WANTED: Stepping Stone - Mid-Step Services · 5/3/2016  · ally, the borrower is charged additional fees each time the same loan is extended or “rolled over”. Before you decide

May 2016 Volume 7, Issue 5

Stepping Stone

Work Center Highlights Submitted by Sylvia Flowers Mid-Step Market

Page 4 Stepping Stone

We are still in need of an old radio, DVD/VCR player and weights. Could you include this?

Inside this issue:

Baby Congrats , Sympathy and More

2

Payday Loans

2

Diversity Corner

2

Word Search 2

Mid-Step Milestones

3

Indian Taco Fundraiser

4

Benefit Bike Ride 4

Mission Statement: At Mid-Step Services, we are dedicated to providing

residential, vocational, educational, and recreational services to people with intellectual disabilities in a caring, supportive environment where each individual is encouraged to reach his or her highest potential.

Vision Statement: Mid-Step Services, Inc. will be the most respected service

provider in the state; known for the opportunities we provide to consumers, employees, and families.

2016 Awesome Biker Nights will be held June 16-18 at their new location at the Hard Rock/Pearl St. District. MSS is a charity that benefits from Awesome Biker Nights. In return we are asking for help in selling bike raffle tickets for $25 each. It’s a chance to win 1 of 6 motorcycles or $12,500 cash. Contact Cari Kellen or Deanna for tickets. We will also need volunteers to work the event that weekend. If you would like to help out, please contact Deanna at the Main Office.

Friday, May 6th

5:30 - 8:30pm

Sgt. Bluff

Community Center

Sgt. Bluff, IA

Everyone Welcome

Derby & Dreams Get out your hat! The annual Derby & Dreams benefiting the

Pier Center for Autism will be held on

Saturday, May 7, 2016 Sioux City Country Club

2:30 Social Hour - 4:15 Mascot Scramble 5:00 - Kentucky Derby - 6:00 - Dinner

7:00 Awards and Auctions Tickets - $60 advance - $70 door

www.piercenter.org or call 522-2961

The Life Enrichment areas continue to keep busy making holiday and seasonal decorations for a local care center. We were able to deliver May Day baskets this year too. Such a great tradition for us to carry on and welcome spring. On a beautiful spring day, they took advantage of a few light winds and made kites. It was great being outside in the fresh air and enjoying the day.

We are all looking forward to the Spring Fling Dance on Friday, May 6th. We will be cooking for the Ronald McDonald House this month too. That’s such a fun time for us as well as appreciated by the families who stay at Ronald McDonald. We would like to officially welcome Tracey Watkins to the Life Enrich-ment area. Tracey has been working at Courage Homes for several years and has now transferred to the Work Center. In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, the Estrellas de Jalisco dancers will be coming to perform for us on Thursday, May 5th. We always enjoy watching them dance.

Our annual Mid-Step Staff Appreciation Days will be held the week of June 6-10th. Spirit week kicks off Monday: wear a MSS shirt; Tuesday: wear a favorite band/music shirt; Wednesday: Team Day along with nachos and popcorn; Thursday: Wear Blue day—Go Blue for a healthier you; Friday is the big day with burgers, brats and more; firewood cooked pizza; live band, photo booth, bounce house, Bingo, Jenga game, gift baskets, guess the money jar and more! Make plans to attend now. If you would like to help, please check with your supervisor and let us know: Deanna Luhr Rodriguez, Judy Morton, Melissa Klein or Cari Kellen. Staff Bingo leading up to Mid-Step Days will begin May 23rd and continue up until blackout Bingo. Winners will receive gift basket tickets to use on Friday.

Indian Taco Fundraiser

Friday, May 6th 11:00am to 2:00pm

Nebraska Indian Community College

Free delivery with 5 or more orders to same location

We will be taking Indian taco orders until Wednes-day. Call 712-274-2252 you may also pick up your orders at Mid-Step Services Main Office THIS Friday.

This event is a fundraiser for Marikza Hahn, Miss Amazing Iowa Teen. She will be competing in the National Pageant in June. All proceeds will help Marikza achieve her dream of competing at the National level. Marizka is a resident at a Mid-Step Services HCBS home.

A Mid-Step Services benefit bike ride will be held on Sunday, June 11th. Registration will be at 10:00am with kickstands up at 11:00am. A dinner and auction will be held at 6:00pm with live music and poker prizes awarded. The ride begins at the Ickey Nickel, taking you through the beautiful hills of Smithland, Castana, Soldier, Oto, Hornick and Sergeant Bluff. This is a “ride your own ride” no matter what that may be. Cost is $25 for drivers and $10 for passengers. Should be a great time. Come on out and show your support. If you would like to volunteer, please call Cari Kellen.

Mid-Step Services 2nd Annual Golf Tournament will be held July 29th at Covington Links Golf Course in South Sioux City, NE. 12:00 shotgun start. Lunch and dinner are provided

along with a benefit auction, pin prizes, contests and a raffle. If you would like to help out with this event, please contact Cari Kellen.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration! In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we are having a Party! Thursday, May 5th from 10:00am to 3:00pm at the Main Office, enjoy taco in a bag, chips,

salsa, and lemonade. Remote locations at Southgate, Pier Center and Cherokee will be able to celebrate in their homes or join us at the Main Office.

A heartfelt thanks for all that you do!

Happy Nurses Week May 6-12

WANTED: Old Tires for decorative project. Contact Shannon Graves at Impres-sions Print Shop Work Area.

LOOKING FOR: Topper for a Ford Ranger. If you have one or know of one for sale, please call Todd Nielsen at 712-253-2558.

Place your ad free! This ad is seen by all MSS employees! Call Judy at Impressions for details. 274-7261 or 224-8233

Page 3

May Birthdays

Volume 7, Issue 5

New Employees

Pinnacle Apts. Michaela Holtz, HCBS Asst.

Park View Homes Isabel Manuel, RLA Brooklyn Farrell, RLA Latasia Zinn, Diet Aide Leslie Harlan, RLA Demetris Jones, RLA Kelsey Schmith, Diet Aide Madisyn Erickson, RLA

Page 2 Stepping Stone

Payday Loans Submitted by on-site Mercy Nurse, Marilyn West, R.N.

The ads are everywhere - on the radio, the television, the Internet, even in the mail – enticing you with the promise of cash, fast! They go by many names - pay-day loans, cash advance loans, check advance loans, post-dated check loans, deferred deposit loans. But according to the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, regardless of their name, these small, short-term, high-rate loans by check cashers, finance companies and others all come at a very high price.

Here’s how they work: You, aka the borrower, write a personal check payable to the check casher, aka the lender, for the amount you want to borrow PLUS the fee the lender is charging to borrow the money. The lender gives you the amount of the check less the fee, and agrees to hold the check until the loan is due, usu-ally your next payday. But it’s the exorbitant fees that give these loans a bad rap. The fees on these loans can be a percentage of the face value of the check, or they can be based on increments of money borrowed such as a fee for every $50 or $100 borrowed. And while the fees may seem like a small price to pay for in-stant cash, the fees can easily equal an interest rate of 400% or more. Addition-ally, the borrower is charged additional fees each time the same loan is extended or “rolled over”.

Before you decide to take out a payday loan, consider some alternatives: 1. Consider a small loan from your credit union or a small loan company. Some banks may offer short-term loans for small amounts at competitive rates. 2. Shop for the credit offer with the lowest cost. Compare the APR and the finance charge, which includes loan fees, interest and other credit costs. You are looking for the lowest APR. 3. Contact your creditors or loan servicer as quickly as possible if you are having trouble with your payments, and ask for more time. 4. Contact your local consumer credit counseling service if you need help working out a debt repayment plan with creditors or developing a budget. 5. Make a realistic budget, including your monthly and daily expenditures, and plan, plan, plan.

The bottom line on payday loans: Try to find an alternative. A payday loan will never be your best option.

Courage Homes Tania Mejia, Diet Aide Vanessa Janson, RLA Tammy Drake, BS Tech 1 Dylan Thomas, RLA

Bluff View Homes Brookelynn Barclay, RLA Rita Othow, RLA

Leech Duplex Keith Thinesen, HCBS Asst. Theresa Bettinson, HCBS Asst.

Mid-Step Milestones May Anniversaries

One Year Loni Stief, 4th Karla Lopez, 11th

Two Years Dalton Jepsen, 27th Leticia Camacho, 5th Margaret Putzier, 19th Kayla Ruterbories, 19th

Three Years Angelica Alfredson, 6th Makayla Scofield, 20th

Four Years Lia Hansen, 29th Hayley Lee, 21st Amanda Pierce, 29ht Kristi Parks, 7th Claudia Solis-Medina, 29th

Twelve Years Mary Timblin, 10th

Thirteen Years Mary Lou Hanson, 12th

Fourteen Years Theresa Turner, 24th Todd Nielsen, 10th

Seventeen Years Melissa Frank, 7th

Kevin Snieder, 1st

Brookelynn Barclay, 1st

Carolina Perez Galvan, 3rd

Janet Crouch, 5th

Sela Ison, 5th

Makayla Scofield, 5th

Dolores Miguel, 5th

Rocky Lane, 7th

Aja Simpson, 7th

Jamie Kauffman, 8th

Amanda Schmid, 9th

Cindy Nielsen Henkel, 11th

Ashley Smith, 11th

Debra Sanchez, 12th

Bill Scott, 13th

Edward Young, 14th

Timm Banks, 15th

Gabrielle Andersen, 16th

Amanda Fitzgerald, 16th

Connie Sherrill, 16th

Pam Hubert, 19th

Patti Sullivan, 19th

Patricia Barnes, 20th

It’s A Girl! Congratulations to Thomas Hackett, QIDP Park View Homes, and Kaycee Ste-vens on the arrival of their daughter, Emma Grace Hackett on April 9, 2016, at 3:00pm. She weighed 6lbs, 10oz and 17½ inches long. Emma’s proud grandmoth-ers are Jan Hackett, Director of Human Resources and Polly Shuck-Norton, Residential Supervisor House 1, Courage Homes.

Sympathy Our condolences to Missy Frank, Main Work Center on the recent loss of her grandmother, Marcy VanCannon.

Good-Bye & Good Luck Jay Minor, Main Work Center, will be leaving MSS to take a job driving for Siouxland Transit. You will be missed. We wish you the best of luck at your new job.

Welcome Cari Hello from Community Relations! My name is Cari Kellen and I am very pleased to be working for such a wonderful company as Mid-Step Services. I really feel at home here. I have been in sales, marketing, public relations and fundraising for over 18 years. I received a Mass Communication degree from Briar Cliff University and attended Granville Spalding. I have a 18 year old son and a 14 year old son who attend Gehlen Catholic in LeMars. My oldest son joined the Army last year and my youngest son plays on two Sioux City traveling soccer leagues. Thank you for being so welcoming!

ARMY

FLOWERS

KENTUCKY DERBY

PARADE

BRAVE

GARDEN

MEMORIAL DAY

REMEMBER

CEREMONY

GRAVE

MILITARY

SOLDIER

CINCO DE MAYO

HONOR

MOTHERS DAY

TROOPS

Eighteen Years Donna James

Twenty Years Sarah Hackett, 24th

Twenty-Two Years Shannon Graves, 6th

Thirty Years Jim Mascarello, 12th

Trudy Rants, 21st

Lorraine Anderson, 25th

Dawn Lindemann, 27th

Ariana Ybarra, 27th

Dalton Jepsen, 30th

Lisa Sebastian, 30th

Diversity Corner

Having respect for co-workers as people either reduces conflict or makes it easier to resolve conflicts that do exist. Did you know? In 2014, 442 Mid-Step Services employees were certified or recertified in PIA and 246 were certified in CPR.

So. Cypress Nicole Stevens, ADV HCBS

So. Mulberry Bridgette Vaden, HCBS Asst.

Maple View Apts. Hamda Siidow, HCBS Asst. Biftu Guye, HCBS Asst.

Pier Center Ernest Clayton, Beh. Tech

Main Office Cari Kellen, Comm. Relations

We’re very happy you’re here!

Four Years cont. Paige Tadlock, 14th Kaylin Martin, 14th

Five Years Mark Wood, 9th Teresa Gibson, 9th Dario Davis, 2nd

Seven Years Raymond Cota, 4th James Clark, 4th Jenny Bunce, 4th

Eight Years Kori Fleming, 19th

Nine Years Axel Pina, 14th

Ten Years Mason Gentry, Sr., 31st