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This year’s Blacks in Government 38th National Training Institute was held at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey Aug. 22-25.
“Commit to Excellence: Think, believe and achieve BIG!” was this year’s theme, which was appropriate for Atlantic City since tourists and locals come to its casinos hoping to win big. But in this case, attendees walked away with knowledge of how they can make themselves and their organizations better, instead of walking away with less money in their pockets.
More than a dozen team members from Defense Logistics Agency and DLA Energy participated in the event.
Before the sessions began the opening ceremony’s guest speakers, including the organization’s president, the mayor of Atlantic City and the administrator of the General Services Administration stressed the importance of organizations such as BIG.
Denise Turner Roth, GSA’s head administrator, said during her opening remarks that it was people like those in attendance and those who have attended events such as the conference to better themselves, who are the reason she is where she is today.
Darlene Young, Blacks in Government national president, encouraged attendees to spend time networking with others and take full advantage of the training opportunities available during the event, as well as connecting with people they didn’t know in order to build relationships that would serve them in the future.
“I will do more than dream, I will work … I will do more than teach, I will inspire,” Young said during a poem she recited at the end of her comments.
Blacks in Government was established in 1975 by African Americans at the Public Health Service (part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) to address racially motivated problems employees faced on the job. This year, the organization marked its 40th anniversary.
“The event offered over 80 classes and ranged from strategic planning to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace,” said Larry McCauley, branch chief with DLA Installation Support and newly-appointed BIG president of the DLA chapter.
McCauley added that the Blacks in Government executive board put a lot of thought into the training that was presented and will offer future training geared toward specific job series.
Several organizations held breakout sessions where attendees employed with the organization or potential employees could learn more about them and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Other sessions focused on diversity in the workforce and working with individuals who may be difficult to work with due to personality traits or other denominators. One session asked participants to write on a sheet of paper the
time they would like to get up every morning, their favorite color and favorite ice cream. Then they were tasked with finding someone who had the same likes. No one found anyone who matched their likes and this led into the discussion of diversity.
Many of the DLA members who attended were first-time participants who had been interested in the organization for quite some time and wanted to learn more about it.
“I’ve been interested in attending for several years but my schedule always conflicted with the timing of the training,” said Brandi Carpenter, an acquisition specialist with DLA Energy. “I heard about the great networking opportunities and wanted to be part of [the event].”
Some of the sessions focused on young professionals new to government service, while others discussed managing stress and other factors that affect everyone on the job. These sessions gave non-members and members opportunties to interact with each other and come up with solutions to problems the instructors tasked them with, and meet people they may not have known before attending the event.
Kevin Phillips, a logistics specialist and first-time attendee, said he enjoyed the chance to be around inspiring and like-minded people and shared his thoughts on his favorite session.
“I really enjoyed attending ‘Playing the Career Game: A Strategic Plan for Career Success’,” he said. “The two instructors created an interactive environment and went deep into achieving success in the workplace, which they stated as having the right mind, right relationships, building career teams and keeping score of your accomplishments.”
McCauley, who has been a member of the organization since 2008 and gained his lifetime membership at this year’s event, suggests that others at DLA become part of the new chapter of BIG and look for opportunities to volunteer.
“We will be sponsoring a retirement workshop in the very near future with a financial planning workshop following closely behind,” he said. “As our chapter continues to grow, our hopes are to be able to have representatives from DLA speak at the event as they have done in the past.”
The DLA chapter received authorization in October 2015. By April 2016 the bylaws were accepted and it now has a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and assistant treasurer. During the conference, the agency received its charter to operate.
For those team members interested in going to the event next year, McCauley suggests reviewing the training session booklet ahead of time and tailoring their training to coincide with their agency’s core values to get what they need for career enhancement.
Carpenter agreed with him and said she came to the event expecting to learn lessons she could apply at her current job.
“I also wanted to gain a greater insight into other areas of the government and how they interact with my agency,” she said.
During one of the lunchtime networking sessions, attendees under the age of 40 were given the chance to talk to BIG representatives and learn more about how the organization could help them grow professionally, and ways they could be part of it.
Next year’s event will again be held in Atlantic City. Employees looking for more information on the organization can talk to McCauley or email him at Larry.Mccauley@dla.mil.
| Date Taken: | 12.21.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.01.2018 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 264265 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 148 |
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