, if somebody came in, you're an athletic trainer and you're like, well, I'm going to do an assessment and then I'm going to get back to you in about 30 days on that, and then we'll make your plan. People would think you're nuts. Like, there is no way people want it. They want it right now.   Damian: It's totally overlooked. And I agree. And maybe that's my perspective from that previous industry I was in is different. Like there's walk in clinics. You can access any information you might want from your bank, your investment account immediately. So it was about, I'd say a month ago or so, there was a great Harvard Business Review article I came across and said, Your competitors aren't who you think your competitors are. And I thought that was really key for a government agency or maybe even VR by itself is that you can't just compare yourself to VR. You have to compare yourself to any industry. It could be the hospitality industry because your clients have experiences in all those areas. So we shouldn't fool ourselves that good enough for government is the way that we are going to do things. You know, it has to be good enough for that person they set What quality really means for us and engagement and results are key to that.   Carol: Oh my gosh, you're hitting so many chords with me right now that I just, I used to do this training years ago about customer service in the government and people would be like, Well, you know, I always called people hostages because they can't go shopping around to get another service provider. You're the person. And so they're hostages and we kind of serve them when we want to. And just to flip the script on that. So I would really challenge our staff to think about that. Just because you can take 60 days. Do you want to do that? Like that's not what we're about. And so really challenging, that kind of thinking. Yeah, and I'm sure your background plays a lot into this, so I'm really happy to hear about what you've done with this rapid engagement.   Damian: And actually Carol I was going to say, so it's not just my background. I have to give credit. There are a lot of individuals in VR that also saw that, and so some of the phrases that they use, I kind of steal them or borrow them and use them as well. One of our leaders was talking about the front line. Sometimes there can be some perspective that that's my quote unquote time frame. It's like, no, it's not. That's the client's time frame. We don't own it. And also, I would never want to say to a client, like, we're going to have our level of service be the government regulation for this. Nobody wants to hear that ever. You know what I mean? And it's a big part because you think about physical health in the medical world or economic health. One of the frontline staff emailed me the other day and said, we're actually saving lives because economic health matters and it matters in stress, it matters in depression, anxiety. Where are you going to get your next meal? Can you pay rent? That's a big deal. And if you say like, Oh, you're going to have to wait on that 60 or 90 days, forget it. It's existential. You know their done.   Carol: You know, it's too late. Yeah. Just like you say. You've got to pay your heat bill. You got to pay your mortgage, get your food on the table. People come to us and they're often in this very critical stage. So when we put all that time in between us and any next steps, they're just like, what is happening? And so then we wonder why in the statistics it's how do we lose people? They're no longer interested in services. They moved on because we haven't done anything. And so we need to, we're in this. spot where we can. Like where else can you go that you get these tangible resources that you can give to the individual sitting across from you? There's not very many places. If you go to your regular counselor and you're talking to them about all of your issues, it's not like your counselor goes, Oh, hey, we'll pay your house payment this month because I know you're stressed out. They can't do that. Yeah, we have things we can help in supporting that individual to getting the life that they want. We're incredibly blessed to be able to have this opportunity.   Damian: And there's some things that we do, too, that I think helps shorten that gap because, I mean, we live in a different world sometimes from our clients and I think about that a lot. Like when I go home, I go to a nice house that has lots of food and it's warm and all that stuff too. And then clients might not be that way. It's almost like we have two sets of clients. There's those ones, like you said, that are living in almost crisis, and then there's ones that are looking to advance their career and they're both very important. But those ones that are on that edge, we try to share a lot of stories of kudos or great impact in all of our staff meetings. And there's been a lot that came from one region across this last three months that it's like when you read them, it warms your heart because they talk about, I can support myself now, I can support my family. It's like, Oh, that's what got us all here. And I think we need to continue to keep that at the fore because otherwise it just feels like a client becomes a case and they're not, you know, there's still a client.   Carol: Yep.   Damian: Those are big things we try to do.   Carol: Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. So I want to switch gears for just a minute. Now, I know everybody's talking about spending money because there's been a lot of money going back to the Treasury, a lot of money being returned through re allotment each summer. And so do you have strategies or how are you guys doing that with spending the money and actually get that out the door so we aren't returning all these funds to the Treasury or to the US government. We want to spend them on our VR purposes.   Damian: And actually it was interesting, I can't remember the name of the fellow that presented to us from Pennsylvania, so he thinks a lot the same way I do. I identified, I call them seven different levers. But in his conversation or his presentation, I think he had like ten or 12. It was really great. But one thing that I think about is provider rates. One thing that was interesting is we had always matched our hourly rate to what DD was doing in our state. But I said, that's like basing your checkbook off how much your neighbor makes. Like it didn't make any sense to me, you know what I mean? We're in a position where we're flush with funds and we can put them to use, so let's do it. So we increase them recently here, 15%, and they hadn't been increased for a long time. The other thing that we did was minimum tuition allowance had been at $600 for a number of years and that was necessity. Back in 2012, we had a situation where our fiscal folks and our program folks weren't necessarily connected. So we went into an order of selection. We ran ourselves out of money, and the key culprit was tuition. So I can understand that trepidation to increasing that. But it was a need and we heard it a lot from the outside community. So we did that way and went from, I think it was 600 to 1000. And then also when we talked about the counselor and some of the impact they can have, it was interesting. So another part that was totally necessary at the time is they went to counselor budgets in 2012 and we have a lot of people that are in our colors training goals like guardians, people that want to protect and make sure they do things well. So they started to treat that money as an individual checkbook almost. And that might have constrained what we would spend on clients because you know that if you had 100,000, let's say, at the beginning of the year, and then all of a sudden it's April and you're down to 10,000, well, now you might start to restrict what you spend on a client versus the one that would have came the first day of the new year. So we abolished counselor budgets. We just went to a regional plot and I think that helped people be a little bit more freer with what was going on. And then certainly the wages increased, put some dollars to use.   Damian: So it's a lot of that. As far as some of the levers we pulled. Oh one that I would be remiss to mention as well. Our client financial participation. It had been if you made $25,778 for those nonexempt services, you were zeroed out your would not contribute in some of those areas. So we changed that. We actually doubled our financial participation limits. It actually helped a lot of those families that weren't necessarily in a crisis yet. But if something happened, you know, they're just hanging on and then it's really hard to get hearing aids or whatever when you're making 25,000. I mean, that's a decision between rent and a hearing aid. So opening that up helped a lot. And then actually, we always participate at least 20%. You could make a million. Not that there's millionaires coming in for your services, but you could do that as well. And so our participation level is it's open ended, kind of goes 80, 60, 40, 20, and then it just stays. We always participate at least 20%. So that's had great effect, I think, in attracting clients and so on. So yeah, those have been a lot of the levers we've pulled this last year or two.   Carol: That's very cool. I'm really glad you mentioned counselor budgets. I know on the QM on our fiscal team as we go out and we're talking with states, it's one of the things we advocate against having counselor budgets because of the very reasons you said you can almost end up being like you're on an order without being on one because it becomes then this is my pod and I'm protecting it. And if something is going to go outside of it, even though folks have a mechanism where you can ask for more money or whatever, people don't, and so they're restricting what they're doing. And so moving that up. I'm really happy to hear you say that because we advocate for that all the time.   Damian: Yeah, and all that comes from a good place. And I'm also I'm not silly enough to think like that. I created all this or the people that are here that created all this positivity to it's really because when they went into order selection, they made the right decisions that we have this money to spend now. So I appreciate the efforts of the leaders of the past and it really put us in a good position to capitalize on, I think.   Carol: Well, and it absolutely speaks to that. You need to continuously evaluate your position. So because you were there in 2010, it's now 2023 and you're in a different spot. You don't want to keep operating in the same way. You want to keep evaluating, looking at what you're doing, pivoting, making changes, and that's part of it. I think VR sometimes struggles a little bit with keeping sort of the same keep an eye on. We're doing the same thing, same way. We keep going. But the world has changed in the circumstances of a change and so much has changed that it really forces you to look in and go, Hey, we've got to react to this so we can move ahead of it to for the future. So we're setting up our program continuously for the future to be the best we can be.   Damian: Agreed. Yeah. The one big thing that came from that too, is we started to do forecasting within VR. You know, we didn't necessarily rely on our physical folks and the ones that we have now are fantastic. So don't get me wrong there, but it was helpful. Patti, who in our office takes a look at that. They were always planning for the worst case scenario, which if I had been here ten years ago, I would get that too. But the situation had changed and we made some little tweaks because also we started to notice they had always assumed that the grant would stay flat. But if you look at it, I think it's like 1.018%. It increases each year was our average roughly. And it might be different state to state. But it's interesting how much money that feeds into your bottom line and then you need to plan for because it's like you can't be at either extreme where you spend yourself into order, but you can't be on the other end where you're sitting with a giant pot of money where we are collectively. Now you want to know that those dollars are being put to good use. So we try to hit that happy medium.   Carol: Absolutely. We work with folks all the time on doing some forecasting and having a spending strategy, and we lay it out like, all right, what's your situation look like? How much carryforward do you have? What are you projecting this year? What's the increase? Some of the folks, the increase in the formula grants more like 7%. So when you look at that year over year, that's a big jump. You've got a lot of things you're maneuvering around to figure that out. So I know a lot is going on in VR and it can be really overwhelming. We have a lot of new directors in, we have a lot of new leadership. There's a lot of people like yourself who are coming in from the outside. What advice would you give to your colleagues across the country? They're trying to figure out what to do. What kind of advice would you.   Damian: Give them outside of the engagement that we talked about before? I think the other areas is I call it cutting through, and that's when we talked about popping into meetings, so on and so forth. Visit your regions. And it's not that I know and there's a lot more layers in other states that are maybe here too, but whoever the direct supervisor is, that can't be the person that's visiting the region. It has to be somebody above that so that they know that their voices are heard and are important and find those good ideas and cut through. I think also a lot of what we do is that certainly there is in our state plan, there's goals that are introduced and so on and so forth, but I would say have a strategic plan that doesn't sit on the shelf, make sure you're assessing your regions, hearing their input, pulling all that together, and then ruthlessly prioritize. So what I find is like, you can have I've heard this call, the disease of distraction is you can work yourself to death on a very large number of medium or low priority items, but you really don't get anywhere. But if you tackle those probably 10 to 15 big items, it's like it has a cascading effect. The medium priority become low priority. The low priority just kind of disappear. Ruthlessly prioritize, say yes to good ideas, concentrate on your objective metrics, and things really turn out. So that's the way we've done it here, Anyway.   Carol: I love that ruthlessly prioritize. Oh my gosh, you need to write a book or something. You are full of a lot of amazing ideas. I really appreciate you being on the show today and I'm wishing you the very best as you continue your ventures in North Dakota. Thanks a bunch!   Damian: Thanks for having us on. You have a good day.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Today, Dacia Johnson, Executive Director of the Oregon Commission for the Blind, chats with Carol Pankow, about some of the really innovative practices that the Oregon Commission for the Blind has implemented to improve organizational effectiveness and benefit the VR community.   Dacia and her team did a lot of work preparing for monitoring and restructuring some critical elements of the organizational structure that has the VR community talking.    Join Dacia and Carol in the Manager Minute studio for this timely conversation on championing innovation and high performance in a climate where so many agencies are looking for ways to spend VR funds effectively.   Listen Here   Full Transcript   VRTAC-QM Manager Minute: Rethinking Agency Organizational Structure- Ideas that Work with Dacia Johnson-Oregon Blind   {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. Joining me in the studio today is Dacia Johnson, executive director of the Oregon Commission for the Blind. She has been the executive director since 2013 and was the director of the agency's rehabilitation services program prior to that. So Dacia was so good to see you at the VR conference last week. How are things going in Oregon?   Dacia: It was great to see you as well, Carol. And things are going well here. I mean, I think like every agency, we have our challenges and opportunities, but certainly we're focused on providing the best services we can to Oregonians who experience vision, loss and just getting at it every day.   Carol: Awesome to hear. Well, full disclosure to our listeners, Dacia and I have worked together in both NCSAB and CSVAR and we were new director buddies. Back in 2013, right before the world changed with WIOA in 2014, and I had the good fortune to participate in the Oregon Commission for the Blind Monitoring visit this year and learned a ton of interesting things about the agency. Dacia's undertaken some really cutting edge organizational improvements that will be a benefit to the VR community, and I knew I needed to get her on the program to talk about this. And I think it's also fitting and timely with the state of the national VR program and agencies are looking for ways to effectively spend funds. So let's dig in. So Dacia, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and the agency? Like what's your background and how did you land at the commission?   Dacia: Sure. I started my undergraduate degrees in psychology and so like every undergraduate with a psychology major, I didn't know what I was going to do. And I moved back to a small town in southern Oregon and I got a job with at the time it was a GPA workforce training program, and I loved that job. I did that for a couple of years and what I realized was my favorite part of it was working with at Risk Youth and what that was with youth with disabilities, right? They were kids with significant learning disabilities, kids with psychiatric disabilities. And I just love the work. That job ended and I moved myself to the big city and I started in private rehabilitation. And I realized quickly that the work of private rehabilitation just didn't really fit my values. And so I started working in public vocational rehabilitation while I simultaneously pursued my graduate degree in rehabilitation counseling. I did that at the general agency in Oregon. There's two agencies here, there's the general agency, and then there's the services for the individuals who are blind under what's called the Commission for the Blind, where I currently work. And I was recruited to come here in 2000 and I immediately fell in love with the work. Carol, you know this, but blindness rehabilitation is very holistic. You really have to address the needs of the entire person, starting with skills and adjustment and just helping them kind of redirect their existing skills and new and innovative ways. And I just loved it. I also love the fact that with the blindness organization are oftentimes closer to the work. I love policy, I love meetings. I'm a nerd that way. I love thinking about new programs. But with our agency, you actually get to see people who are going through the rehabilitation process. You get to interact with them. And so it was just the right elevation for me. And I've been here ever since.   Carol: I love that. I didn't know that about you. That's a cool way to start. And you're like an old timer now. You've been there, what, 20 going on? 23.   Dacia: Been here? Yep, 22 years in August. And for a long time I was the newbie. And so now it is a little bit interesting to be one of the most senior staff people. I will say that I have never not wanted to come to work and to me that's an incredible gift to be able to work doing things that you're passionate about with incredibly committed, passionate rehabilitation professionals, not unlike yourself, Carol, but we just have just a wonderful, service oriented mission. And I love coming to work and I feel incredibly grateful for that opportunity every day.   Carol: Yeah, you have a fantastic team. Now, I know a commission is a little bit of a different structure than most people are maybe used to. Can you give us just a few high points and what's different about that? And then also, like, how many people do you guys serve?   Dacia: All right. So we have a commission structure. We're grandfathered under the Rehabilitation Act, so we don't have a state rehabilitation council. We have a seven member board that reports directly to the governor. And that board has appointing authority over the executive director. Myself and the majority of those commissioners in Oregon have to be legally blind. And so our structure really ensures that we're focusing in and have crystal clear priorities around the best services possible to Oregonians who are blind or blindness organization. So we provide a combination of vocational rehabilitation services and independent living. Services to individuals with the largest independent living program being the older independent living program. For individuals who are blind. We serve anywhere from 1300 to 1600 folks a year in our vocational rehabilitation program. Last year, I think we served around 650 folks.   Carol: Yeah, it gives me a good perspective because I think back at SSB when I left, we were around 800 folks in the VR, and OIB program we were serving about 5000 people.   Dacia: Wow. It's incredible.   Carol: It's pretty cool. But I'm like you, I love that work and I love being close to the people and seeing what's going on. So I know you and your team did a just a ton of work preparing for that monitoring, but you also did a lot of work in restructuring some critical elements of your organizational structure. Can you tell our listeners what prompted you to think about doing something different with your structure and what are the specific things that you've done.   Dacia: On the monitoring piece, I think what I will say about preparing for monitoring is use the tools that are available to us that you, Carol, have developed. So I think that basically you use the checklists that the TAC has created for agencies. It makes a difference, right? So we actually thought we were on the short list for a long time. So we actually had been preparing, I would say, on a quarterly basis, going through the monitoring guide for that particular year and just trying to think through some of the questions. The monitoring guide doesn't change radically year to year. So we just kind of made sure that we were not starting from ground zero once they notified the states that were monitored. And I encourage everyone to do that because it really makes you think about kind of your structure. The other thing is I've been here a long time, and so I think that some of the skills that we all developed in vocational rehabilitation counseling, in terms of assessing skills and abilities and capabilities, I feel like I've applied that to our organization over time. And then I've looked for opportunities to be able to strategically invest in the organization. One of the things in which we're unique is that we actually employed an internal auditor and folks are like, How can a small agency benefit from an internal auditor? Well, I'll tell you, one of the first things that that position did when we hired them was to create some infrastructure around our quality assurance manual auditors, because we wanted that position to be able to actually audit the work they own the process of making sure things were documented in terms of internal controls, policies and procedures, but they actually didn't create the internal control, if that makes sense. They didn't create the policies and procedures. So that position had enough distance that over time they can actually do the internal auditing and testing of the processes to make sure they're in place. But really having one position that directly reports to me that had that full responsibility of making sure that things were clear documented in one place and kind of reflected the organization, I think was critical to us. That position is constantly having activities going on to make sure that our organization is running effectively and efficiently. They also were the lead on the monitoring preparation. It is a massive lift to get prepared for monitoring and go through the process. But we had one point of contact that doesn't do the work of the service delivery and they were able to objectively kind of track our progress and leading up to the monitoring and then led the work for the onsite monitoring itself. And it felt like it ran pretty smoothly to have that structure. So even if you don't have a separate position like we have, I would encourage folks to use that central point of contact ownership model because I think it made our monitoring run fairly smoothly.   Carol: Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool because that's Clay's position, correct?   Dacia: Yes. Yes.   Carol: So if anybody out there, you can't have Clay, But Clay is really awesome. And we were able to get into contact with him before you all went through the monitoring. He had reached out about a couple of things and I was like, What? Like what is this position? And that's why I just want you to say, what did your monitoring team say about this position?   Dacia: They were really pleased to see it, particularly on the fiscal side and looking at the way we have that separation and the ability to objectively review information, they were very favorable about the position for sure.   Carol: Yeah. In fact, I think they said we've never seen this anywhere else. You are the only agency that has had a position that was developed quite like that, and I thought that was pretty cool. So I guess I didn't realize that Clay had not developed that whole extensive manual that you had. There is a lot of work that went into that. Who did that? Who did all of that?   Dacia: He helped kind of with the lift of getting things documented. But each of the programs actually did the identification of the issues because we wanted him to have that autonomy and independence and not creating the actual documentation itself. Before we had dedicated resources, we started the process of creating a quality assurance manual. And what we realize is without dedicated resources to focus on it, it never happened. So the other thing I would encourage folks to do, if you don't have that position to help with the documentation is I basically said and I gave I think three months and I just said, you have to do it by this date.   Carol: Oh my gosh, yeah, that's quick.   Dacia: And I just said, it's never going to be a good time. And I just set a deadline. I think it was three months. People freaked out a little bit, but the reality is it got done right? And then we built from the foundation. We added once we kind of did a gap analysis of what was missing from that initial documentation list, then Clay helped kind of figure out where we needed to create documentation beyond what that initial lift was.   Carol: Well, and I know with the blind agency, it's always unique because we're typically smaller. We don't have a lot of resources. So kind of carving out these sort of positions and making investments in a particular piece of infrastructure like that. You know, it's kind of a deal. It's a big deal to do it. And so taking the funds and kind of making that happen. So had you had that kind of swirling around in your mind for a while?   Dacia: I had I mean, like every agency you go through the single audit act experience where you have external auditors. When I first became executive director, there was a significant push to try to make sure that the agency was running effectively and efficiently. And what I quickly realized is you don't know what you don't know, you know, especially like in on the service delivery side, but you have gaps and you're just not going to see them unless you have a focused attention on actually looking for your gaps. And so once I realized the pressure and the expectation to have this particular element be like running the best it could be, then I thought, well, then give me the resources. Right? I advocated for the resources to make sure that we could actually maintain that level of expectations.   Carol: Good for you. That's awesome. You also made some investment, though, in your fiscal team. I remember because did you not structure some things in a different way with your fiscal unit as well?   Dacia: We did. We actually had some turnover at our chief financial officer level and as I did the exit interview with the candidate that left who loved working for the agency, they indicated like this is impossible work, like you have like the CFO as a small agency wearing all of these hats. But there were so many hats that they were running from one fire to another fire to another fire to another fire. So then we hire a new CFO, and within a couple of months, the new person was like, I feel like I'm running from one fire to another fire to another fire like, All right. So either I listen to these very different professionals with different backgrounds and expertise and say there's too much work, right? So we advocated to add a grant accountant position that had just started actually last December. So not quite a year yet. And the grant accountant position in part is going to be focusing on preparing all of the grant reports and all of that tracking. And then that gives the CFO the opportunity to be able to review that work with some separation to make sure that that work is accurate, that it has all of the required elements in it. We had some very small but annoying financial reporting errors that were recurring that came up on the Single Audit Act audits. And the major barrier for us was the CFO was preparing the report, reviewing their own work and then submitting the report. And there were keying errors, you know, silly things that you just can't double check your own work. It's impossible.   Carol: Right? Good for you. Yeah. Because you know, all those single audit act, when you get on that list, there's always a lot of follow up. And I remember back in the day, like our governor's office, I'd have to send quarterly reports like how we're going to resolve this particular finding. They don't like you to have any. So good for you for doing that. So how do you think things are working out since you've made those changes? And have you had any kind of lessons learned along the way so far?   Dacia: Yeah, I think that they're working out well. One of the things we're working on now that's still in development is, as we know, our financial management is super complex. So we have to at any one time look at state level appropriations and budgets. At the same time, we need to be managing our match and our maintenance of effort and our Pre-ETS and we have to look at our cash on hand and tracking that and making sure that we don't have federal cash around too long and all of these pieces. And so we're creating with the lead work, being of that new grant account position, some kind of a dashboard that can kind of help us make those types of decisions, like when to switch from one year of Pre-ETS to the next year of Pre-ETS, and when we've met our match and maintenance of effort. And how does that compare with our state appropriation year and making sure that we expend all of our state funds that we have available during that period? And what I'm hoping that will be able to do is as we're trying to make decisions in terms of budget appropriation, grant management decisions around re allotment and all of that stuff, that we have kind of some data intelligence to help us kind of drive those decisions and track it over time.   Carol: Well, imagine that data driven decision making, Dacia.   Dacia: I know, right?   Carol: I think you did a little presentation on that a few years ago somewhere. I kind of seem to remember that was one of your big things you like to think about.   Dacia: Yeah, the piece that I would in terms of lessons learned, we're a small agency and we have passionate staff, right? Sometimes I think that I could have probably engaged staff and more often. And as to why are we adding these positions that aren't in the direct service bucket, I think that's a question that still comes up periodically, even though they see the value, but still sometimes they're like, Oh, did we add this? And why didn't we add a counselor or a teacher? No, I don't think you can over communicate the why to staff, even though, again, I think they intellectually see the benefit. But when you add FTE, they really want it to be in the service bucket, the admin stuff. I think they feel like you always have enough, you know. And the truth is, I think that agencies, particularly small agencies under resourced the administrative tasks because there's a certain amount of work that has to happen and it has to happen well, and at the end of the day, if you aren't running your organization well, they're not going to give you extra credit because you've been putting all your resources in the direct service area. They're just going to say that you're not running your organization well.   Carol: Yeah, and then that doesn't bode well. I came in too, to that. And if we aren't shipshape financially and we don't have all of that together, then we can't really run the program.   Dacia: Yeah.   Carol: Don't know what we're doing. So it is always that fine balance because like you say, we're small typically, and when you add that resource over here, people immediately look at that, Oh, sure, you're making, you know, the central office. People are bloated, There's too many people. But boy, in a blind agency, when you're wearing 15 hats, it gets tough. And there has to be that separation for sure.   Dacia: Yeah. And Carol, you and Sara have kind of reinforced directors need to know the financial matters. And I think I can't reinforce that enough, like the whole vision of having a grant account and then figuring out this dashboard stuff that came out of me not sleeping right and trying to think like, gosh darn it, I need to have this kind of information available because I'm the one that's worrying about this at the end of the day.   Carol: So I hope we didn't make you not sleep.   Dacia: Oh, no, not at all.   Carol: I know we talk about it a lot, though. So how far away do you think you are from this dashboard? Because I'm sure people are probably pretty interested.   Dacia: It's probably about 70% there.   Carol: Oh, wow.   Dacia: Yeah, we've been working on it for a while. Like right now we're having to try to make some decisions. Do we have enough spending authority for the remainder of our budget cycle, which is through June 30th? We're going to meet in a couple of weeks. And this is the first test. It's like, is this dashboard going to give us the data that we need to make that budget decision? So we're trying to apply the concepts now to say, where are we at with periods? That's the other test that we have is working with our sister agency, the general agency, on the 22 projects. Are we good? Can we move on to 23 periods? Those kinds of Things.   Carol: Yeah. I definitely want to take a look at that. When you get that done. I'm super interested. I'm sure other people would be as well. So I know your mind is always thinking, Do you have other things you're cooking up there that you're thinking about doing?   Dacia: Well, right now we're preparing and Oregon has a biennial budget, so we've been looking at a specific focus on outreach. We feel like the pandemic was a particular time where folks were kind of hunkered in, especially individuals who are blind, as oftentimes they had other secondary health conditions that made them nervous about acquiring COVID. And so we're wanting to do a pretty aggressive outreach effort and we're hoping to get the resources on that. The other thing that we're excited about is we're asking for some dedicated resources. That would be in house expertise with state funds. That would be like technology gurus to help with kind of the statewide enterprise technology projects to lean in on the accessibility and usability of any type of statewide projects. So in the event that a job seeker or candidate who is blind was thinking about working in some case management system or whatever, that we would at least be able to influence the accessibility usability of some of those statewide systems. So we're pretty excited about that as well.   Carol: Oh, that is very cool. I'm going to give you a tip on that outreach campaign. Check out David D'Angelo. He's from Mass Commission for the Blind. He did this big PSA initiative about a year or so ago with some real admin dollars. And it was very clever, very well done. And I know it's impacted his numbers, so I always like pitching that to everybody. Check out Mass Commission for the Blind as well, because there's not a lot of people. Everybody's talking about this right now, but there's not a lot of examples of ways that people have done that that are out there. So it is always nice to kind of go, Oh, what's somebody else done?   Dacia: That's great. Yeah, we'll definitely check them out.   Carol: So do you have any advice for our listeners as they contemplate looking inward at their own organizational structure, any kind of words of wisdom for them as folks are struggling with this right now?   Dacia: Well, I was inspired by our colleague from California, Joe Xavier, during the course of our leadership forum when he was like, be bold. Right? So I think that would be my first thing. I'm going to just quote Joe and say, be bold. I think that this is a time to just lean in and just think big and just try to apply the same skills that we learned. Many of us grew up through the ranks of counselors and just think about your organization the way you would think about a client, like what are the strengths, what are the resources and what are those opportunities to improve? The other thing I would say to folks is even if you have constraints around FTE and you can't build out a grant account and look for an intergovernmental agreement and grab some resources from another agency that might be able to loan you the expertise. The same with auditing. Before it had a position, we contract it out for auditing work. What I realized from that is the ownership piece is different, right? And you're just not controlling and directing a consultant the way you do a staff. So it just didn't have exactly what I wanted, but it was better than nothing. So know what you can do within your constraints of your systems that you have to work with and then just go for it.   Carol: That's well said. And you've given a little commercial for next month because next month I'm talking to Brent McNeal from Florida General and they've had this contract. They lost FTEs and they weren't able to get them, but they had the dollars, so they were allowed to contract for positions. So we're going to talk to him about how he did that so that that is timely, too. Well said to lead into that. Well, I appreciate your time today, Dacia. I think it's super cool. I'm really excited about what's going on at Oregon and please do share that dashboard when you get that done.   Dacia: Absolutely.   Carol: Thanks for being on the show and best of luck to you and happy holidays. Coming up, Happy Thanksgiving and all that good stuff.   Dacia: Yes. Well, thanks for the opportunity, Carol. It's always fun to visit with you.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Christmas come early for the Hot Routes and that's b/c the NFL season begins. The Hot Routes discuss Draft weekend 2022 in OIB, make predictions for the season and dive into Week 1 Predictions

Here's what you might know about Chief Clarence... CLARENCE LOUIE has been chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, in the south Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, for almost 40 years. In 2013, Maclean's named him one of the “Top 50 Canadians to Watch.” In 2003, Louie was chosen by the U.S. Department of State as one of six First Nations leaders to review economic development in American Indian communities... He is a member of the Order of British Columbia, the Order of Canada, and in 2019, he was the 1st  First Nations person ever inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. And some info you may not know. When you talk to  Chief Clarence, ask your question, and then Get Out of The Way. He's talking about Respect. Truth. Reconciliation. Healing. Wellness. Land. Justice. Economic Freedom. He believes in Native names for Sports Teams. He believes in renaming mountains, parks, rivers and cities/towns after the original nations who called it home for 10,000 years. “tribes have been hanging around the Funding Trough for far too long.  I was taught by the old-timers that there is no such thing as a free lunch – Indians gotta stop looking for that free lunch. I've learned we have to move from spending Grant money to making our own money.” The Osoyoos Indian Band leases include Arterra (Jackson Triggs), Spirit Ridge Resort, Sonora Dunes Golf course, District Wine Village, a provincial prison, 1,100 acres of prime vineyards, etc. OIB businesses include a 300-acre vineyard, Nk'mip Cellars, a culture center, campground RV park, daycare, gas stations, cannabis stores, etc. “A raw and honest perspective on First Nations leadership.” —Manley A. Begay, Jr., former co-director, The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. “A common-sense blueprint for what the future of First Nations should look like as told through the fascinating life and legacy of a remarkable leader”  Google Books  

Welcome to the 15th episode of the Manager Minute. Joining Carol Pankow in the studio today is Cheryl Fuller, VR Division Director with the Texas Workforce Commission and also incoming CSAVR President. Today we will talk about Social Security's VR Cost Reimbursement program, which was authorized in 1981. The purpose of that program is to make State VR services more readily available to SSA beneficiaries with disabilities and to generate savings for the Social Security Trust Fund for SSDI beneficiaries and the General Revenue Fund for SSI recipients.   Learn how the Texas Workforce Commission uses technology and staff to maximize and track Social Security Reimbursements to help support their programs.   Listen Here You can find out more about VRTAC-QM on the web at: https://www.vrtac-qm.org/    Full Transcript   VRTAC-QM Manager Minute: Everything is Bigger in Texas- Learn How Texas Leverages SSA Reimbursement   {Music}   Speaker: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host, Carol Pankow.   Carol: Welcome to the manager minute. I am so fortunate to have Cheryl Fuller, V.R. Division Director with the Texas Workforce Commission and also incoming CSAVR president, joining me in the studio today. And Cheryl, there certainly have been some very tragic things happening in your state and most recently the Uvalde School shooting. And my thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected. I know VR is typically filled with people with a lot of heart. We're kind of people people. So in light of all that's happening, how are you and your staff holding up?   Cheryl: First of all, thank you for thinking about us. This is something very much at the forefront of our minds and it's really on our hearts. And we have a field office in Uvalde about a block and a half from the school. And so it's a small community. Our staff knows everyone. I grew up in a small town myself, and I know just how wonderful it is to grow up in a small town with the support and the relationships, and that will be important for them going forward. And our agency, along with other agencies, immediately looked at what we can do, how can we help our community? Because it is our community. And we're looking at a couple of things. We're looking at some group skills training later this summer to help some of our students get ready to go back to school. And how can we do that? How can we help them think about going back to school and process that and think about some positive things that they look forward to about why they're in school, their career and growing up and getting ready to transition. And of course, we know adults also may need us. So we're redoubling our efforts to make sure that our community knows that our services are there to help them. If a few months from now they begin to have conditions that are preventing them from keeping their job. We're here to help, and we know that if we all do what we can, we will help our community work through this.   Carol: Well, I'm really glad you're at the helm because you bring that heart to it. That has just broken my heart. I'm thinking about you all. I'm praying for you guys every day. And I'm glad you're in that leadership role there to bring that to your staff and to your customers and that thought and thinking ahead for the next school year. That is so smart, so wise.   Cheryl: Well, that's our staff on the ground and it's our agency executive director. We're so fortunate to have an executive director that cares very much about our division, our programs, our customers and our staff, and was on the ground meeting with our staff and immediately asking what we can do and helping us be creative in thinking how can we help? We can do more. And so we're really fortunate to have.   Carol: I love that. That is so great to hear. Cheryl, I've known you since you started at the agency. And in fact, I don't think you probably remember this, but I was actually sitting behind you at your first CSAVR conference, and I remember thinking, Who is that lady? You were so sharp and you would ask questions like, I'm like, This gal is super intelligent. Like, Where's she come from? Because you were new to VR and you came out of the other side of the world. But I loved it because you participated right away and you've accomplished so much in your tenure. I've really always looked up to you and your leadership, not only in your agency but in the VR field as a whole. And so congrats on that new position as the incoming president of CSAVR. I know you're going to be spectacular at that job.   Cheryl: Thank you, Carol. You know, I've always looked up to you. In fact, we were following you around, as I recall, when you were president, as you tried to lead our association and lead our partnership with our federal agency to get more flexibility, which we so needed to serve students with disabilities. So I was in the group behind you going, Yeah, what Carol says.   Carol: So you are hilarious. Well, I never got to be CSAVR President, I was the NCSAB president. CSAVR Executive Committee.   Cheryl: Yeah, that's right.   Carol: I did a lot of that work through NCSAB, but you know, I was on both groups and so wow, definitely promoting those flexibilities and I'm glad they finally came through.   Cheryl: Well, thank goodness for your leadership there and your leadership with administrative changes like prior approval, I thought how has Carol already figured all of this out? And we're still trying to spell prior approval, so.   Carol: Oh, you are very sweet. Yeah, well, I'm still working on it to this day in my new role. Yes. But today we're going to talk about Social Security's VR cost reimbursement program, which was really authorized back in 1981. Right. And the purpose of that program is to make State VR services more readily available to SSI beneficiaries with disabilities and to generate savings for the Social Security Trust Fund for SSDI beneficiaries and the General Revenue Fund for SSI recipients. And so under that cost reimbursement program, the Social Security Administration will pay state VR agencies compensation in the form of reimbursement when beneficiaries served by State VR agencies enter the workforce and achieve nine continuous months of earnings. And those earnings must be at or above substantial gainful activity, and usually it's just referred to as SGA. I know for me that program income was really a game changer when I was at Minnesota Blind. I mean, it actually gave us some breathing room and we were able to do some really creative things and invest in. Our older individuals who are blind program. And so what I was thinking about who to talk to for this I of course I called Courtney. She was my person. I'm like, Courtney, what are the states out there that are doing really well with this? And you were at the top of the list. So when you look at those reimbursement levels, I know your state is out in the lead and being really efficient in getting every possible dollar. So let's dig into this. Can you give us a little picture about VR in Texas? Like what's your annual grant amount? Kind of how many staff do you have? How many customers do you serve? Paint a little picture for our listeners.   Cheryl: Sure. Our annual grant amount has been growing every year rather significantly. It's grown 23% since 2017. Wow. So our annual grant allotment is at about 300 million now. We're second to our sister state in California. Of course, California is bigger. And so we have certainly, as we've seen our grant grow, we are seeing it grow in significant part because of our population growth in Texas. We are expected to, if we haven't already surpassed the 30 million person point in Texas population, we were 27.4 in 2016 and we are now well into 30 million. In fact, I think we were leading the country in numeric growth from 2010 to 2020. Wow. Our state is growing in terms of population. Our economy is remaining strong and our grant is growing. I'll tell you our annual budget. So our grants are of course for two years, but our annual budget this year is about $276 million at the DSU level. And so when it comes to the number of folks that we're serving, if we just think about participants, which is how we now consider a number of customers serve in the most specific sense. So somebody with an IP who is also receiving services, last year it was about 65.5 thousand, so 65,514. To be specific, it's running 65 to 70000 a year is how many customers we're serving. We're doing that with a division that has about 744 positions. The vast majority of those are in the field. About 1663 of those positions are in the field. Almost 700 of them are counselors or transition VR counselors who work with students and youth, about 350 rehabilitation assistants to support them. And then we have other direct service delivery staff like our VR teachers, for example. We also have a residential training facility for individuals who are legally blind. Mark Driscoll Rehabilitation Center is in that direct service delivery group. And then of course we have regional and management unit staff also providing support oversight to our staff delivering services. So that's a picture of our system.   Carol: That's a bunch. I was doing the quick math, so I was looking at your 700 counselors divided by those 65,000 people. So you're sitting around 93 customers on average on a caseload.   Cheryl: On average.   Carol: Absolutely. I just have to ask, have you seen any changes as a result of the pandemic with individuals coming in starting to experience the long COVID or anything like that?   Cheryl: You know, we've seen just a handful. We have seen some. It's not big numbers. And I think as individuals experiencing long COVID work through what that is, what it means to them, whether it represents an impediment to their ability to keep a job or get a job or advance in their job. I think we may see more of that. And right now, it still seems like it's quite a new field of study. And these folks are trying to figure out where their resources are and how they're going to work through these symptoms that stay with them for a long time.   Carol: Yeah, absolutely. I'm just thinking that might end up coming your way given all that huge growth in population, for sure. That definitely is. People were all moving to Texas. I see it on Facebook all the time. I've had several friends moved down to Texas, so I get it.   Cheryl: Well, it's hot here right now, so they might be questioning that decision. It's supposed to be I think we're supposed to get to 107 over the weekend, so.   Carol: ]Yeah, I saw that on the news. It's looking blistering, definitely. So tell me about what resources you've been able to put into your SSA reimbursement like both people and technology?   Cheryl: Well, we have had, I would say on the technology side, a game changer over ten years ago, and that is using the Morrow Ticket Tracker system. This system significantly improved not only our efficiency, but the number of claims we were able to successfully process. And for those of you who don't know, it's called the Vocational Rehabilitation Ticket to Work Reimbursement Tracker Program or Tracker. What it does is it tracks and processes traditional reimbursements and ticket to work payments. What the system does. For us as it collects data from our agency case management system. It connects that with external data, which is still internal to us in our agency, which is unemployment insurance, wage records, state verification and exchange information, other types of information. And what it does is it identifies cases that may be ready to be submitted as a claim, may be ready to be submitted as a claim is really important because that's where the other resource we have comes in that is so incredibly valuable to us. We have two dedicated staff in our finance division at the DSA level, and this is all these two staff. Do they use the systems that we have, including Ticket Tracker? They identify claims that may be eligible for us to submit for reimbursement and then they go over those claims with a fine tooth comb because they know the top reasons why a claim may be denied. And, so just because it pops up in that system doesn't mean you just send it in. You go over it with a fine tooth comb, and then they submit it for reimbursement, and then they follow through and then they double check payments when we receive them. And if they think we received a low payment and we can make a case for more of a reimbursement, they submit that for consideration, the level of rigor that these two staff apply to this process is why we have such a low denial rate and why we're able to be so successful. So I call them our secret sauce. They are fantastic. They also coach our counselors in how to help a customer with a ticket assignment. And so what to do with the ticket assignment? Our counselors can reach out to them for help. They're sleuths. They'll look at possible match and say, Wait a minute, I think this date of birth or season, we might need to make a correction here. And so they'll identify that and work with our staff, if necessary, to make data corrections. They are just incredible. And the combination of those two things has helped us be quite successful in submitting claims and receiving those reimbursements.   Carol: I'm really glad you mentioned both of those because I remember going to a conference, I think it was like in 2013 and there were poster sessions up and they had the moral ticket tracker and I'm going, What is this? Because we were doing this old pencil paper, we were getting maybe 400,000 a year or something. And once we got the tracker in, it was not a huge investment. I was super surprised it was a low dollar amount. We never went under $1,000,000 after that. We were a small agency. I'm like, What is happening was amazing, but I think you're right. Having a secret source like you had your two women that were your secret source. So I had Courtney. She was our secret. She was amazing at that. You know, I think you have to dedicate some resource. And I know there are definitely some agencies struggling right now, and I know there are a number of folks that are not actually submitting for reimbursement right now. They just haven't been able to land and figure that out. But those are two important pieces to the equation.   Cheryl: Very important and sharing. And I would tell you that because I asked them in preparing for this podcast, I talked to them and I said, Sherri and Annie, what would you recommend? And they said, Well, first ticket tracker.   Carol: Yeah.   Cheryl: And second, check every claim go through every detail of the fine tooth comb.   Carol: Got it. Good advice. That is good. Yes. So I know you've had some recent struggles with your SSA reimbursement and I understood some of the rules changed. You had some things that well, the rules change and it's impacted the amount of the recovery that you've been able to get. So can you talk a little more about that?   Cheryl: I can talk a little bit about it, and then I will make sure not to get out of my depth, because I did talk to Sherri and Annie about this extensively and it reminded me all over again why they're experts and why I'm doing what I'm doing. And so what I would say, kind of overall, as with any program rules, over time, SSA makes adjustments to submission, how we submit what is accepted. And so it's very important that we as well as all the other agencies that are participating in this program, stay on top of those changes and understand that our sister agencies at the federal level will also be making adjustments, and some of those may take some time for them and us. And in the meanwhile, that affects the rate at which you may be getting your claims paid. It may affect whether you're getting your claims paid. And one of the things that specifically has changed over time is what is accepted is proof of employment, particularly when somebody is working in another state. Right. So what used to be accepted is verification of that is no longer. And so we used to be able to show the information collected in our case management system as a valid submission for reimbursement. Now we need something more rigorous. And so we're working through how we connect with our Swiss data, because otherwise we would continue to lose valuable reimbursements for people working in other states, like a pharmacist in California. They could see it, but we needed that proof so that that claim could be paid. And. So it's really being and VR professionals are fantastic at this, but it's being on top of changes and being flexible to deal with them and really trying to work in partnership with our federal agencies to make sure we're all understanding what is required and doing our best to achieve that.   Carol: You might have to drive out to California and take a picture of that pharmacist, if that would be allowed.   Cheryl: I know, I know. I thought, man, what a fantastic outcome for VR, though, right?   Carol: Absolutely. That is incredible. Oh, gosh. I knew those changes had happened, but it was after I left, so I wasn't sure the nuances. So that makes some sense to me. Definitely. So I know you also had something really unique happen with your legislature and your SSA reimbursement, so tell us a little about that.   Cheryl: Well, in 2016, September 1st of 2016, our legacy agency, the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, was abolished, and the programs in our legacy agency were transferred by the legislature, either to the Texas Workforce Commission, which is where VR, older, blind, our Randolph Sheppard program, for example, all went. And then the other programs went to the Health and Human Services Commission that included our blind children's program. Our program for those that have traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, are deaf and hard of hearing services that we had, as well as independent living. So independent living part B, part C that went to Health and Human Services and they became the designated state entity for those programs. What we had done historically, though, at our legacy agency is that we had used our program income to expand and enhance our independent living services programs, including older lines. It was just an incredible value to us at our legacy agency that those dollars, because you can use your program income to support other programs funded by the Rehabilitation Act, that those dollars could really strengthen important programs in independent living. And so when we transferred to TWC from DAAS, the Legislature appropriated some of our program income back to the Health and Human Services Commission for continued support for those independent living services programs. That's really important because as we have changes in agency structure, we want to maintain the quality of service that we're providing to our customers, whether they're VR, old or blind, independent living, whatever the case may be. And this is not something that VR agencies may be accustomed to. We know you cannot appropriate vocational rehabilitation grant funds outside of the agency. Right. The VR agency. But with program income, the statute says the state. And so the legislature may appropriate that outside of the agency and did so, $8.5 million per year is appropriated in our appropriations bill pattern to the Health and Human Services Commission to provide continued support to those independent living services programs.   Carol: So how does that relate then to how much you get in program income? Wow.   Cheryl: We collect about $20 Million a year in program income. We have had years where it was higher significantly. So I think our highest year was 33 million. Wow. Sometimes that has to do with when claims are paid versus when you submit the claim. But we can look at about $20 Million a year. So it represents a significant part of our program income and it's also the largest method of finance for those independent living programs back at our sister agency.   Carol: That's pretty incredible. It's kind of it's a little scary to think that they designated a dollar amount versus saying we're going to take 20% or we're going to take a percentage, which would make it a little easier. As there's fluctuations, you're not held to that particular threshold.   Cheryl: Certainly that's something we keep our eye on. And I'm sure that our policymakers and appropriators were concerned about keeping the programs whole. So I understand why they would have been concerned to make sure our independent living programs remain strong and healthy. But we certainly do watch that pretty carefully.   Carol: Oh, I'm sure, absolutely. So I know you're also looking at doing some good stuff moving forward and expanding your older individuals who are blind program with the SSA dollars. So what are you thinking about with that?   Cheryl: Well, I have a lot of favorites. The older blind program is one of my favorites. It is such a gem of a program when we think about I think the number is one in six adults age 65 and over will experience some type of age related macular degeneration. And you think about the growing population in our state and the fact that that grant is a really small grant that stayed small for a long time. We and our stakeholders just want very much to serve more. We want to serve more. Seniors who are learning to live with less vision, experiencing that vision loss, and we want to provide more services for them. And one of the ways we can do that is looking at our program income, say, can we invest some of this program income in expanding this program? And we took a little step to do that last year to see how it's going. We added a few staff and we were able to increase our client services a little bit. And now we want to really move in the direction to maximizing that program income to expand that program, not only to add staff. Because in the state this size, our OIC grants was a little over 2 million, maybe 2.2 million a year and by the time we add our match funds, we're at about 2.5 million. That's very small for the population that could really benefit from these services. And so we would like to add more staff across the state so that we're present in more communities and there's not so much windshield time for our staff. But also we'd like to really enhance some of the services that we provide, including offering a one week residential program similar to what we might see in our Chris Cole Rehabilitation Center that's focused on VR. How could we have a one week residential program where a seniors could come and really get support and encouragement from other seniors experiencing vision loss and learn some of those skills where they can just focus on learning those skills in a group and in a supportive cohort and making friends and kind of working through some of the fear associated with vision loss and really gaining their confidence. We also want to do that on a daily basis. So if somebody doesn't want to go away for a week, they could go into a center in a day program. So we want to start working toward those kind of activities to really enhance the services as well as serving more people.   Carol: I love that. Well, the OIB program is near and dear to my heart, Too.   Cheryl: I just love that.   Carol: That was one of my places when stuff was all kind of going crazy. I'd go down and talk with the staff from there. I loved it and the stories they'd have, and I'd get these little sweet letters from some of the individuals that we helped to assist. It was lovely. I just think the work done there has been so important for quality of life for people in your later years. You know, yeah, I'm thinking about you with your $2 million. And I mean, my grant was like a half a million dollars. And we're in little, tiny Minnesota with 6 million people. And you've got 30 million people. Yeah, proportionately, it doesn't seem like a lot, but I think you're on the right track with that. We had a lot of success in doing group training with the seniors and like you say, developing that cohort and people to support each other. It really does work well. So I hope you have great success with that.   Cheryl: I hope so. It's such a fantastic program. My granddaddy was legally blind from a very young age and his sight got worse as he got older. And I just think about all the things if he had had access to a program like this, that could have made it easier for him.   Carol: Yep. I had a grandma. I had a grandma too. She lived in 98 with macular degeneration. I remember visiting her one day, went to her house and knocking on doors. She lived over in North Dakota. She's about 10 hours away, but she didn't know who I was, you know, because she couldn't see me. And so I'm talking to her for a long time that it took her while she's like, oh, you know, before she let me in the door, because, like, what's this strange lady doing at my door? Yes, but it would have been so great if I would have had one of our staff could have gone out and helped her and her house and all the bump dots and getting things situated for it would have made it so much easier. I completely understand. Absolutely.   Cheryl: That's what I think about.   Carol: Well, that's the beauty with that program income where you're able to help invest in a program like that. It really is important. Now, I know some other of your agencies are really struggling. They're not submitting their claims for reimbursement. They're not really putting this on the priority list. So what kind of what advice would you give to our listeners about SSA reimbursement if they're sitting back kind of going, wow, we haven't paid this much attention right now and we're doing other things. What advice would you give to them?   Cheryl: Well, first, I have all the sympathy in the world for our sister agencies. I don't know of one agency that doesn't have a full to overflowing plate. And we're all trying to figure out how we can improve our services, how we can be continuously improving, how we can adapt to the environment around us, which is changing so significantly just due to COVID. So, boy, I know we all have a lot on our plates, but this source of income for us is allowing us to expand a program that is really underfunded for the size of a state. We have just the incredible difference it can make in the lives of people who may have had their sight for years and years. And now they're losing it and they're scared to death and we can be there to help. And that's just one way we can think about using our program in. So I would encourage agencies that may not have tackled this yet or may have struggled with it in the past to just think through it, think through what the opportunity is, how much you might be leaving on the table, what you could do with those dollars. And there's help out there to figure out what you're doing if you need some systems. There are systems out there. The ticket tracker is a great system. There are people out there that can provide support and help you as you develop dedicated staff. But I would make sure if you want to jump in and I encourage you to get the system you need and get the people who make it a priority because it is what they do and you will benefit and you will be able to do with those programming dollars some innovative things to support your programs, whether it's VR or older, blind or independent living.   Carol: Well said. And I believe VR still has a cost reimbursement group. So they always had a little a group that got together and they do some specific training. I remember sending Courtney and other people out to that training and they developed quite a cohort themselves of folks to rely on. I remember her calling Virginia people, you know, different folks that she got to meet through the training. And so definitely that can be a resource as well.   Cheryl: That's the great thing about the VR world. I've learned so much from other states, from you, from some of my colleagues in other states. We are there for each other. CSAVR and NASAB are great avenues to pursue to make sure your staff are connected to other people who do that work and can support them.   Carol: Yeah, I love that. I love that. So I cannot leave this episode though, without asking you about your upcoming presidency on July 1st. It's CSA VR. So I just wondered, what are you hoping to accomplish next year? Do you have any things that you want to tackle?   Cheryl: Well, first of all, it's a big job and there have been some fantastic people in this role over the years. And so my goal would really be to continue the conversation that we began at CSA VR a couple of years ago and that we're having with each other as VR agencies at the association level offline and also with our federal partner. And that is how can we understanding the trends that are affecting the VR program nationally? And by that I mean fewer people applying, fewer people being determined eligible, fewer people achieving employment outcomes. How can we work together to understand what's driving those trends and to be innovative and collaborative as a system, as a national program about how we can address those trends. And I'm excited about the opportunity we have as an association to add value to the member agencies, because we're all working on some of these things. We're all working on recruiting and retaining staff because if you don't recruit and retain staff, you don't have people to serve your customers and making sure they're prepared and trained well so that you can serve your customers with the level of expertise that we all want to have at the table for the benefit of our customers. We're all looking at what we need to do to improve our processes. Our processes need to evolve just as all processes in businesses around the country. So how is the VR process evolving to meet the needs and expectations of the customers in 2022? And we're all working how we can be visible to our communities, be available, make sure they know we're here. How can we be doing outreach and communicating about the difference our program makes? These are things we can all work on together, and I think that CSA VR in partnership with CSA B and collaborating across states can really add some value to that conversation and support all of us out here in the States who are working hard to make our programs the best that they can be.   Carol: I love that. I look forward to following you this next year. It's going to be super fun, super fun to watch. So thanks for joining me, Cheryl. I know you're super busy and I really appreciate your time. I hope you have a great day.   Cheryl: Thank you, Carol. Thanks so much for having me.   {Music} Speaker: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

REZ RULES:  My Indictment of Canada's and America's Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples. “A rez rule should be this: no lazy asses. Or a rez rule should be this: if you want to call yourself a warrior, then get a job. You're not a warrior if you're on welfare,” Chief Clarence Louie  Here's what you might know about Chief Clarence... CLARENCE LOUIE has been chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, in the south Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, for almost 40 years. In 2013, Maclean's named him one of the “Top 50 Canadians to Watch.” In 2003, Louie was chosen by the U.S. Department of State as one of six First Nations leaders to review economic development in American Indian communities... He is a member of the Order of British Columbia, the Order of Canada, and in 2019, he was the 1st  First Nations person ever inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. And some info you may not know. When you talk to  Chief Clarence, ask your question, and then Get Out of The Way.  He's talking about Respect. Truth. Reconciliation. Healing. Wellness. Land. Justice. Economic Freedom. He believes in Native names for Sports Teams. He believes in renaming mountains, parks, rivers,s and cities/towns after the original nations who called it home for 10,000 years. “tribes have been hanging around the Funding Trough for far too long.  I was taught by the old-timers that there is no such thing as a free lunch – Indians gotta stop looking for that free lunch. I've learned we have to move from spending Grant money to making our own money.” The Osoyoos Indian Band leases include Arterra (Jackson Triggs) , Spirit Ridge Resort, Sonora Dunes Golf course, District Wine Village, a provincial prison, 1,100 acres of prime vineyards, etc. OIB businesses include a 300-acre vineyard, Nk'mip Cellars, a culture center, campground RV park, daycare, gas stations, cannabis stores, etc. “A raw and honest perspective on First Nations leadership.” —Manley A. Begay, Jr., former co-director, The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.   “A common-sense blueprint for what the future of First Nations should look like as told through the fascinating life and legacy of a remarkable leader”  Google Books  

I'm back and, in the immortal words of Montreal's OIB, better late than never! Enjoy this Dad Fact-heavy, sports cards-lite trip down memory lane about the ballparks of the 1970's. Music by Mango SafariThatSeventiesCardShow@gmail.com Twitter @SeventiesCard That Seventies Card Show on YouTube

The HotRoutes are back at it again for a 2021 season with a different variant on familiar takes. The boys discuss OIB draft events and other hot take sure to stir up conversation throughout the weekend.

Congressman Blake Moore asked questions at a recent Congressional hearing about the Department of Defense's 15 year plan to upgrade our Organic Industrial Bases. What is an OIB, why do we need the upgrades, and what problems could there be with the plan? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to episode 30 of this year's La Voix du LILA - Burbank podcast. This week's interview is not to be missed as Mr. Faizal Emamaullee reviews the unique components of the academic programs offered here at LILA, from the French baccalauréat, including the option internationale du baccalauréat (OIB), to the International Baccalaureate (IB). "What is the difference and why might I choose one over the other" is often a question students and parents have about these programs, and Mr. E introduces the benefits as well the type of student who might be suited for each of the programs offered. For those who don't know, Mr. E is also the head of the LILA Burbank running club. He spoke a little about his hopes for the program next year and the benefits of running for athletes. Lincoln, Ms. Harvey, and Mr. Mondange also take time to provide a few updates on the launch of the Art Walk happening this Friday, May 21, the soccer team, and the upcoming conseils de classe. Enjoy your week.

El boxeo es uno de los deportes más antiguos y populares del mundo, pero tiene problemas SERIOS. EN este episodio, encontré la solución para cada uno de los problemas del boxeo: 5- Promotores 4- Cuerpos Regulatorios(CMB,AMB,OMB,FIB,OIB) 3- Jueces 2- Promocionar a sus boxeadores/as 1- ¡¡LAS BOXEADORAS!! El Pugilato en las redes sociales: Facebook.com/ElPugilato Twitter.com/ElPugilato Instagram.com/ElPugilato Support us! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/el-pugilato/support

In this episode, we talk with Trevor from OIB about their beer (especially the award-winning Beezer and accidentally invented Cinnamon Prost Crunch) and equally awesome food (KEY LIME PIE!!!).

Jack E. Jones and OIB review AEW Full Gear 2020 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack E. Jones and OIB review AEW Full Gear 2020 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Soon to be celebrating their 4th year in business, Old Irving Brewing has established itself as one of the best brewpubs in the city - with the hardware to prove it. This episode features an interview with owner and head brewer Trevor Rose-Hamblin, who tells the story of OIB, his culinary background and its influence on the brewpub, that GABF medal that changed everything, the struggles of running a brewpub during a pandemic, and what surprising plans are ahead for the brewery side of the business. Additionally, we acquaint ourselves with five Old Irving beers for reviewing purposes, and the standouts here are as surprising as they are remarkable. Also, we pivot to hand sanitizer reviews, the dog digs up the old video equipment, Ryan has some embarrassing baseball fan memories, and Craig is singing about malt again. Interview with Trevor Rose-Hamblin (00:10:47 - 00:48:46) Beers Reviewed Betamax and Relax (India Pale “Lager”) Supersonic Fuzz Gun (Kettle sour w/ peaches, lemon peel, and lactose) Scentinel (IPA) Double Beezer (DDH DIPA) All For One, One For All (Imperial milk stout w/ hazelnut, vanilla bean, coffee, and milk sugar)

The Hot Routes take a look back at the 2020 Live Draft at OIB, revisit a tragic event that occurred on a golf course and have a special guest interview.

Surf Through Teen is back again to talk about the most well-known star of them all; non other than the sun! Join us as we discuss the benefits and hazards of this galactic star. You could say it’s going to be a pretty HEATED topic (buh-dum-chiiiii). Oh and yes, we included many puns in this one. So, enjoy!

#pregare #rosario Pensi che il rosario sia una preghiera ormai passata di moda? Niente affatto! Forse devi solo lasciar cadere i tuoi pregiudizi per scoprire che, in realtà, il rosario è una forma di preghiera davvero geniale...per tanti motivi! - «Oibò, Pier Giorgio, sei mica diventato bigotto..?». - «No no – fu la pronta risposta di Pier Giorgio – sta pur tranquillo che sono rimasto semplicemente cristiano». W la fede -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/alberto_rava/ Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/alberto.ravagnani1 Telegram ► https://t.me/donAl93Subscribe to W LA FEDE on Soundwise

On this edition of IYH you better call Bill. As in President Clinton cause he's back along with OIB. Listen to all the wrestling discussion. -Cody vs Wardlow in the cage! -Who's ready for Super Showdown? -Goldberg vs The Fiend predictions. -Johnny Swinger vs Joey Ryan. -A match named after a Mountain, I think. Question from the listeners! Join us live Tuesday nights on www.YouTube.com/user/jackiyh/live --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

On this edition of IYH you better call Bill. As in President Clinton cause he's back along with OIB. Listen to all the wrestling discussion. -Cody vs Wardlow in the cage! -Who's ready for Super Showdown? -Goldberg vs The Fiend predictions. -Johnny Swinger vs Joey Ryan. -A match named after a Mountain, I think. Question from the listeners! IYH_200225.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

On this edition of IYH you better call Bill. As in President Clinton cause he's back along with OIB. Listen to all the wrestling discussion. -Cody vs Wardlow in the cage! -Who's ready for Super Showdown? -Goldberg vs The Fiend predictions. -Johnny Swinger vs Joey Ryan. -A match named after a Mountain, I think. Question from the listeners! Join us live Tuesday nights on www.YouTube.com/user/jackiyh/live --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Ju Ju Bee and Oneinchbiceps bring in Christmas with some wrestling talk. Listen to all the fun and ho ho hilarious hi jinx as they talk about all the important topics from the wrestling world. - AEW Dark Order. - Jungle Boy vs Jericho. - Goldberg explains the kicking Bret in the head. - Ryback photo with Cody. - D Low Brown on Table of 4. - O.J. has a Championship Belt. - OIB hates Christmas Music. - Juju Talks about her recent trip to the movies. Join us for this Special Christmas Eve edition! IYH_191224.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

On this Tuesday Night Update edition of IYH President Clinton and OIB are conferencing about Wrestling! Topics such as! -WWE turns talent free! -Cody promo on MJF. -Luchasaurus Speaks! -Mike Kanellis still enslaved! -The Monday Show after Weekend Update. -Who's Ordering NWA Powerrr? -ODB food truck! -Johnny Bravo and ODB. This Outlaw Podcast Mud Show will not be topped! Calls from Toronto Stevie and Jobes! You need to listen, it's the best! IYH_191210.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack's last show of 2019 with his audio soulmate OIB!! - AEW Dynamite - Jack's trip to Chicago and live review of Smackdown, Wargames, RAW, Survivor Series and AEW! - False advertising for Starrcade - Impact old school - Jim Cornette controversy - walking Chicago at night - Dave Meltzer's wife - Batista going to bang Dana Brooke - AOP - Seth Rollins heel - Jericho's Lexicon - casting the Headyverse movie - 100 fan questions and more!!! IYH_191206.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Once again the IYH GM pulled two wild cards! OIB and the Candy Queen Juju Bee take to the airways and talk about all the events in wrestling. -Survivor Series Recap. -Cornette being let go from NWA Powerrr. -Biscuits and Gravy at the Bob Evans! -Jericho channel's Happy Days. Question from Facebook group and NXT Takeover call in with Toronto Stevie! IYH_191126.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack was in Saudi Arabia working on a deal for the Headys, while catching his flight back he was delayed due to Mechanical Issues on the plane!!! President Clinton and OIB recap all the news in professional wrestling. - WWE wrestlings stuck in Saudi Arabia! - Humberto being held hostage by the Prince? - NXT invasion on Smackdown. - Seth Rollins speech backstage at Raw. - Incher live perspective on AEW in Charleston. - Superstar Billy Graham advice to Adam Cole. Calls from Toronto Stevie and Jobes! Listen to this show!!! IYH_191105.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Ładne piosenki religijne | Błogosławieni, którzy przyjmują nowe dziełoIBłogosławieni, posłuszni obecnym przesłaniom Ducha Świetego.Nieważne, jacy byli kiedyś ani jak w nich działał Duch Święty –ci, którzy przyjęli najnowsze dzieło, są najbardziej błogosławieni.Aaa… ci, co przyjęli najnowsze dzieło, są najbardziej błogosławieni,a ci, którzy nie potrafią zanim podążać, są odsuwani.IIBóg pragnie tych, którzy akceptują nowe światło,i tych, którzy znają i przyjmują Jego najnowsze dzieło.Potrafią szukać dzieła Ducha Świętego i rozumieją nowe sprawy,posłuszni dzisiejszej Bożej pracy, pozostawiają to, co stare. Aaa… tych ludzi, którzy przyjmują najnowsze dzieło,przed wiekami już Bóg przeznaczył do największych błogosławieństw.IIIBezpośrednio słyszycie głos Boga i widzicie, ukazuje się,dlatego w całym niebie i na ziemi, przez wszystkie wieki, nie był nikt błogosławiony bardziej niż wasze grono. Aa…Dlatego w całym niebie i na ziemi, przez wszystkie wieki, nikt nie był bardziej błogosławiony niż wasze grono.Nikt nie był bardziej błogosławiony niż wasze grono.Nikt nie był bardziej błogosławiony niż wasze grono.z księgi „Słowo ukazuje się w ciele”Ewangelia o zstąpieniu królestwa: https://pl.kingdomsalvation.orgKościół Boga Wszechmogącego: https://pl.godfootsteps.org Błyskawica ze Wschodu: https://pl.easternlightning.org/Zachęcamy do pobrania aplikacji Kościoła Boga Wszechmogącego.Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.godfootsteps.thechurchofalmightygod&hl=pl App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-church-of-almighty-god/id1166298433 CAG Hymns - Nowe pieśni Królestwa App:Google Play: http://bit.ly/31AlJ6vApp Store: https://apple.co/2ITpeMUE-mail: contact.pl@kingdomsalvation.org Infolinie dobrej nowiny: +48-514-118-291

President Clinton and OIB serve up a grand slam show with calls from Toronto Stevie and Jobes! Topics discussed. -New WWE Raw Tag Team contenders. -Tony Atlas fight with Paul Orndorff. -Seth and Becky engagement! -Nothing happening on Smackdown! -Eric Rowan revealed he ran over Roman Reigns on Smackdown. Listen now and you'll love yourself for doing so!!! IYH_190827.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack and Incher return to talk wrasslin! - NXT Takeover review - Summerslam 2019 review - Trish Stratus vs Charlotte - Bray Wyatt's pants are too small - Brock vs Rollins reboot - Goldberg vs Dolph Ziggler - King of the Ring returns - is Incher the sole subscriber for Impact Plus? - Incher gets triggered by Jack's positivity - OIB the most feared man in the WV?! - questions from the Headyverse - Taso's further fall into madness and more! IYH_190815.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Trevor Rose-Hamblin (owner/head brewer, Old Irving Brewery and Fiona McEntee (owner, McEntee Law Group) are on the show for a so-crazy-it-just-might-work balance of immigration law information and beer talk. We recorded the show in advance of the Trotter Project Beer Fest kicking off on Sunday 8/11 at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 North Knox. Why did I pair brewery owner Trevor with immigration lawyer Fiona for this episode? I thought they'd have "terrific chemistry." The Trotter Project Beer Fest on Sunday 8/11 (Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 North Knox). The Fest launches Charlie Trotter Days on Sunday. Immigration law, especially as it pertains to touring musicians. We started our OIB courses with Fried Zucchini (Sicilian caper salsa verde, beer vinegar aioli, parmesan, lemon). The curbside service we got for the podcast has ruined me for all future recordings. (Also: Thanks, Matt!) The food at OIB is high end and next-level. How does Fiona feel about doing media: "I have a responsibility to try and use (my) voice to try and advocate for my clients." Fiona's next immigration-related endeavor: A children's book! Labor trafficking and sex trafficking: Which is more prevalent? "Taking your job home": The differences between Fiona and Trevor. We had the exceptional (and absolutely worth trying if you've never had anything like it) wood-fired Spanish octopus (crispy potatoes, Piquillo peppers, beer vinegar aioli, oregano, lemon, green olive salsa). The key to business travel: Exploring in your down time. We finished our tour of the menu with the OIB burger (8oz wood fired USDA Prime beef, white cheddar, caramelized onions, beer vinegar aioli, rosemary bun, plus fried egg and bacon!).   Car Con Carne is presented by the Autobarn Mazda of Evanston

Trevor Rose-Hamblin (owner/head brewer, Old Irving Brewery and Fiona McEntee (owner, McEntee Law Group) are on the show for a so-crazy-it-just-might-work balance of immigration law information and beer talk. We recorded the show in advance of the Trotter Project Beer Fest kicking off on Sunday 8/11 at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 North Knox. Why did I pair brewery owner Trevor with immigration lawyer Fiona for this episode? I thought they'd have "terrific chemistry." The Trotter Project Beer Fest on Sunday 8/11 (Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 North Knox). The Fest launches Charlie Trotter Days on Sunday. Immigration law, especially as it pertains to touring musicians. We started our OIB courses with Fried Zucchini (Sicilian caper salsa verde, beer vinegar aioli, parmesan, lemon). The curbside service we got for the podcast has ruined me for all future recordings. (Also: Thanks, Matt!) The food at OIB is high end and next-level. How does Fiona feel about doing media: "I have a responsibility to try and use (my) voice to try and advocate for my clients." Fiona's next immigration-related endeavor: A children's book! Labor trafficking and sex trafficking: Which is more prevalent? "Taking your job home": The differences between Fiona and Trevor. We had the exceptional (and absolutely worth trying if you've never had anything like it) wood-fired Spanish octopus (crispy potatoes, Piquillo peppers, beer vinegar aioli, oregano, lemon, green olive salsa). The key to business travel: Exploring in your down time. We finished our tour of the menu with the OIB burger (8oz wood fired USDA Prime beef, white cheddar, caramelized onions, beer vinegar aioli, rosemary bun, plus fried egg and bacon!).   Car Con Carne is presented by the Autobarn Mazda of Evanston

Jack, Incher and JuJu were on the Road to Wrestlemania! - OIB and Jobes work themselves into a shoot - Jack's weed experience - RAW - Smackdown - Tom from Florida loves Tugboat - Lexar's creepy call with JuJu and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack, Incher and JuJu were on the Road to Wrestlemania! - OIB and Jobes work themselves into a shoot - Jack's weed experience - RAW - Smackdown - Tom from Florida loves Tugboat - Lexar's creepy call with JuJu and more! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack, Incher and JuJu were on the Road to Wrestlemania! - OIB and Jobes work themselves into a shoot - Jack's weed experience - RAW - Smackdown - Tom from Florida loves Tugboat - Lexar's creepy call with JuJu and more! IYH_190329.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

On this audio masterpiece President Clinton fills in for Jack. Prez and OIB gear up for that long road to Wrestlemania! Along that road they discuss these topics from the wrestling.... well, discuss topics! - Microsoft Word. - Wrestlers they could do battle with. - Miz having the most exciting build. - Rhonda making OIB a Mark. - Who throws the best fireball who's still alive. You won't regret listening to this show! Listen to it now!!! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

On this audio masterpiece President Clinton fills in for Jack. Prez and OIB gear up for that long road to Wrestlemania! Along that road they discuss these topics from the wrestling.... well, discuss topics! - Microsoft Word. - Wrestlers they could do battle with. - Miz having the most exciting build. - Rhonda making OIB a Mark. - Who throws the best fireball who's still alive. You won't regret listening to this show! Listen to it now!!! IYH_190319.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

On this audio masterpiece President Clinton fills in for Jack. Prez and OIB gear up for that long road to Wrestlemania! Along that road they discuss these topics from the wrestling.... well, discuss topics! - Microsoft Word. - Wrestlers they could do battle with. - Miz having the most exciting build. - Rhonda making OIB a Mark.  - Who throws the best fireball who's still alive.  You won't regret listening to this show! Listen to it now!!! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack and the OIB returned with all the rasslin talk! - Elimination Chamber review - RAW - Smackdown  - NXT guys on the main roster - IWC hating everything - first women tag Elimination Chamber - Lexar returns and more! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack and the OIB returned with all the rasslin talk! - Elimination Chamber review - RAW - Smackdown - NXT guys on the main roster - IWC hating everything - first women tag Elimination Chamber - Lexar returns and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack and the OIB returned with all the rasslin talk! - Elimination Chamber review - RAW - Smackdown - NXT guys on the main roster - IWC hating everything - first women tag Elimination Chamber - Lexar returns and more! IYH_190221.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

President Clinton fills in for Jack while he was recovering in the hospital. Clinton and OIB talk about all the important topics in professional wrestling world: -Sasha wardrobe malfunction - Impact Chat Room - Royal Rumble surprises - Calls from Stephen, Jobes and a surprise caller! IYH_190122.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

President Clinton fills in for Jack while he was recovering in the hospital. Clinton and OIB talk about all the important topics in professional wrestling world: -Sasha wardrobe malfunction - Impact Chat Room  - Royal Rumble surprises  - Calls from Stephen, Jobes and a surprise caller! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

President Clinton fills in for Jack while he was recovering in the hospital. Clinton and OIB talk about all the important topics in professional wrestling world: -Sasha wardrobe malfunction - Impact Chat Room - Royal Rumble surprises - Calls from Stephen, Jobes and a surprise caller! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iyhwrestling/support

Jack E. Jones and OIB went over all the wrasslin! - WWE TLC - WWE shaking things up! - The McMahons return - RAW shaking things up! - Smackdown Live - things are still shaking! - all the calls from the Headyverse and things continue to shake!!!! IYH_181221.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack E. Jones and OIB went over all the wrasslin! - WWE - Jack is nearing his quitting point with RAW - The Baron Corbin Era - WWE telling you the show sucks - Lucha Underground - Police Academy - Jimmy Jam's wife and more! IYH_181215.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack E. Jones returned home to IYH with OIB! - NXT Wargames review - Survivor Series 2018 review - preshows don't matter - Velveteen Dream vs Champa - Charlotte vs Rousey - Becky Lynch - Nia Jax ultimate heel - No Nut November - Enzo at the Series - RAW - Smackdown - Jack ahs an idea for the Boogie Man - Lexar's "size" and more! IYH_181122.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

OIB and Pres returned! Crown Jewel Review. John Cena in Ernest bio pic. Becky Lynch's broken face. Shane McMahon the greatest in the world! Survivor Series lineup. Nothing happening Smackdown...except a title change and more! IYH_181113.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

OIB ran down evolution with Stephen in Toronto. Reviewed Raw and Smackdown this week. Crown Jewel replacement with Cena and Daniel Bryan. Roman's illness. Went over topics sent in by the listeners Hoosier Highway, Matt M, Vic and Shaheen! IYH_181030.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

It's an Out In Brighton mixtape this week - we head to the indie disco for some of the tracks that have been getting us going at OIB towers over the past six months...

President Clinton came out of retirement to join The OIB! Summerslam with Stephen from Toronto! RAW and Smackdown with Jobes and all the wrasslin! IYH_180821.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

In Your Head returns reviewing all the wrasslin, tribute to The Anvil, count down to Summerslam and OIB gets hard boiled and steaming mad as he hangs up on the Headyverse! Jobes steps in to finish the show and pay tribute to our fallen friend Brian Danovich IYH_180816.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

President Clinton announced his retirement from hosting on IYH. Listen to this very special show!!!! OIB and Clinton talk about TLC main event, Booker T Commentary, Chris Jericho Cruise Ship Tour. Jobes sits in while Jimmy Jam lies to everyone! IYH_171025.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack E. Jones and the OIB returned after their recent in person reunion in Kentucky! IYH_171005.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Last week Incher quit IYH, here is a heartfelt song written and performed by the maestro of all musical genres Jack E. Jones! OIB_quit.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

The OIB and The Pres talkin the wrasslin for the marks! IYH_170613.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Round Table : Couples in Wrestling Valentine's Day special with Jack, OIB, JuJU and Clinton! IYH_170214.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Jack E. Jones returns with OIB! - RAW - Smackdown live - Nia Jax debate - Jack's lost summer - Incher's hatred of fun and loyalty - looking ahead to Backlash - Jack reviews "Breaking Kafabe: Raven" from our friends at [url=http://kayfabecommentaries.com]kayfabecommentaries.com[/url] - Tons more!!! IYH_160906.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Axel Vindenes fra Kakkmaddafakka er innom i teltet og praten går lett og uanstrengt om telt, Trond Teigen, introlåter, Mexico, Erlend Øye, Kakkmaddafakkas egen OIB-podkast, Pokémon igjen, viktigheten av peptalk og så videre. Bassisten, Black Mamba, aka. Stian Cobra, aka. Stian Sævig kommer innom på slutten. Og så må gjengen gå på scenen og sette på den Pavarotti-låta de nettopp har blitt enige om å sette på. Velbekomme!

That's right Jerry Lawler has a Batmobile and this is a new edition of IYH. Listen to President Clinton and OIB talk about all the recent topic's in the Wrestling World. - The King's Batmobile! - New WWE Champ! - Money In the Bank! - Matt Hardy insane promo! - Old talent being called up for Brand Extension! Be there for the night Jack calls in from the bus station and shares his marketing idea's for the Boogie Man! IYH_160621.mp3

Jack and Incher with calls and the wrasslin news plus a historic night in the feud of OIB and La Blue Guy!!! IYH_160517.mp3 Please subscribe to the new IYH feed and iTunes !!! [url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline]feeds.feedburner.com/inyourheadonline[/url] [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-your-head-wrestling-podcast/id212039900?mt=2]iTunes[/url]

Dalla fiera del libro di Bogotà è stata rubata la prima edizione di Cent'anno di solitudine"; Antonio Di Bella, chiuso il padiglione Expo, ci illustra l'unica vera notizia dalla Francia di oggi. Oibò, sta per venir giù il razzo russo disperso da giorni nell'atmosfera: ci dobbiamo preoccupare? Sarà vero che in vacanza si concepisce di più? e dove, allora?

Trace elements (elements that constitute less than 0.1 wt.% of the analyzed sample) are important tracers for a great variety of processes in many research areas, such as biochemistry, medicine, semi-conductor and nano-technology, environmental science and geosciences (e.g., Anita et al. [2002]; Becker et al. [2004]; Barbante et al. [2004]; Tibi and Heumann [2003]). Accordingly, much scientific effort and financial resources are raised to develop new high-performance analytical techniques and methods for trace element analysis. In geosciences, the capabilities of trace elements analytics have not been used to its full potential because of the complex matrix of the analyzed samples (rocks) and the time consuming procedure to obtain high-quality trace element data by isotope dilution. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to develop of a new, easy-to-use and fast ID-method for the simultaneous determination of many trace elements in geological materials. In addition, the application of this new technique to the analysis of ocean island basalts (OIB) revealed that evolution of geochemical mantle heterogeneities (HIMU, EM-1, EM-2) is far more complex than perviously thought. In the first part of this thesis, a multi-element technique for the simultaneous determination of 12 trace element concentrations in geological materials by combined isotope dilution (ID) sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) following simple sample digestion is presented. The concentrations of additional 14 other trace elements have been obtained using the ID determined elements as internal standards. This method combines the advantages of ID (high precision and accuracy) with those of SF-ICP-MS (multi-element capability, fast sample processing without element separation) and overcomes the most prevailing drawbacks of ICP-MS (matrix effects and drift in sensitivity). Trace element concentration data for the geological reference material BHVO-1 (n = 5) reproduce to within 1-3% RSD with an accuracy of 1-2% relative to respective literature data for ID values and 2-3% for all other values. To test the overall performance of the method the technique has been applied to the analysis of 17 well-characterized geological reference materials from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) and the International Association of Geoanalysts (IAG). The sample set also includes the new USGS reference glasses BCR-2G, BHVO-2G, and BIR-1G, as well as the MPI-DING reference glasses KL2-G and ML3B-G and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SRM 612. Most data agree within 3-4% with respective literature data. The concentration data of USGS reference glasses agree in most cases with respective data of the original rock powder within the combined standard uncertainty of the method (2-3%), except the U concentration of BIR-1G, which shows a three times higher concentration compared to BIR-1. In the second part of this thesis, this new method is used to determine the trace element concentrations of basaltic samples form the ocean islands St. Helena, Gough and Tristan da Cunha. The results are used to test the validity of established models concerning the trace element systematics of mantle heterogeneities. Since the early 1990's, recycling of altered oceanic crust together with small amounts of 'pelagic' and 'terrigeneous' sediments has become somewhat of a paradigm for explaining the geochemical and isotopic systematics in global OIB. The vastly increased number of data in the literature, in addition to new high-precision trace element data on samples from St. Helena, Gough, and Tristan da Cunha presented here (altogether more than 300 analyses from basalts from 15 key islands), reveals that the trace element systematics in enriched mantle (EM)-type OIB are far more complex than previously thought. In contrast to EM basalts, HIMU (high μ; μ = 238U/204Pb) basalts have remarkably uniform trace element characteristics (systematic depletion in Cs, Rb, Ba, Th, U, Pb, Sr, and enrichment of Nb, Ta relative to La), which are adequately explained by being derived from sources containing subduction-modified oceanic crust. EM-type basalts have La/Th, Rb/Ba, and Rb/K ratios similar to those in HIMU-type OIB, but at the same time, also share some common characteristics that distinguish them from HIMU basalts (e.g., high Rb/La, Ba/La, Th/U, Rb/Sr, low Nb/La, U/Pb, Th/Pb). EM-type OIB also have far more variable very incompatible elements contents (Cs, Rb, Ba, Th, U, Nb, Ta, La) and are less depleted in Pb and Sr than HIMU-type OIB. In addition, each suite of EM-type basalts carries its own specific trace element signature that must ultimately reflect different source compositions. Consequently, although the compositional similarities between HIMU and EM-type basalts suggest that their sources share a common precursor (subducted oceanic crust), their compositional differences can only be explained if EM sources have a more complex evolution and/or contain an additional component compared to HIMU sources. This additional component in EM basalts is likely to originate from a common, although to some degree compositionally heterogeneous, reservoir. Possible candidates are marine sediments; but they do not, at the same time, provide a plausible explanation of the isotopic bimodality in EM-type basalts (EM-1 and EM-2) because the parent/daughter ratios in marine sediments are unimodally distributed. Similar to the bimodal isotopic compositions in EM basalts, the continental crust is composed of two broadly compositionally different parts: the upper and lower continental crust. Relative to the upper continental crust, the lower continental crust is similarly enriched in very incompatible elements, but has systematically lower Rb/Sr, U/Pb, Th/Pb, and higher Th/U ratios. Thus, over time, the upper and lower continental crust evolve along distinct isotopic evolution paths but retain their complex trace element characteristics, similar to what is observed in EM-type basalts worldwide. It is therefore propose here that recycling of oceanic crust together with variable proportions of lower continental crust (scrapped off from the overlying continental crust during subduction at erosive plate margins) and upper continental crust (either in the form of sediments or eroded continental crust) provides a possible explanation for the trace element and isotope systematics in EM-type ocean island basalts.