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A Special Announcement: Welcoming Our New CEO!

Community Catalysts of California announced the appointment of Wendy Forkas as its new Chief

Executive Officer, effective May 1, 2019. Ms. Forkas rejoins CCC after acting in executive

capacities with other organizations serving individuals with special needs. While employed with

CCC from 1994 to 2009, Ms. Forkas was responsible for creating and operating programs in

Northern California and eventually acting as the Chief Operating Officer for the corporation. Her

work as an advocate for clients and their families includes serving on the Board of Directors of

California Disability Service Association and the California Disabilities Services Institute.

We’re so thrilled to have you, Wendy!

"I am excited to be rejoining this amazing organization. While I will sincerely miss the Clients, Staff, Executive Team and the Board of Partnerships With Industry, I am confident of their

continued success. I hope to bring all that I have learned back to CCC."

Wendy Forkas

Board of Directors Jim Jenkins Executive Chair James Wheeler Vice Chair David Kuhlman Secretary Roberta Raasveld Treasurer Greg Murphy Director Carey Storm Director Melissah Walker Director Jarrod Hammes Director Zeyad Moussa Director

Newsletter Staff Contributors Alice O., Ana N., Erica B., Farley O., Amanda B., Jennifer B., Jessica R. Editors Patricia A.

Special Announcement Corporate San Marcos Imperial Valley Fresno Visalia Ukiah Client of the Quarter Employee of the Quarter Policy of the Month

March 2019

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Client Anniversaries

23 Years Gylda G. | Imperial Valley

21 Years Wayne H. | San Marcos

20 Years Lee Roy B. | Imperial Valley

Michael P. | Santa Clara

17 Years Donald P. | Manteca

Rosalina O. | Salinas

15 Years Aletha R. | Manteca

Carolyn B. | San Marcos

14 Years Rueben O. | Salinas

Roberto B. | Salinas

13 Years Veronica J. | Fresno

Jose G. | Salinas

Omar V. | Salinas

12 Years Maria Luisa S. | Salinas

Thomas C. | Salinas

Tomas S. | Salinas

11 Years Liberty M. | Imperial Valley

Anthong B. | San Marcos

10 Years Donald M. | Imperial Valley

Maryanne S. | Imperial Valley

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March 2019

Southern California

San Marcos By Teri Geston What’s Going On? Congratulations to Jeannie Leauma on 15 years of

service with Community Catalysts. On March 1, 2019,

Jeannie along with all her employees and the

Supervisory Team enjoyed lunch at Valley View to

celebrate Jeannie and her successes. We are

fortunate to have such a dedicated employee in her role

as Case Manager for the Supported Employment,

Private Pay and a few IL. Thank you, Jeannie, for all

you do for me, your staff and your clients.

San Marcos is ready for action as we create our signs

for the Rally at our local legislator’s office on April 5.

CM’s Jeannie and Durry along with RM Teri created our

beautiful signs.

Stay tuned for our next set from the day of our rally.

We are active in getting proper funding for our services!

Corporate By Administration What’s Going On?

This month brings bittersweet transitions at the corporate HQ. We are sad to see Rocio Pineda

transitioning out of her accounting role, but we are also excited for her as she pursues new

endeavors! Thank you, Rocio, for your hard work and dedication and we wish you the best.

Spring time is the season of newness. In addition to Rocio’s transition, we would also like to introduce

Patricia Addun as the newest Catalyst. She will serve as the corporate office’s new Administrative

Coordinator. Welcome, Patricia!

Client Anniversaries Continued from pg. 2 9 Years Joyce J. | Santa Clara

8 Years Martin Q. | Imperial Valley

William M. | Imperial Valley

Rosemary N. | Visalia

7 Years Angel M. | Imperial Valley

Richard S. | Redwood

David M. | Redwood

Fred H. | Redwood

Robert G. | Redwood

6 Years Marta O. | Imperial Valley

Scott C. | Manteca

Glenn S. | Manteca

5 Years Rafael D. | Redwood

Samantha A. | San Marcos

Karyn A. | San Marcos

Daniel P. | Santa Clara

4 Years Alma G. | Santa Clara

3 Years Kevin M. | Fresno

Cheryl V. | Imperial Valley

Lisa R. | Manteca

Charles S. | San Marcos

2 Years Gina S. | Santa Clara

March 2019

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Imper ia l Va l ley By Ana Norris What’s Going On? March was a busy month for our office. Our clients loved going to the fair and more than expected

showed up. Kudos to the entire CCC Staff who participated in this event. Our next Advisory event will

be on April 26 at the IV Mall where our next field trip will be discussed. For more information, please

contact Gloria Arce.

The IV team would also like to welcome Angie Striepling to our crew as our new Regional

Manager. Change is always good and we welcome it. We all look forward to working for you...but just

get ready to gain a little weight as we love to eat and drink plenty of water as our 3-digit temperatures

will welcome you as well. Thank you, Teri & Alice, for all that you have done for us. We will always

appreciate you.

Finally, we have also been preparing for CARF for months and it’s getting closer. We have it scheduled for the month of May, so we are finalizing details!

Employee Anniversaries 18 Years Stephanie Hernandez | Manteca

12 Years Irma Manjarrez | El Centro

Carmen Valenzuela | Stockton

11 Years Eleanor Ramos | Manteca

Hugo Sanchez | Fresno

10 Years Dana Steckling | San Marcos

8 Years Kitty Riggs | Ukiah

7 Years Eloy Rocha | El Centro

6 Years Esteban Camacho | Visalia

5 Years Brenda Cabrillo | Salinas

Chelsea Coffin | Manteca

Esther Boring | El Centro

4 Years Archie Green | San Marcos

3 Years Vanessa Aguirre | Visalia

2 Years Christopher Brown | San Marcos

Kimberly Laws | Merced

March 2019

Central Valley Fresno By Amanda Brewer

What’s Going On? Fresno congratulates Andrea Hernandez as the

office’s Employee of the Month for February. She was

chosen because of her great communication skills

with management, willingness to help her consumers,

flexibility with scheduling, and her superior

attendance! Great job Andrea!

Fresno also wished Shelley Cook, NCM a big HAPPY

BIRTHDAY on 3/20/2019! We hope you will have a

wonderful year and all your dreams come true!

We would also like to congratulate Maria Lopez who

was promoted to Direct Service Supervisor. Maria has

worked for Community Catalysts of California for over

11 years and has always been one to step up and go

above and beyond. She loves CCC and has a passion

for helping. We are lucky to have you in the CCC

Fresno Family! Congratulations again! You deserve it,

Maria!

Visa l ia By Gladys Monje

What’s Going On? Visalia celebrated Sidney M.’s birthday with lots of food and a delicious Batman-themed

chocolate cake! All of Sid’s friends celebrated with him and we all had a great time.

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March 2019

Redwood Coast Ukiah By Jennifer Bilstein What’s Going On? Happy Birthday to our clients David M., Jean

and Mark! And a big Happy Birthday to our

CM Diana and to NCM Shelley! We hope

you all had fun celebrations for your

birthdays!

This March wasn’t as busy as February so

that was nice. We’ve got a little rest period

before summer kicks off soon. Some of our

clients had a great time when they went to

see Irish Dancers down at the Wells Fargo

Center in Windsor, CA. The music was very

lively and fun to listen to. The dancers were

amazing, and we can’t wait until the next

time they come to town!

Our client Harlan took a trip to a local fishery

and got to get really close to some of the fish

there. Here he is with a gentleman from the

CA Department of Fish & Wildlife who’s

holding a salmon for Harlan to check out.

And last but not least, here’s Harry showing

off his skills as a chef as he prepares a

fruitcake for dessert for himself and his

roommate. Yum!

Employee Anniversaries Continued from pg. 3 1 Year Hannah Bartlett | Fresno

Tabitha Conelly | Visalia

Stephanie Graham | Fresno

Anavel Hernandez-Piedra |

Visalia

Karina Hiraoka | VCS

Blanca Jimenez | VCS

Chris Kang | Corporate

Natalie Orssten | San Marcos

Sharon Pepper | Ukiah

Mario Quintanilla Jr. | VCS

Gabriela Sencion-Angel | Visalia

Justin Souza | Fresno

Amanda Velarde | Fresno

Naomi Wilson | Fresno

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March 2019

Client of the 1st Quarter Sherry D.

Imper ia l Va l ley

Sherry has been with CCC for over 10 years. After setting goals and with the

support of her DSA, she has been dedicated to her health and lost 5 lbs. recently.

She is exercising and prepping her meals weekly with her DSA assistance. Sherry

is also working hard on her budgeting and money management skills, so she can

go on outings. She is also actively involved in the Advisory Committee.

Sherry with her prepped meals

In addition to pursuing her fitness goals, Sherry also enjoys listening to music and

spending time with her family and friends. She also has a talent for making people

laugh; Sherry is always happy and has a smile on her face. Go Sherry!

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Employee of the 1st Quarter Mart i D iegan

Employment Specia l i s t

Marti has been with CCC for nearly 4 years now. Throughout her time with CCC,

she has displayed leadership, hard work, and professionalism.

Marti goes the extra mile and is always willing to learn about and utilize new

resources that may benefit clients. She is not only the Employment Specialist, but

also assists with the IL program as a DSA. Marti is definitely a Jill-of-all-trades and

a wonderfully fabulous mentor to learn from for new staff. She is dependable and

committed to serving our clients well. Marti also provides creative solutions to

problems and is ready to take on multiple tasks with grace and a positive attitude.

Congratulations, Marti! Thank you for pursuing the CCC mission with excellence!

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March 2019

March 2019

Policy of the Month: Workplace Violence By Administration Community Catalysts of California (CCC) does not tolerate violence, threats of violence or other behaviors committed on or by an employee, client, or other individuals at its workplace. This policy also extends to outside parties who enter CCC facilities, or who communicate with employees or clients directly, by phone, e-mail, mail, or other methods. Employees are encouraged to notify their managers, supervisors, or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of any situation that they feel is unsafe or inconsistent with this policy. In addition to other forms of workplace violence, CCC recognizes that domestic violence and sexual assault injures individuals, their work performance, and the workplace as a whole. Employees experiencing violence or abuse of any type at home are encouraged to seek help from law enforcement, domestic violence counseling, service agencies in the community and to access the CCC Employee Assistance Program. Referral information is available from managers and supervisors. In some cases, employees may be eligible for assistance from CCC to maintain their safety and the safety of co-workers. If you receive or overhear any threatening communications from an employee, client, or outside party report it to your supervisor at once. Do not engage in either physical or verbal confrontation with a potentially violent individual. If you encounter an individual who is threatening immediate harm to an employee, client, or visitor to our premises contact an emergency agency (such as 911) immediately. Often times, the quickest response from law enforcement will be achieved by using a regular telephone to call 911, as opposed to a cellular telephone, but use whichever will allow you to make the call safely. Active Shooter. While Community Catalysts California offices are located in areas that are felt to be safe, violence can happen anywhere, and staff is trained on the importance of workplace security. Staff will assist any person in the office with mobility impairment, hearing impairment, visual impairment or intellectual disability. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT is the order of action according to the FBI as well as law enforcement agencies across the nation in light of recent happenings in our country. RUN -- If there is a situation within the office that you feel could become violent, get out of the building, following the evacuation plan if that is the safest escape, and call 911. HIDE -- If you cannot get out of the building and the situation appears life threatening, seek protective cover, and call for help using a cell phone. Stay on the line with 911 dispatchers even if you cannot communicate with them. They will likely locate you through the GPS on your phone. Silence the ringer on your phone so that you do not give away your position. By keeping the phone.

FIGHT – If there is no alternative, and you must fight, attempt to incapacitate the shooter with physical aggression. Improvise a weapon, if possible. If a situation or a potential threat takes place outside the building, lock the exterior office door and call 911. Do not put yourself in a position to be injured.

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