8/6 Weekly Email
Hi all,
I have a few updates about member programs this week (Ice Cream Socials, the UAEA 15th anniversary, and our Membership Recruitment Drive), a few requests for feedback (regarding our holiday party, retirements, and a shared group chat), and a few reminders about City programming (Employee Development Classes and Skin Cancer Screenings).
Holiday Party: I am aware that it is August and people are probably not thinking about the holidays, but we are starting to lock in reservations for our annual Holiday Party and want to settle on a date. We have done the party on Thursday evenings for the past few years and I want to confirm with members if that is still a good time. Based on some preliminary feedback, the board is considering the possibility of changing the day to Friday this year, just to make the event slightly more accessible to some employees working 5x8 schedules or 4x10 schedules that end on Friday. We understand that there is no perfect date that will work for all Tempe staff, but we’d like, as much as possible, to make the event accessible to as many employees as we can, even if that means moving the date around every other year.
If you have strong feelings about the potential holiday party date, please fill out this survey by August 20th. If relevant, please note that we plan to allow members to bring a plus one again this year.
Ice Cream Socials: Just as an update, we are still working on finalizing a scheduling and reserving rooms, but UAEA plans to start Ice Cream Social events in the next 2 weeks. I should have a final schedule for the event in next week’s email
UAEA Anniversary: UAEA will be celebrating its 15th anniversary on August 19th, and Tempe will be doing a few things to celebrate. Expect to see a few shout outs in various Tempe publications. Perhaps most importantly, the Mayor plans to unveil a proclamation related to UAEA and its contributions to Tempe at the August 31st Council meeting. Most of the current board will be in attendance, and we’d love it if some of our other members could attend as well. The mayor usually reads proclamations and then invites the relevant parties down to the front of Council chambers for a photo - we’d love it if we had a great cross-section of Tempe staff present.
The Council meeting will start at 6PM on Monday, August 31st. Proclamations are usually read at the start of the meeting, so it is likely (but not guaranteed) that he will read it within the first 10-20 minutes, after which members can feel free to leave. I don’t think a huge number of people will reach out to express interest but do also want to caution that Council chambers are not that large - depending on how many people show up, there may not be sufficient room to include everyone in a photo. If that happens, we’ll likely take a photo with the mayor and just any past and present board members, then meet outside to snap a few photos with everyone else.
Employee Development Trainings: Employee Development has published an updated list of upcoming in-person trainings between now and November. I’ve included those details below.
August
8/4 Friday Night at the ER (Last chance to register Friday 7/31)
8/12 Five Languages of Authentic Appreciation
8/19 Presentation Skills: Purposeful PowerPoint
8/24 Employee Development Book Club begins (The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness by Arthur Brooks)
8/25 & 8/26 Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue
September
9/3 LEGO SeriousPlay
9/10 Bridging the Communication Gap Between Generations
9/23 Crucial Conversations for Accountability
October
10/14 Presentation Skills: Mindset & Delivery
10/14 Growth Mindset: Progress of Potential
10/15 Clifton Strengths Discovery: Enhance Your Unique Strengths
10/21 Getting Things Done
10/28 Interview Preparation Workshop
SAVE THE DATE: Employee Development Day (9/16)
One day can spark new ideas, strengthen connections, and inspire your next step. Join us on Wednesday, September 16 12:30-4:30, for Employee Development Day and enjoy an engaging keynote, interactive workshops, complimentary professional headshots, networking with colleagues across the city, and resources to support your continued growth.
Skin Cancer Screenings: Tempe is offering free skin cancer screenings to members of the public. Feel free to stop by Kiwanis Recreation Center on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 1-3 p.m., for a free skin cancer screening by the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. Schedule a time slot via email (use the subject line "Kiwanis Screening") - Walk-ins will be accepted on a limited basis.
UAEA Member Retirements: UAEA’s Board would like to start recognizing the retirements of UAEA members. If you’re planning to retire (whether soon or a few years from now), please feel free to shoot us an email or fill out this form as your end date draws closer and we’ll send you some nice thoughts to finish your time at the City.
As a reminder, your UAEA membership will cancel automatically at the end of your time with Tempe, whether through retirement or resignation. We’d love to hear from you before you go, but you do not need to reach out to the Board in order to cancel your membership.
Membership Drive Raffle Winners: Thank you to everyone who participated in our membership recruitment drive! We had 12 new signups and 7 existing members who were listed as referrals. If they didn’t already let us know their preferences, we have reached out to each of them to coordinate their giftcard incentives - if you are one of the above 18 people but have not seen an email from me, please feel free to follow up with president@uaeatempe.com.
In addition to the $25 giftcards, we also drew 2x$100 giftcards for new members and the people who referred them. The following two people won these additional incentives.
New Member Giftcard: Celine Kwan
Existing Member Giftcard: Sandra Jaramillo
We appreciate everyone who participated and spoke to their peers about the benefits of membership. We have no plans to do a similar drive anytime soon, so we hope members will continue to recommend people throughout the coming year!
Group Chat Signup & Rules: UAEA is moving forward with our plans to start a private group chat for our members - we would like Tempe employees to have additional ways of communicating with their peers from around the City. That said, we have concerns about potential ways this chat could be used in negative ways, so we’ve put together a list of rules and expectations for general conduct. You can review those at this link or in the attachment. We also will need to manually add members (to avoid the possibility of non-members getting in) and remove members (to remove people who have promoted or left our organization). Other than that, we’d like this to be a casual place members can bond and connect, discussing things going on in the City, job opportunities, things they’d like to buy/sell/trade, and similar topics. We make this clear in the regulations document, but this is not a space to gossip, harass, intimidate, insult, or denigrate any City staff - we expect members will act with the same levels of courtesy and respect as they do in their daily work.
If you are interested in being a part of this group, please fill out this form. Signups will be open indefinitely and we will put out some resource guides showing how people can download, install, and use the app once we have a better idea of how many want to participate.
Events Survey: UAEA would like to look into doing more events on a consistent basis (budget and resources permitting) but would appreciate some feedback on what people are interested in. If you would like to provide feedback on this, please feel free to fill out this Events Survey where you can indicate your preferences and provide feedback on possible week days, times, and event types.
Photography Contest: UAEA is running a photography contest between now and August 27th. If you need some quick tips on how to take nice photos with your camera, check out these links. If you’re interested, a full list of rules can also be found here. Members can submit entries at this link from now until the deadline. Winners will be announced in our 4th Quarter Newsletter.
August Member Meeting: Our next Member Meeting will be on August 20th, 2026, from 5-6PM at the Apache PD Substation at 1855 E Apache Boulevard, Tempe AZ 85281. Non-PD personnel can park in the visitor parking lot east of the building, then enter through the main lobby. We will be in the conference room to the right of the main entrance. Members can rsvp to attend between now and August 13th, 2026.
Free/Discounted Summer Activities: If you’re looking for free or discounted things to do with friends or family this summer, this webpage has a list of activities in and around Phoenix.
Besides free days at certain museums, don’t forget about the Culture Passes offered by Maricopa County libraries. These offer free entry for up to 2 people at places like the Desert Botanical Garden, the Arizona Heritage Center, Reid Park Zoo, and the Phoenix Art Museum. Passes are first-come, first-served, for library patrons, but I just learned that their websites can tell you which are available at every branch.
Community Resources: UAEA is aware of rising fuel prices and how this is impacting members. We are having some internal city discussions about possible workplace changes, but also wanted to post some resources for members who may be struggling to make ends meet. This is a similar list to what we posted in November with a few new additions. Please feel to reach out if you have additional recommendations about local resources.
AZ Food Bank Network: This link contains information about dozens of food banks and assistance sites across Arizona. You can search by the directory and the zipcodes they provide services for to find food banks in your areas.
AZ Medical and Nutrition Assistance: This is an Arizona-State run program that can help connect people with Arizona State programs that provide assistance for people who need medical coverage, WIC support, or additional access to nutrition. I do not know all that the program entails.
Maricopa County Utility Support: This is a Maricopa County program that can help people receive assistance paying for utilities. Some cities have unique offerings while others are covered under one umbrella program.
AZ 211: This is a Arizona-State run help line that can help people connect with a variety of resources and support they may be unaware of in their area.
Tempe Employee Relief Fund: This is a Tempe-run program (paid for by employee donations) that can provide support of up to $1,200 to assist Tempe employees with unplanned emergency bills (housing, mortgage, utilities, etc).
Employee Assistance Program: If you have insurance through the City of Tempe, you can take advantage of the EAP, a group of resources which can provide free therapy, legal consultations, or classes on stress management.
Cheap Recipe Guides: These are two free cookbooks designed for cooking high-nutrition and easy meals on a budget. Even if you’re not a fan of the recipes, there are some good tips on stocking a kitchen with affordable and long-lasting staples.
Free Transit Pass: This contains information on how to obtain your free bus, streetcar, and lightrail pass as a Tempe employee.
Sun Bucks: This program offers direct payments in the summer to families whose children receive free or reduced cost school lunches
Discount Grocery Stores: This link provides a few examples of discount/salvage grocery stores around Phoenix that resell food that supermarket chains don’t want (everything is still good, usually stores get rid of items that are out of season or past their best-by date, even if still viable).
Thanks for a great week, everyone!