President's Message: CAPE Outreach Program Highlights Value of CAPE Career Track, Involves County Officials and University Academics By Carlos Clayton, CAPE President

One of the most popular organizing efforts initiated in recent years is the CAPE Outreach Program.   The program is designed to educate the public, the press and elected officials about the skills, education and experience of CAPE members and how those abilities help make the County run more efficiently and effectively.

We started with the "Professionals In Action" newsletter highlight.   That effort turned into a regular e-broadcast sent to Los Angeles County opinion leaders, the press and to County officials.    There are more than a dozen “Professionals In Action” stories posted on our website at http://www.capeunion.org/members-make-difference.   I encourage all CAPE members to see the kind of outstanding work your colleagues are doing each and every day.   Better yet, send your own ideas for the next Professionals In Action story to highlight the work of someone in your department.  Educating the public and our Countywide elected officials won't happen unless we show them, first hand, the important work we're doing.

[Insert KNX 1070 image here] CAPE re-engaged in our paid media program earlier this year when we partnered with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services to encourage southern California residents to prepare for the next big earthquake.  A copy of that KNX AM 1070 radio ad is also posted on our website at http://www.capeunion.org/earthquake-preparedness.   We're currently working with state officials to produce and air a similar ad during "The Great Shakeout" in October. 

The last component is our Career Track Scholarship Program operated in conjunction with the CSULA Engineering Department.  The CAPE Board of Directors committed $2,500 per year, for three years, to the scholarship program.  This effort is helping to educate students, faculty and countywide officials about the career possibilities of working for the County of Los Angeles in a CAPE-represented position.  

A committee of CSULA engineering academics and CAPE Board members interviewed applicants and selected a winner.  This year's scholarship winner is Sergio Jose Talome, a second year student majoring in electrical engineering at CSULA.  Many student candidates applied for the CAPE scholarship and all of them presented outstanding information to our committee.

Each of these public education program components is helping to highlight the value of the work performed everyday by nearly 3,000 CAPE-represented employees.    Recognition of our collective efforts to help deliver vitally important services to L.A. County residents and businesses is good for morale, and it provides us with a good start later this year when we explain to County negotiators exactly why they should put a high value on the continued, excellent performance of CAPE-represented employees.