Congratulations to Leaha Van Steelant.  She just returned from the 2012 Special Olympics in St. Albert, Alberta.  She placed 3 rd in the national competition for the 800m snow shoe race.   Leaha’s time was 5 min and 7 seconds.

Community Leisure—436 William

Hi, my name is Jean Rossell and I work at Community Leisure Program at William.  I like playing Bingo at the Recreation & Leisure program.  I also like drawing and working on crafts in the Arts & Culture program. In my spare time, I work on rug hooking. The one I’m working on now is called “Country Cottages” and it is a nice scenery picture. I have a lot of friends here and I like going out for coffee with them. 

Jean Rossell

Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

The Document Destruction department is operating smoothly and the team is working very well together.  Last week the team pulled together and by doing that  were able to produce 10-11 shredded bales on a daily basis.  My team of Gordon Harris, Donald Spiller, Jason Patzer and Jonathan Barrett have been doing an amazing job. 

 I would like to introduce the newest member of the team, William Pirrie.  William started in Document Destruction a few weeks ago and has been working very well. William has shown interest in working towards his lift truck certification .  Once William is certified, his duties will increase.  He can’t wait to start moving the shredded bales around.  Each shredded bale weighs approximately 1200 lbs.

 Keep up the great work guys!  William, welcome to the team!

 Serge Legal

Supported Employment—436 William

Having respect for others helps you be successful on a team.  Partners need to help each other, speak kindly, and consider the other person.  It is fun to be on a team that works well together.  Working with Darrin Dunn at Hydro is a lot of fun.  He is a hard worker, and very respectful to everyone.  Respectful is the best way to be!

Naila Janzen

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

 It’s been a year since the big move to Madison Street.  Everyone has transitioned quite nicely!  The transportation system which was monumental at the time of the move has been running as smooth as putty.  Integrating the buildings has resulted in some new friendships and job experiences.  The cafeteria has provided a nice alternative to standard box lunches at very reasonable prices.  Changing locations was definitely a challenge but we’ve settled in and strive to provide a meaningful and rewarding day to those we support.

Joy Moore

 Hello from Community Leisure.  This week some of us went to the Festival du Voyaguer at the Franco Manitoban Cultural Centre.  There was great music and a lot of us danced, after a nice meal.  We had a choice of pea soup or a pulled pork sandwich and they were good!  The festival is on until this weekend and we highly recommend that you go.

 Community Leisure

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

 I would like you to meet one of our cleaning teams here at Madison Street:  Leaha Van Steelant, Carol McInnis, Tracy Duck, Terry Berthelette and Danielle Paksec.  These ladies have taken on the responsibility of keeping our women’s washroom spotless.  They do a tremendous job and receive many compliments for how clean and well-maintained they keep the bathroom, throughout the day. 

 Thank you and keep up the great work!

Sue Vavasour

Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

City of Winnipeg Blue Box Recycling Program

 You can Recycle:

• plastic containers with a recycling triangle on the bottom, including all bottles, pails, tubs, and jugs
• aluminum drink cans
• steel (tin) food cans
• milk and juice cartons
• juice boxes
• newspapers and inserts, flyers and junk mail
• magazines, phone books, household paper, shredded paper and envelopes
• cardboard egg cartons and paper tubes
• flattened cardboard, no more than 1 metre in any direction, e.g., cereal, cracker, tissue, laundry, shoe and packing boxes
• glass jars and bottles (clear and coloured).

 Items that you can’t recycle include:

• plastic bags, plastic packaging and cellophane
• household hazardous waste containers, such as antifreeze, motor oil, windshield washer fluid, bleach, pesticide or herbicide. You can identify many hazardous waste products by the danger symbols )
• aluminum foil or foil pie plates
• foil or foam takeout food containers
• foam packaging, foam egg cartons or foam meat trays
• mirrors, window glass or broken glass
• light bulbs, drinking glasses, ceramics or cookware.

 For more information on the blue box program:  www.winnipeg.ca

 Hi, I am Rochelle Bushie.   I work here at Community Leisure and I enjoy the activities such as Rec & Leisure, S & N Gym and helping make toast.  I also enjoy going out in the community like going swimming, going to the museum and taking the bus to wherever they take me.  My hope for ImagineAbility is to one day make a yearbook out of the whole company that I can have in the future.

One of my talents is drawing and doing art work like making travel books and yearbooks.

 Also, the foods I like to eat are Kraft Dinner, tomato soup, Goldfish Crackers and Cheetos.

Rochelle Bushie

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

 Food for thought….

10 reasons why you should become more positive

1. You will create a better world around you as your surroundings will become affected and change due to your positive thoughts and actions.

2. You will make better first impressions.  Everyone stereotypes, whether they want to or not.  A positive first impression can mean a lot in many situations and have a lasting effect throughout your relationship with that person.

3. You will focus on the good things in people, not their faults. This will make things much better overall and improve all kinds of relationships.

4. It’s easier to become more productive when you stop laying obstacles in the middle of the road in the form of negative thoughts.

5. Work becomes more fun.  Everything becomes more fun.

6. You become more attractive.  People like positive people. Positive people make other people feel good about themselves and they don´t drag the mood down.  Also, a positive attitude is an indicator – and source – of high self-confidence, a quality that just about everyone is attracted to.

7. Being negative has very little concrete advantages and is not a very empowering way to look at life.

8. It opens up your mind to focus on other ways of looking at things.  Sometimes this is in wonderful new ways you might not ever have thought about or experienced before.

9. It puts the Law of Attraction to better use. The Law of Attraction basically says: whatever you think about you attract into your life.  As you replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts you will start to attract more positive opportunities and people into your life.

10. You´ll waste less time. Negativity can be like a self-feeding loop.  First you think one negative thought.  It leads you to three more.  And then you start examining your life in deeper detail through a depressing lens.  When you get into a vicious cycles like this it can eat up hours, weeks and years of your life.  It can drain a lot of your energy whilst trapping you in paralysis by analysis.  And you probably won´t become that much wiser in the process. We live for about 24-28 000 days.  Don´t waste them.

The Positivity Challenge is this:  For 7 days you will try to only think positive thoughts. Whatever happens you will see the good side of it and what positive things you can learn and take away from it.  By the end of the week you will have started to discover the very real benefits of positive thinking, how many negative thoughts there are both in you and the world (you might be surprised) and begun establishing a new habit to replace your old, less constructive one.  And then you can continue from there.

We are mid way through winter, and have yet to see the true meaning of why we are sometimes called “winterpeg”.  We have been fortunate enough this year to have only had to brave a few days here and there, so far, of extreme cold.  At the Madison location sports are often the topic of conversation.  In the fall we work in a sea of blue and gold sported by all employees.  Then winter hits and the blue and white color theme take over.  I think it’s fair to say most of the Madison employee are huge Jets supporters. From the old style logo to the brand new jerseys, Madison employees are up on every game score, player trade, injury list an so on.  On January 23, the employees decided to have a “beat the winter blues with blue and white, Jets day.”  Many people arrived at work wearing all sorts of Winnipeg Jets gear, or dressed in blue and white color theme.  This was a great way to start off the week on a Monday high note.  Happy hockey season and go Jets! 

Ps. I still like NFL better.

Adrienne Dudek

Community Leisure—436 William

Everyone at Community Leisure from time to time will sit down together and create a story by using a story chain process. In a story chain each person contributes a word or sentence to the story. With each person’s unique imaginations the story has many twists and turns that will make you laugh or say “oh no!”. The story chain is a great way to break the ice and let everyone see your fun side as you let your imagination soar. The following is a story that was created by everyone at Community Leisure. Enjoy!

Once upon a time, in a castle there lived a dragon.  The dragon went from Gummy Room to Gummy Room. The dragon was following a man because the man was making loud noises. The man was making loud footsteps and singing. He fell down not watching where he was going. A wolf came into the castle and picked up chocolate fudge. He wanted more chocolate fudge. He clapped in excitement for chocolate fudge!! The dragon, wolf and man all came together and went swimming, fishing and played tapes, then went to work after. The dragon, wolf and man went to their Auntie’s house on the mountains, in a gondola. They got a cow and went on the highway, and then they went back to the castle. The dragon, wolf and man started wrestling and the man won! The man went for a walk and met the wolf. The wolf smiled and ran away. He ate a rabbit then got sick. The cow broke. Then they danced until they dropped. They all got better and went to Folklorama and danced some more. They scowled and did not go back to work because it was to cold and they watched scary movies. They had ice cream at Sargent Sundae. They went out for dinner and a coffee. They laughed and lived happily ever after.

 By All at Community Leisure

Supported Employment—436 William

 Tracy B. started with ImagineAbility in 2011.  She is taking literacy in the Community Leisure program; she also works at Graffiti Gallery.  I started visiting Tracy at the Gallery this past fall.  She has been working there for 6 years.  She cleans the building.   She enjoys her job and takes pride in her work.  She is a very valued employee at the gallery.  They are happy to have her as a member of their team.

 Naila Janzen

 We are enjoying our work-day at Brock White where we clean and de-kit the insulation; then stamp and pack the same shape pieces into boxes.  To assist us at our site we have Ian San Juan, David Moir, and Willie Pirrie, from Madison,  who join us on alternate days.  Their skills and abilities have been and continue to be a tremendous asset in getting the job done.  Melanie Eliuk, Ronald Corlett, and Andrew Singer share their expertise on the job with whomever joins our team on a given day.  When people are open and share, the work day is anything but a chore.

 Way to go everyone for putting your abilities to work with a positive outlook.

 Reporting from the desk of Cynthia Zimrose, DC – Brock White enclave

 Community Leisure Program—436 William

 Hello from Community Leisure Program.

 The Christmas decorations are on the wall , three Christmas trees are lit, and Christmas music will sound.  Our Christmas Dinner is almost here!  We are busy planning and preparing for the feast.  Everybody is excited and looking forward to December 16.  We have great food, music, singing and dancing.  Fun activities are planned for the day.  Hope this year was a great year for everybody and we wish you happy holidays!

Erica and Chihiro

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

 Hi  Everyone,

 Wow, it’s that time of year.  There are only 9 days until Christmas.   Here, at Madison, everyone is working hard.  We are working on Bayco Cam Arms which can be tricky as you have to attach a metal ring to the Cam Arm.  We also work on Monteferro, counting the metal clips and we have a few different Coghlan’s jobs such as blistering compasses, camping toasters and other items.  We have been counting chocolate and candy packages for Leader General.  We have a group of very hard working people who are very proud to try jobs they have never done before. They are doing an amazing job.  The people I have been working with are: Darlene F, Tom C, Tom M, Dennis D., Bev B., Corrine G., Jim C., Joseph W., Ian E., Jeanine M., Shirley A., Patsy S., Tim M., Ray L., Curtis J., Jay F., Andre T., Patrick S., Roger G., Bob B., Brian C., Lee N., Shane S., Gordon P., Jean-Paul L., Leslie J., Conrad M., Irwin S.

 Thanks for all your help.   I appreciate you guys!

 Tammy Funk

  Cafeteria—500 Madison

Hi.  My name is Lori Anne Trapp and I’m learning how to do the cash register in the cafeteria with Shane and Lori G.  I assist people in wheelchairs to get their lunch and take it to the table.  I also help wrap cookies and prep the meals for lunches. 

Lori Anne Trapp

 We had a good experience on cash and Inna helped me train Lori Anne.  Sue trained me when we were still at William.  I have a good math memory.  Lori Anne is doing her best and is getting better at it everyday.  If I was not here I would get Lori G. or Becky to take over for me.

Shane Sokoluk

 Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

 The Christmas holidays are upon us and I can tell looking at the clients faces they are very happy that Santa Claus will soon be here.  With the holidays approaching, here are a few friendly reminders on what steps to better protect your valuables while you shop around the city.

 Never leave your presents in your car unattended.  The best place to put them is in your trunk. Most retailers have signs posted in their parking lot that say they are not responsible for any lost or stolen articles in your car.  Never leave your car idling for any length of time.  Car thieves will look for very easy cars to take for their own use. Try to park as close to the building as possible. Most shopping malls have security guards so if you are shopping at night ask customer services for an escort to your car. Most places will be happy to help you.

 After you rip open your presents from Santa Claus tear the boxes into smaller pieces before disposing of them. Thieves will go through your garbage and may see what you have gotten for presents.  

 Remember to protect yourself from identity theft as well.  All a person needs to steal your identity is your full name and address.  People can be very imaginative when it comes to using someone else’s identity to purchase items online using another person’s credit card number.

If you are going to shop online, only use websites that have a secure connection and always remember to read their returns and exchange policies. Not  all are the same, especially when it comes to gift cards.

 Have a yourselves a great holiday with family and friends.

Serge Legal

 Recycling pick-up at Hydro

Beginning in the new year, recycling will be picked-up from all 22 floors of the 360 Portage Hydro building.  The team will collect and sort recyclables on a daily basis.  Enclave members began training and are excited to take on the new challenge.  Two other members will join the team to assist with the increased work load.  It is an exciting time for the team!

Natalie Gildenhuys

 Natalie started working with us on November 15^th, 2011.  She will be the coach at Hydro for the next year.  She is doing a great job and I am glad to have had some time to get to know her.  She is starting at Hydro while there are some exciting new opportunities.  All the best, Natalie!

Sumi Kimanivong

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

 Hello.  I would like to introduce our new Boeing team:  Blair Schroeder, Heidi Duester, Tammy Caron, Kurt Dreger, Gary Duguay, Michael Gembarsky, Bob Grant, James Larson, Ken Kerchin, Clive Molyneaux, Dean Moore, James Walker and Kim Hayden.  Everyone in the department is doing great and trying new steps of the job. 

 All of us in the Boeing department would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday! 

Kari Krochenski

Community Leisure Program—436 William

The city is blanketed all in white which must mean winter is here to stay.  Great news for all the winter lovers.  All of us at Community Leisure are making sure to bundle up before going outside.  Remember when you leave for work in the morning to wear a warm jacket, hat, mitts or gloves, boots, and a scarf to protect your face from the cold.  Being properly dressed according to the weather also will help you enjoy the Winnipeg winter.

 Here are some interesting winter facts…

 1. All snowflakes have six sides.

2. Average snowflakes fall at 3.1 miles per hour.

3. Billions of snowflakes fall during a storm, even a small storm.

4. Ten inches of snow melts down to one inch of water.

5. Over half of the Earth’s fresh water supply is stored in the polar ice caps.

6. The record for the most snow angels made at one time is 15,851 and was set by a couple schools in Ontario in the winter of 2004.

Cafeteria—500 Madison

Hello everyone.  We have a new cafeteria supervisor.  Her name is Inna and she started with us on Halloween, October 31st.  We would like to welcome Inna to our kitchen and hope that she stays for a long time.  She is very funny and we are happy to be with her.

Lori G.—“It is very nice to meet you Inna.  I hope you will stay for a long time.”

Stephanie—“I hope you will like it here Inna.”

Lori Anne—“I am glad you came here because we all need changes in the future.  Welcome from all of us.”

Shane—“Inna made me come to work with her because she needed help on the cash register.  Welcome.”

Charlene—”We all need your help on things to get things done.”

Janice—”Welcome to our kitchen Inna.  I hope we are all together for a long time.”

Cheryl—“I hope that she will help me with my bumbling a lot of the times.”

Cafeteria Staff

Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

Hi, my name is Angela Bee and I have worked at  Versatech since after graduation in 2004.  I worked at the Plymouth location before we moved to Madison.

 When we moved to Madison, I was given the opportunity to work at Plymouth daily at a new job called Rice Hulls.  We weigh out and package rice hull bags for Griffin Wheel to use in the cooling process of their wheels for trains.  I have to wear protective gear such as a mask and safety glasses.  I feed bags through the heat tunnel for shrink wrapping and then I help pack them for shipping.

 I have made many great friends through Versatech and we hang out all the time outside of work.  I also have a huge family and am very close with them.

 See you soon.

Angie

Holiday Closures

Versatech Industries will be closed on the following days during the holiday season:

Monday, December 26

Tuesday, December 27

Monday, January 2

 Hi.  My name is Michael Wren.  I recently graduated from St. Norbert Collegiate and am working at Versatech full time.  I love my bassett hound, Oscar and I go to the Humane Society for cat cuddling.  I bowl and am trying curling for the first time.  I dressed up as a Zombie for the Halloween Social and had a great time.

Michael Wren

Supported Employment—436 William

 Annette C. had a dream of finding a competitive paying job. She had done volunteer work at Safeway and HSC for a number of years and was ready for a change. This summer Annette was hired as a part-time courtesy clerk at Safeway.  Annette enjoys her job and is excited about going to work. She takes her responsibilities very seriously, always doing her best. Her supervisors are impressed with her performance.

Way to go Annette !!!

 Naila Janzen, Supported Employment

Community Leisure Program—436 William

I’ve been working with Elizabeth for just over seven months now. She has been working as a volunteer at the Maples Personal Care Home every Thursday morning.  While at the Care Home, Liz assists the seniors in folding towels.  She is a very hard worker and throughout my time working with her, she has greatly expanded her social skills by joining different group programs, going to her volunteer placement weekly, and meeting and socializing with other participants at work.

 Community Leisure is a very positive environment to work in, and everyone enjoys it.  Some of the programs are as follows: Recreation & Leisure, Arts & Culture, Vocational, Communications, Literacy, and Health & Wellness.  Participants develop many skills by joining these programs such as reading skills, communicating with others, completing different craft projects and learning about various health topics. There is also a new program that has been running for the past month called Sensory Room and I have been running the program in the afternoons, after Liz has gone home for the day. Some of the benefits of the sensory room are:

- helping individuals feel more alert and more functional

- improving socialization skills for some individuals

- providing pleasurable, sensory experience

- providing a de-stressor.

Tammy Jubinville

Remembrance Day Ceremony—500 Madison

 Clients and staff held a brief ceremony to commemorate Remembrance Day.  “In Flanders Fields” was recited by a few of our clients after Jim Hayes marched with them to the front of the group.  A moment of silence was observed and then we all shared stories with each other about people we know who fought for Canada.

Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

Ways that you can reduce, reuse and recycle.

• Use a reusable lunch box or bag instead of a paper bag to carry your lunch. You will not be throwing away a paper or plastic bag every day.
• When you make a purchase, don’t take a bag unless you need one and use reusable bags when possible.
• Wrap gifts in a cloth bag which can be used over again.
• Use a cloth rag instead of paper towel.
• Always look for items with little or no packaging.
• Use reusable plastic containers for food instead of plastic bags.
• Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones.
• Choose products in recyclable or refillable containers.
• Avoid buying food items in single serve packaging.

Hello, my name is Lukas Benjamin Thiessen and I recently started as a Development Coach in Contract Manufacturing.  I have been here a little over a month.  The first thing I noticed when I came for a tour before I started and the same thing I notice now (and the strongest impression I have every day) is collectively, the people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming.  Regardless of the specific job, I notice people working hard, smiling and answering all my little questions as I try to learn about everyone and everything.  I love not being able to go five minutes without someone coming up and saying “Hi” or talking to me about something.  I am appreciative to everyone for the knowledge they share with me and for the community they’ve welcomed me into here at Versatech.

Lukas Thiessen

Community Leisure Program—436 William

Community Leisure has welcomed a new development coach to the Community Leisure team. Sheila has been with Community Leisure since October 20,2011 and is fitting in wonderfully. When you see her at Madison, introduce yourself and extend a warm welcome to Versatech Industries.

Recycling, Rice Hulls & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

Chris Tinley has been with Versatech Industries since 2002.  Chris worked with the William shipping and receiving team before the move to Madison this year,  and often also worked on the blister machine.  Chris was a huge help and would often volunteer to work on anything asked of him.

 When the Contract Manufacturing program moved to Madison, Chris expressed that he would be open to working on the Sort Line at the Plymouth location.

Chris started going over to the other location daily to work in Rice Hulls (a new business venture) or in Recycling, sorting incoming items.

 Chris now attends the Plymouth location regularly and no longer comes to Madison to go with the group, he independently takes city transit at the start and end of his work day.  Chris is very dependable and very talkative, he often will start up conversation about his favorite sporting events, his parents farm or the magazine his brother publishes.  Chris is an asset to the Plymouth team.

Rice Hulls

Supported Employment-Brock White

Ronald Corlett has been working for Versatech for about 14 years.  He has been with Supported Employment at Brock White for four years.  Ronald likes to make boxes, clean the ISO insulation, stamp and pack the ISO and blue insulation.

In his free time at home, Ronald likes to purchase movies, tapes and CD’s.  He likes Batman movies and wrestling.  Ronald likes to go on the computer and play games. Ronald is an all around likeable person.

He has made many friends at Brock White.  His ability shines through in everything he does.

Excellent work partner!

Cynthia Zimrose, DC

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

Bradley Hurtig and Les Burton

Bradley and I work together here at Versatech on a “one-to-one” basis.  Bradley has been with Versatech for 23 years and we have worked together now for the last 18 months.  Bradley likes the new building and has done exceptionally well in his new environment (previously he worked at William).  Some days we stay and work all day and other days we leave the building and go for a walk or bus ride and then return to work.  Bradley really enjoys interacting with his friends and co-workers here at Madison and we hope to continue for many years to come.  

 Les Burton

Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

I am back from holidays.  It was cold and windy, but it is fall after all.  During my absence the evening staff did an amazing job in operating the department.

I would also like to introduce the newest member of the Document Destruction team, Jonathan Barrett. Jonathan has been with Versatech for over a year now and was a great, strong, dedicated client. Jonathan is now a paid staff earning a competitive wage and he is performing very well.  Jonathan, during my absence, did most of the administrative work on my computer and did an amazing job.  Keep up the great work Jonathan.

Serge Legal

Community Leisure Program—436 William

We, at Community Leisure, would like to give a warm welcome to Lee Asham.  He started at Community Leisure October 11, 2011 and has begun building relationships.  Lee had been in the field for 5 years working with students at the St. James and St. Boniface School Divisions, then left to work in the auto industry for 19 years.  In 2011, he returned to what he loved to do and he joined us here.  He has a 15 year old daughter and a 12 year old son who he has coached; soccer, ringette, hockey and lacrosse and currently he coaches Team Manitoba Lacrosse.

WELCOME LEE

I recycle paper, cardboard, bottles and cans at Hydro. The job I enjoy the most is breaking down cardboard.

I like going for bike rides. I also enjoy going for coffee at Tim Hortons and eating at McDonalds. I spend Thanksgiving with my family. My mom makes good pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Raymond Manaigre

Contract Manufacturing—500 Madison

 At Versatech, we are open to working with different outside programs to the benefit of our clients.  Sylvia Truesdale, one of our Development Coaches is attending Red River College through a partnership Versatech has with the Disability and Community Support Program.

One of the courses that Sylvia attends, asks their students to select and work with participants  who would be interested and who would benefit from literacy supports (reading, visual identification)  The students are to design programming based on the literacy level of the person they are working with and set achievable literacy goals.

Monica Polson, Susan Tax and Jamie Newman have been selected to work with Sylvia and two other Red River College students for one hour a week.  Each client was asked if they would be interested and has decided they would like to participate.  This program is designed to be ongoing for the next eight weeks.

Adrienne Dudek

Recycling & Document Destruction—115 Plymouth

Jamie Newman has been a client with Versatech Industries since 2008.  Jamie worked at the Plymouth location until the move to Madison.  Jamie currently attends Madison but has been travelling to work with his peers at Plymouth both on the new venture, Rice Hulls (packing and using the L-Bar to seal bags for Griffen Wheel) and on the Recycling sort line.  Recently Jamie has been training on the skid steer as part of the Recycling team.  Jamie is able to use the hand controls to operate the machinery.  Jamie is also working with Sylvia Truesdale on Numeracy and Literacy goals as part of a pilot project and partnership with Red River Community College.    

 Paul Moore

Community Leisure Program—436 William

Hello from Community Leisure.

We had our annual soc hop in September and it was a great success!!

Annette Cresswell from SE helped us make decorations for the event. She did a wonderful job!

The event was filled with people and great music from the band!!

Chihiro Kasukawa