PAACE

**Straight Talk**
Creativity Will Cease! "Ceasing to be Creative." I do believe it is within the human spirit to strive and to be bigger than the sum of our parts and most of us do. We want to better ourselves and we encourage others to be successful as well. That's the purpose of the Academy. To train others to be successful at their job. I still possess the spirit of striving to do better even when inside I don't feel like it... I once had a secretary tell me "I had unrealistic expectations." On occasions I give my "Win One for the Gipper" speech to the students that are new and attend my class. In my "Gipper" speech, I try to envoke the students to achieve excellence in their training and at their workplace. I hope this doesn't sound like dribble, because really as an educator and technician, I feel this way. But there are occasions where I do face adversity with the institution that I admire so much. The Federal Government. Jokingly, we have a sign that says, "Floggings will continue till creativity ceases!" I don't feel that the federal government lends itself well to being creative. I have volunteered for projects that I know that needed to be done and management noted that it needed to be done as well. But the response to me on two occasions were, "Don't Call Us We'll Call You!" Now, have we lost site of the fact that the FAA (in general) is full of talented people? Talents not derived from the agency, but derived through that persons own efforts and resourcefulness. I get discouraged and confused from such rejections. I realize that my current position may not be in the areas that I volunteer, but nonetheless... I actively seek to aid the agency in whatever talents I possess. I was called upon recently to excercise my talents only because of a "pinch" our unit was in at the time. I volunteered and took on the project and was excited about doing so. I knew that it would be a challenge. I accept those challenges. The project was successful and the end result will be a tremendous cost savings to the government. The talents that I used were not derived from any agency training, but from my own self-determination. My self-determination hurled me into long hours and somewhat agony with the multiple obstacles I had to overcome. In the end, I was pleased with the final product and so was my unit. I derived self satisfaction from the fact that I was able to accomplish the task for our unit. Yet, in my greediness, I yearned for something a little extra. I thought with my dedication of long hours and hard work that I had put into the project, would have yielded some sort of monetary reward or time off award. For I know that others around me have received such things for achieving goals directly related and derived from their job at the Academy. I felt somewhat cheated in how I regarded this. For I used talents to perform tasks not directly related to my position. And yes! Some of you may say "but you volunteered!" And "True" you are. I guess what I'm saying is... a little "Thank You" would have also gone a long way with me. I surmise that such endearing words of "gratitude" would have sufficed for many folks. You see, I am one of those individuals who still have the drive and the desire to do great things for the FAA and the Academy. But, sometimes I feel the agency does "flog" those individuals unknowningly because the system (government) is just an entity that is made up of people. People who sometimes forget that a "Thank You" for a job well done goes a long way. So in closing... make your parents proud of you. Say "Thank You" for something that someone does for you. Because it took time and resources of that individual to go out of their way to maybe make you smile... or as Clint Eastwood would say (quote in one of his movies)... "Make My Day!" Have a good day... and you can NOW Thank Me... :-) THANKS!... I needed that!	Straight Talk is for issues that are important to all of us in the Bargaining Unit. I would like to see it as an opportunity for you to speak out on issues that personally affect you as an Academy employee and Union member. Note: If you wish your question/answer to be anonymous state: *do not send my name*...at the bottom of message, otherwise your name will be included with message. Privacy acknowledged... thanks or call: Eddie @ x4-5034 leave a message... talk@paace-okc.org Note: Your default mail server on your computer will attempt to send the message. If it is not setup (e.g. Outlook Express) or not your normal email server, just copy the link and send it using your favorite email account.

PAACE (modified January 2012)