2008 Legislative Wrap-Up by Jenny Robertson, Legislative Affairs Director

AN EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER Volume 2 Issue 6 June 2008 2008 Legislative Wrap-up By Jenny Robertson, Legislative Affairs Director DMS worked diligently throughout the 2008 legislative session to support legislative priorities to help us better serve those who serve Florida. DMS tracked approximately 350 bills this session and prepared more than 250 bill analyses. Of the 2,156 bills filed in the Senate and House, only 13 percent passed. Thanks to all of you for your time and effort to educate legislators and legislative staff. Legislative Highlights State Employee Benefits • No premium increases or changes in covered services for fiscal year 2008-09 for state employees. State Facilities (HB 5003) • Begin construction of new buildings for the Department of Revenue and the First District Court of Appeals. Shared Resource Center (SB 1892) • The Agency for Enterprise Information Technology will oversee the SouthWood Shared Resource Center, which houses a number of the state’s technology services. A board with customer-represented members and appointees will manage the center. Office of Supplier Diversity (HB 687) • Adds Service-Disabled Veterans to Florida’s minority classifications. Other minority designations include Hispanic American, African American, Native American, Indian American and American Women. Business owners in those designations are eligible for Office of SupplierDiversity certification. For a full report on the 2008 legislative session, please contact Elizabeth Irvin at (850) 488-6285 or [email protected]. Secretary South, fourth from the left, helped break ground June 17 for the new secretary Department of Revenue Building on Capital Circle Southeast in Tallahassee. Last year I made my first trip to Italy. I loved it so much that was I fortunate enough to return for a two-week trip this May. It rained 11 of the 15 days I was there. So despite being a bit on the soggy side, I still saw a lifetime’s worth of history, art and culture. One of the things that stood out to me was the ancient ruins, walls built more than 900 the years ago. I began to realize that every city felt the need to protect itself from threats. How similar but different are we today? We still want to protect ourselves, our families, our success. But the threats are less evident. I mean, I really don’t fear someone wheeling a catapult up to our office to attack; however, I do fear what happens when something less than great gets out our door. An e-mail never sent. A customer cut short on the phone. An issue that took too long to resolve. Our biggest threat is neglecting the customer. To protect ourselves we must be vigilant. Are we too comfortable, satisfied or relaxed in our roles? We 2008 from must stay focused on the goal, and do our very best all the time. Priorities 1. Develop HR practices that recruit, retain, Let’s make sure that our mark left here at DMS stands the test of develop, recognize and reward employees making DMS a workplace of choice time – through world-class customer service. 2. Improve our contract management abilities 3. Create a strong strategic plan for each program area Thank you for all you do, 4. Create world-class performance by focusing on our core competencies 5. Improve our quality of services by measuring what matters DMS SERVICE MOTTO We Serve Those Who Serve Florida DMS SERVICE VISION Engaged Employees; Satisfied Customers DMS SERVICE MISSION Providing Smarter, Better, Faster Services OUR SERVICE PROMISE To Serve with CLASS C ommunicate Concerns Immediately L isten, Learn and Grow Together 2 A ct with Integrity and Honor S trive for Greatness S erve with a Servant’s Heart meet Dean Izzo Director of Real Estate Development and Management Just what does a Real Estate Director do? I orchestrate and coordinate all the moving pieces of the division to be as efficient and effective as possible. We buy and sell state-owned property. We take care of existing buildings and build new ones. We manage leased property. Every September we publish our annual report with recommendations on the “best” choices for maximizing the value of our portfolio. What takes up most of your time each day? Managing people and issues, and handling the things that keep us out of the newspaper. What is the best thing about your job? Well, not to brag, but we handle the “coolest” things at DMS. If I had to pick one thing, it is the design and construction of facilities that will long outlast my time here at DMS. My hope is one day I’ll be driving by these awesome new facilities here at SouthWood and say to my son, “See those buildings over there? We designed and built those for the state many years ago.” Where are you from originally and how did you land at DMS? I’m originally from Thomasville, Georgia, right up the road, so I like to say I’m from “here.” After eight years of travel with IBM and then a three-year stint as VP at JPMorgan Chase in New York City, I moved back home in 2004 to help out my folks. I applied for a state job to get off the road and somehow my resume landed at DMS. I wasn’t hired for that job, but instead was offered a newly created position in Real Estate. Since my degree is in real estate and finance, it was a perfect fit and I truly love what I do here at DMS. What motto/phrase/advice do you try to live by? My father used to tell me as a young man “Walk with a purpose - don’t doddle.” That one phrase has a profound impact on how I live my life even today. Whatever I do, I try to do it with purpose and intent. I’ve learned in the process that even if you don’t know where you’re going, if you walk with a purpose and with confidence, you tend to get there with enough time to figure it all out. And, most people watching don’t know any different. What is a unique or startling fact about you that people may not know? I bought my father’s old drug store and soda fountain in downtown Thomasville. The building was built around 1900 and my family now lives in the newly designed loft above Izzo’s Soda Fountain, which re-opened this spring. This project carries on my family name and tradition. I’m so proud to finally have it up and running. My children tend to like the fact that they can have access to ice cream sodas and root beer floats 24/7, too! What’s the last book you read? The most impactful book that I’ve read recently is, It’s Your Ship, by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff. Our Real Estate leadership team read this book as a group in an effort to become more effective leaders within our division. The book offers an enlightening and original point of view on leadership and gives practical examples of how to implement and improve within an organization. It was a fun exercise that bonded our team; so much so that our entire division Dean Izzo reopened his family's has taken on the “nautical” theme with several of our activities and some of my staff now soda fountain in Thomasville, Georgia.3 call me captain! We have had a good time with it and I highly recommend this book to other divisions. diversity details Web braincandy For centuries, June has been the month of choice for two many weddings. While the Office of Supplier Diversity (OSD) may not be a wedding planner, we do some point “matchmaking” of our own through the state of Florida’s innovative mentor-protégé program. OSD By Barry Krauss, Chiefoh Learning Officer recently announced that the revitalized program has matched office products industry leader Office Internet-related tools we use in our work and Depot,Inc. and Magnetic Imaging Supplies Inc., as well personal lives are changing rapidly. These tools give us new ways to connect to others with as corporate consulting giant Deloitte and Isocorp. similar interests. Web 2.0 (pronounced Web “two-point-oh”) is the generic term for Within the past 90 days, these companies committed these tools. Web 2.0 changes the Internet to work together in a mentor-protégé relationship, to from a place where we find information into a place where we create, change and share help the protégé business grow. In an effort to insure information. Web 2.0 adds new words to our these unions do not end in an untimely breakup, OSD vocabulary, including: assigns a liaison to provide assistance, coaching and quarterly monitoring. Blog: Short for “Web log,” and is a Web site similar to a personal diary you share with the world. You can talk about yourself, your So far the results are positive. So good, in fact, that life, things happening in the world or a hobby our mentors report enhanced confidence and and you can add pictures or video. Visit revitalized interest in work. Our protégés increased www.blogger.com to create your own blog. their likelihood of success with higher performance Wiki: A Hawaiian word for quick, wiki and productivity ratings. All parties report a is a collection of Web pages allowing greater sense of business satisfaction, an expanded anyone around the world to add information professional network and an opportunity to be a part right to the Web pages from their own of upcoming projects before they’ve been advertised.

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