CWI News—June 11, 2021

When the pandemic hit, College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Culture and Employee Engagement Committee (CEEC) made a pivot in how employee engagement was handled. Instead of in-person events, the group had to get creative – which included hosting the beloved Halloween contest through online platforms.

In an effort to create engaging, solo activities, Student Success Advisor, Tami Ankeny, worked with CWI faculty and students to create 21-Day Challenges for employees which were coordinated by CEEC members. Employees from across the College participated. Prizes were awarded for each month’s challenge in addition to grand prizes in May and were based primarily on participation.

“Thank you and the rest of the committee for coming up with these challenges,” said Teresa Rich, Assistant Professor and 21-Day Challenge participant. “The challenges really helped make a difficult year much better! I felt like a community even while spending most of my time cooped up at home.”

During spring semester, employees were invited to work with Exercise Science students for personal training. Supervising instructor, Tim Curry, noted the experience was a massive success for both the clients and the students. Completing their evaluations of the experience, clients had rave reviews about the value of participating.

Social Work students were also a part of the experience as they helped create content for newsletters and emails sent to 21-Day Challenges participants.

“Thank you for allowing the Social Work 202 students to participate and contribute to the newsletters and emails for the 21-Day Challenges,” said Jana McCurdy, Social Sciences Department Chair. “I enjoyed seeing their contributions throughout the year. The emphasis on being active, eating healthy, and getting outdoors was so beneficial. This was the perfect year to have a focus on mental and physical health and encouragement to take care of ourselves. I appreciated the sense of community this program developed especially while we were socially distanced, isolated, and remote.”

Stay tuned for future activities from CEEC!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the We Otter Get Moving Fun Run and Walk on Saturday, May 22! It was a great day to get outside and get moving. All employees who submitted their participation information after the race will receive a CWI t-shirt with our new branding. Participants of the event were also entered to win a variety of prizes.

Congratulations to the winners:

1-hour massage at MyoFly Therapeutic

• Cathy Carson
• Amy Vassar

Balega Blister Resistant Socks and Earth Z Outdoor Blanket

• Liz Otterness
• Gary Thomas

Balega Blister Resistant Socks and Get Drinking Water Bottle

• Tessa Calip
• Janel Holt

Garmin Forerunner Watch

• Chad Trisler

Osprey Running Hydration Belt

• Alyson Tolman
• Tami Porter

Free juice or smoothie from Tree City Juice and Smoothie Café

• Laura Bosch
• Amanda Tillemans
• Natalie Watson
• Diana Rhinehart
• Stacy Hardy
• Toen Phothisane
• Malinda DeLeon
• Sonja Bjork
• Courtney Santillan
• Jorene Batali
• Dan Garrity
• Kristen McAdams
• Shannon Grimsley
• Tia Eastman-Dodson
• Jordan Mendoza
• Jennifer Pope
• Ted Daniels

Discovery Center Activity Pack (Family Prize)

• Diana Rhinehart
• Ted Daniels
• Shannon Grimsley
• Tami Porter
• Jennifer Pope 

“This was a great activity to get my family out of the house,” said Basic Skills Education Teacher, Tami Porter. “The weather was beautiful and sunny for the first part of our walk, then rainy and exciting for the second half. We chose to walk the Nampa greenbelt to Wilson Ponds. Thanks for organizing this.’ 

“It was a little challenging at first not having done a 5k in years, but at the end, I loved it,” said Human Resources Coordinator, Toen Phothisane. “It got my blood pumping and legs moving. Mother Nature helped keep us cool with the light rain – it was like she knew we needed that extra encouragement. Great idea team.”