Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day 2014

2014 National Theme: Plant a Seed Grow a Future National date was set for April 24, 2014, and is always held on the fourth Thursday of April. Governor Jay Inslee proclaimed Washington State’s recognition of the event on June 26, The Interagency Committee of State Employed Women sponsors the event and encourages state agency participation through marketing and outreach.

WSDOT 2013 Participants and IRT Truck Each year, ICSEW contacts all state agency directors to inform them of the event and proclamation. This task is usually appointed to the chair person for the Public Outreach Subcommittee. Letters were sent to agency directors on April 15, Each agency is asked to appoint a coordinator for the event.

WSDOT 2013 Participants and Safety Gear WSDOT hosts an event each year. The Secretary of Transportation welcomes participants. Nearly 50 children and their parents participated at Headquarters. An additional 150 children participated throughout the state. The kids toured maintenance trucks and the emergency operations center and visited stations hosted by various divisions within WSDOT.

WSDOT Emergency Operations Center

WSDOT Environmental Services Station At the stations the children participated in fact-finding activities. Here, they were tasked with identifying animals photographed at highway crossings.

WSDOT Maintenance Vehicle with Attenuator WSDOT coordinated with DES for use of the visitor parking lot next to Employment Security.

WSDOT Incident Response Employees Employees participate knowing that they will be taking time from their regularly scheduled work activities.

Washington Military Department Robert Ezelle, The Military Department, Emergency Management Director, welcomed everyone and gave a brief overview of the agency mission and the important role we all have in the event of a disaster.

Washington Military Department Rick Patterson, Museum Curator, lead the tour through the museum’s collection of historical military eras. The group was fascinated and asked many questions, which Patterson was happy to answer.

Washington Military Department After the kick off, Hank Cramer took the group on a narrative adventure of the military equipment which is displayed in various locations throughout Camp Murray.

Office of Financial Management The Office of Financial Management hosted some activities at the capitol.

Office of Financial Management

Governor Inslee visits with some of the kids from OFM.

Lessons Learned? Plan early. A solid registration process is key. Find your champions and partners. Consider impacted groups. Be creative and solicit ideas for the event. This event brings people out of their comfort zone and offers some variance to their work day. Employees are proud of their jobs and proud of their kids…they like to show them off.

Feedback “Heidi, Thank you for your efforts to organize this event. I really appreciate that we have an opportunity to share with our children what we do each day and what the DOT as an agency accomplishes. My three children had a great time, and we all learned something!” -Mark Gaines “Thanks Heidi once again for a fun Take Your child to Work Day! I know it is a lot of work for you but it is really worth it for the kids. My son has been coming 4 years now and each year he learns a little more and really enjoys it. Thanks for all your effort.” -Lizbeth Martin-Mahar “Thanks Heidi for all of your hard work on this – such a fun day for my daughter and I!” -Chris Keller

Thank you!