SAPA

We had a great time at our February SAPA event.  Thanks to all who participated by entering a chili and by judging.

Colorado Chicken Chili (by Jeff Tabone) was the crowd favorite, receiving an impressive 473 points.  Congratulations Jeff!

2^nd Place: “The Winner” by Diane Kintigh – 368 pts.

3^rd Place:  “Puerto Rican Chili” by Kristen Hall – 364 pts.

Special thanks to all our 2015 Chili Cook Off participants:

President Ellis – “Chili Chili Bang Bang”

Doug Wilcoxson – “Flavor Country”

Barb Manuszak – “Simulated Hot Flash”

Melissa Bright – “Chili My Kids Will Eat”

Aaron Sanford – “Recipe #27”

Joe Neill – “Unicorn’s Last Supper”

Grace Ann Bolton – “Spring Training”

For those interested, here is Jeff’s secret recipe!!!

::Colorado Chicken Chili::

(yields ~4 servings)

Ingredients Needed:

2-3 chicken breasts ~1lb

1 tsp. Cumin

1 15oz can of Great Northern Beans

1 15oz can of Black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 16 oz package of “Garden Fresh Gourmet: Jack’s Special” medium salsa (any fresh salsa would do, but we’ve found that Jack’s Special has superior taste and flavor)

2 cups of finely shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions:

Pre-cook then shred chicken

Place all ingredients in a crock pot and mix well Set crock pot to “High” and cook for ~3 hrs, stirring occasionally, ensuring that all the cheese melts Serve and Enjoy!

If you missed the March SAPA meeting you can watch it here.

If you missed the January SAPA meeting you can watch it here.  This meeting includes updates from the Executive Team including President Ellis, Rick Bailey (RHB), Jerry White, Kimberly Rupert, and Kim Hayworth.

We had an excellent turnout for our first SAPA meeting of the year on 9/10/13.  Here are the highlights:

• New employees were welcomed with a free gift (If you are new and didn’t make it to the meeting, contact Jim Weidman to arrange for your gift delivery).
• 13-14 SAPA punch cards were passed out.  We’ll have these at each meeting also if you didn’t get one.  Get your card stamped at each SAPA meeting and your department could win a Hinkley’s Donuts party or Marino’s Pizza party.
• September birthdays were announced
• Snacks for the 13-14 meetings will again be provided by departments.  See Audra Leininger to sign up.
• Jim Weidman spoke about the SAU community and what it means for SAPA.  He also explained the concept and intention for the President’s Leadership Team (formerly President’s Council) and touched on some aspects of the Strategic Plan.
• The verse of the year (Matthew 5:16) was introduced.
• Time was spent in prayer for the university.
• Myrtle the “Appreciation” Duck was introduced (more on that later).
• Staff were encouraged to attend Chapel and SAU athletic events.

Just in case you missed it, here is the video:

If you missed May’s SAPA meeting, here is the link: http://youtu.be/zv7zSq5YWb. Watch and enjoy!

If you missed April’s SAPA meeting, here is the link: http://youtu.be/ToY2bPZ2p8o. Watch and enjoy!

If you missed March’s SAPA meeting, here is the link: http://youtu.be/zv7zSq5YWbc. Watch and enjoy!

Just click on the link and enjoy! Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isVQ02d9qcY

If you missed the January SAPA meeting, here is the link: http://youtu.be/f6Yrq9RoHF8

Enjoy!

If you missed the last SAPA meeting, please follow the link to watch and enjoy:http://youtu.be/Vx_1EOZODjw

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact SAPA President, Jim Weidman at james.weidman@arbor.edu.

Click and Enjoy watching:

September’s SAPA Meeting

Thanks to those of you who came out for our May SAPA meeting in the Poling Center!

About 60 of you were there to enjoy the fellowship, food, prizes and encouraging and challenging message from Tammy Dindoffer on The Power of Values.

A brief outline of that meeting is below and visit the Pages for detailed minutes, prayer requests and more. The Blogroll on the right sidebar now has an “Archived SAPA Meetings” link. Be sure to check it out!

The Mystery Baby Photo was of Jami Lowstuter. Eleven of you guessed correctly and Brooke Harris is our winner this month!

SAPA Meeting – May 1st, 2012

· Welcome. Our President, Rhonda Saurbek, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone. She gave a few announcements, which included recognizing new employees, reminder to submit your SAPA ballots by May 9th, and recognition of those who have faithfully attended all our meetings this year. Seven employees have done so, and Jill Mason was our winner.

· Devotions. Gary Mason led us in devotions with the theme of importance of prayer.

· Speaker Tammy Dindoffer shared about “The Power of Values“. We were challenged to identify our top values and integrate those values into our vision for the future and use that to influence our leadership and followership.

· Prize Drawings and Closing Prayer by Steve Newton and Lorie Cornell.

The next SAPA gathering is our picnic at Somerset Beach Campground on Wednesday, June 13th from 12:30 to 5:00 PM. Lunch will be serviced at 1:00 PM. Watch for further announcements to come.

Thanks to those of you who came out for our April SAPA meeting in White Auditorium!   About 45 of you were there to enjoy the fellowship, food, student activity updates and informative and helpful library resource information from Robbie Bolton. A brief outline of that meeting is below, and formal minutes will be posted on the Minutes page of this site.

The Mystery Baby Photo was of Jill Mason.  Ten of you guessed correctly and Laura Tenney is our winner this month. Congratulations Laura!

SAPA Meeting – April 3, 2012

• Welcome.  Our Vice President, Marie Slisher, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone.  She gave a few announcements, which included a reminder to mark your calendars for the SAPA picnic, June 13th, and SAPA nominations are being finalized.  An electronic ballot will be coming within the next week or so.

• Devotions.   Gary Mason led us in devotions with the theme of unity in Spirit.

• Announcement.  Student Government President, Hannah Adams, gave updates on recent student activities.

• Speaker Robbie Bolton shared about “Growing in Resources”.  We were informed and encouraged to take advantage of the resources available through our White Library, which include simply linking to their sites on facebook, twitter and www.arbor.edu/whitelibrary

• Prize Drawings and Closing Prayer by Steve Newton and Lorie Cornell.

Thanks to those of you who came out for our March SAPA meeting!

Over 70 of you were there to enjoy the fellowship, food and fun and receive updates and an encouraging message from Paul Patton.   A brief outline of that meeting is below, but you can check out the tabs for detailed minutes,  prayer requests and more.

The Blogroll on the right sidebar now has an “Archived SAPA Meetings” link.   Check it out!

The Mystery Baby Photo was of Rhonda Saurbek.  Six of you guessed correctly and Austin Norton is our winner this month!

SAPA Meeting – March 6, 2012

• Welcome.  Our President, Rhonda Saurbek, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone.  She gave a few announcements, which included a reminder to submit nominations for next SAPA year’s officers.   See the SAPA Nomination Form with descriptions and submission information. Nominations are due to Ronda by March 23rd.
• Reminder:  Please plan to join Jerry White and Betty Overton-Adkins on Tuesday, March 20 from 4-5 p.m. in the White Auditorium to discuss the SAU budget situation. This meeting will be an informal gathering where Jerry and Betty will answer questions and take suggestions. The SAPA Executive Committee appreciates the opportunity to meet with Betty and Jerry and we encourage your participation. Instructions to call in for the meeting will be sent soon. Thank you!
• Devotions.   Gary Mason led us in individual table discussions of spiritual growth—how have we grown spiritually in our lives?
• Announcement.  Robyn Florian of University Communication introduced the new branding campaign for the university.
• Speaker Paul Patton shared about “Growing in Christ”.    We were inspired by Paul who shared with us a couple of stories that show “where we are” and the legacy of B.T. and Ellen Roberts.
• Prize Drawings and Closing Prayer by Steve Newton and Lorie Cornell.

Thanks to those of you who came out for our February SAPA meeting!  Over 50 of you were there to enjoy the fellowship, food and fun and receive an enjoyable, informative update from Carla Koontz.

Our President, Rhonda Saurbek, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone, including new employees who were present.

Devotions were led by Rick Morgan with a focus on finding our “value” from God and ministering to others because they are “valued” as God’s children.

Announcements:

• Jill Raymond needs help with dinners for Team Impact, who will be ministering here in Jackson over Spring break.

• Gwen Hersha gave updates from recent Faculty meeting.

Prize Drawings from all over the world.

Speaker Carla Koontz shared about “Growing Globally”.
(1)    Why provide cross cultural experiences for students.
(2)    Appreciation to whole SAU village for their part in making these connections possible.
(3)    Introduction of our visiting scholars.  Lily was present at the meeting.
(4)    Highlights of programs SAU offers and are pursuing.
(5)    Rachel DeSimpelare, who recently returned from Guatemala Semester shared.

The Mystery Baby Photo was of Christy Randall!  What a cutie!!  Six of you guessed correctly and Eileen Santee is our winner this month. Congrats to Eileen!

We apologize that the live streaming and call-in features were not available at the meeting.  Look for new instructions for a better live-streaming platform in March.   We will ensure the phone-in feature will be functioning in March as well.

You will want to check out the tabs on this site for detailed minutes, President’s Council report,  prayer requests and more.

See you in March!

Thanks to those of you who came out for our January SAPA meeting!

Almost 60 of you were there to enjoy the fellowship, food and fun and receive a challenging  and encouraging message from Jeff Edwards.   A brief outline of that meeting is below.  Be sure to check out the tabs on this page for detailed minutes, President’s Council report,  prayer requests and more.

The Mystery Baby Photo was of Gordon Eccles.  Thirteen of you guessed correctly and Terri Reeves is our winner this month!

SAPA Meeting – Jan 17, 2012

Our President, Rhonda Saurbek, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone, including new employees who were present.

Devotions were led by Gary Mason with a focus on our theme of Growing in Customer Service. Besides Jesus’ example (Matt 10:28) and admonition (John 20:21), Gary summarized the story of “Johnny the Bagger”. Listen to the story below:

Announcements:
Dan Vander Hill gave a brief Budget Committee Update.
Rhonda Saurbek and Julie Zeller gave a brief update from the OE Task Force.

Speaker Jeff Edwards shared about “Growing in Customer Service”.
(1)    Foster a heart of hospitality.
(2)    See what our guests see.
(3)    Remember our purpose.
(4)    Be empowered to act.

Prize Drawings and Closing Prayer by Steve Newton.

Gary’s festive tie only hints at the fun had today at our SAPA/Faculty Christmas lunch. Thanks to everyone who made it such a success and a special thanks to all our musicians!

Today, we had a going away party for Bethany and Shawn in Technology Services at Spring Arbor University. Although it is a sad occasion to lose their outstanding skill and fun personalities in our department, Jason helped lighten the mood with this original song to them:

Bethany, beyond thriving with all your responsibilities in your role in Technology Services, you have provided our department uncountable times of laughter and joy in the daily interactions you had with each of us. Know that our hearts are with you in this new season in your life and that you will be deeply missed here at Spring Arbor University. Thank you, for all you have done for us this past year.

Shawn, similarly, you have provided immense professionally and expertise these past few years while you have served our community here and you always seem to do it with just joy and optimism which makes coming into work all the more desirable for us all. You will also be missed dearly both in Dietzman, on the disc golf course, and throughout our entire SAU community.  Thank you for your invaluable contributions during your time here.

Thanks to those of you who came out for our October SAPA meeting! Over 70 of you were there to enjoy the fellowship, food and fun and receive a challenging and encouraging message from Sam Riggleman and three of SAU’ athletes. A brief outline of that meeting is below, but you can connect to our new SAPA site for more information and pictures. Check out the tabs for detailed minutes, prayer requests and more. Connect at: https://sites.arbor.edu/sapa/

The Mystery Baby Photo was of John Beck. Six of you guessed correctly and Duane Skene is our winner this month!

Winner of the prize drawing from our sites was Hope Taylor from our Detroit Site! Thanks for connecting with us….and for your patience as we work through the kinks to improve this.

SAPA Meeting – Oct 4, 2011

Our new President, Rhonda Saurbek, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone.

Devotions were led by Gary Mason, followed by a time of prayer around individual tables.

Announcements:
( 1 ) Lorie Cornell gave a brief update on budget meetings. Rhonda Saurbek will now begin attending these meetings to represent SAPA.
( 2 ) Lorie also reported formation from Student Government Association.
( 3 ) David Goodrich gave a debut on our new SAPA web page.

Speaker Sam Riggleman shared about “Growing With our Students”. Three of SAU’s athletes, Ashley Stelter, Taylor Lange and Steven Kolb also shared testimonials related to their experience here at SAU.

Prize Drawings and Closing Prayer by Steve Newton.

Next Month’s meeting is November 1st, 2011 with the theme “Growing in Joy”. Mark your calendars and come out for a time of fellowship and extra special fun!

Rhonda Saurbek has been voted in as our new 2011-2012 SAPA President! Thanks to both Rhonda and Gordon Eccles for your willingness to step up and be available to our staff and administration through this position. Thanks to all of you who cast your vote as well. Our next SAPA meeting is fast approaching — see you on Tuesday, Oct 4, 2011.

We would like to recognize Janet Vannest as our December Employee of the Month. We recognize Janet’s longevity with SAU and the various roles she has filled. Janet has been a recruiter, assessment counselor, academic advisor, registrar, academic coordinator, coordinator of academic services, and a fine faculty member. She has enthusiastically taken on every role and has done a great job in each. Janet is a joy to work with and always friendly, helpful, and willing to go the extra mile. Janet will receive a gift certificate as a small token of appreciation.

         
              Please join us in congratulating Janet!

Special recognition goes to

AMANDA HERRON

Amanda Herron

Student Services Coordinator
Midwest Region – Kalamazoo Site

We would like to recognize Amanda Herron as our January Employee of the Month. Amanda is always upbeat and encouraging to students and staff and has used her gift for encouragement to assist students in crisis to stay the course and complete their programs. Her innovative ideas and organizational skills have been a benefit to other staff and have contributed to more efficient and cost effective processes at the site. Amanda was recently involved in coordinating a very successful food drive, raising over 1,150 food items for the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission and Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes organizations. Amanda is a blessing to all and a very positive reflection of both SAU and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Amanda will receive a gift certificate as a small token of appreciation.

Congratulations, Amanda!

Betty Videto is our first “Member Feature”. Check out the Tab and read more about this remarkable lady!