Next week brings the 30th annual Thank Goodness for Staff Picnic — an event that has survived tough budget times in the past and is doing so again this year.

Not that Staff Assembly's Executive Committee did not think long and hard before deciding to proceed with TGFS in 2010, said Peter Blando, Staff Assembly chair.

"In the end, the committee decided TGFS is a tradition worth keeping, that staff deserves this celebration" said Blando, who urged staff to turn out May 12 for good food and fun in the sun, and well deserved recognition for jobs well done.

Beyond the relaxation and recognition, according to Blando and other Staff Assembly leaders, TGFS provides an opportunity for networking and learning among the 5,000 people who attend, and skill-building, leadership and teamwork among the 100 or so volunteers.

In a statement on the TGFS website, Blando and his colleagues at Staff Assembly declared: “Taking time out to celebrate during difficult times is just as important, if not more so, as it is during good times." Staff Assembly prepared and posted the statement in response to people who had asked why such an event would be held when money is tight.

“Over the past year," the statement reads, "many of us have experienced significant changes in our work environment. Some of these have been difficult, but all have required time, energy and effort to adapt. Amidst these distractions, hard work and exceptional achievements may go unrecognized. Simple courtesies may be neglected.”

TGFS provides an opportunity for everyone “to set aside the distractions and focus on the positive contributions we all continue to make.”

TGFS is not just about playing games and having a picnic, the Staff Assembly statement reads. The celebration also includes Citations for Excellence, and scholarships for staff and staff dependants — “honoring our contributions and recognizing all of us who work behind the scenes to support the academic and public service mission of the university.”

Said Blando: "We hope to see all of the award recipients at the picnic, during their lunch hour, so they can be recognized."

The TGFS are getting rewarded in a different way, by having the opportunity to gain new skills (leadership and organization, for example), meet new people and go through experiences that could help the employees in their regular jobs.

“Every volunteer builds their talent for communicating across organizational boundaries and working with a diverse group of individuals. At a time when training budgets have been slashed, TGFS serves as an opportunity to learn and develop skills (that) staff members may need in their current or future roles with the university.”

As for the people who attend the picnic, they have an opportunity to catch up with people with whom they have worked in the past and get to know people with whom they may work in the future.

“The relaxed TGFS atmosphere provides an excellent opportunity for networking and information sharing, both of which contribute to increased productivity,” the Staff Assembly statement reads.

Staff Assembly also noted the importance of continuing the TGFS tradition:

“For the past 29 years, our predecessors believed that the benefits of hosting this event outweighed the costs. This is not, after all, a multimillion dollar event held at a private resort (though we can dream!).”

In fact, the TGFS Picnic tab comes to about $65,000, assuming 5,000 people at $13 a head ($2 from your department, $11 from the university).

Staff Assembly noted the difficulty of putting a dollar value on the learning, laughs, teamwork, respect, networking, information sharing, camaraderie, relaxation, recognition and tradition, but "we are certain that it is more than $13 per person."

THANK GOODNESS FOR STAFF

What: Picnic, including raffle, Gunrock Bingo, pick-up volleyball, TGFS Idol contest and vendor showcase (nearly three dozen campus and off-campus organizations, including the Bike Barn, Campus Recreation, goClub, Bargain Barn, Bookstore and Olive Center)

When: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 12

Where: Hutchison Intramural Field, at Hutchison Drive and La Rue Road, across from the Rec Pool. Picknickers are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets, but not pop-up tents. Instead, organizers will provide large, tented seating areas. Still, you are encouraged to wear sunscreen, and think about hats and sunglasses.

Tickets: Departments and units pay for the tickets for their staff — and do the ordering, too, via the TGFS online system. The deadline for purchases has been extended to noon May 7. (Be sure to tell your department’s TGFS representative if you desire a vegetarian meal.)

Menu (from Sacramento’s Crisp Catering):

• Dry-rubbed tri-tip sandwich on sesame bun with housemade barbecue jus, or vegetarian grilled eggplant and roasted red peppers on ciabatta rolls with basil pesto
• Vegetarian salad of asparagus, olives, mint, bell pepper and onion
• Vegetarian three-bean chili
• Fresh seasonal fruit salad
• Assorted sodas and waters
• Hagen’s Freeze orange and strawberry flavors (vegan)

Transportation

• If you can walk, walk!
• If you can't walk, then bike! Bicycle valet service will be available, free of charge.
• If you can't bike, take a shuttle. See the schedule.
• If you must drive, consider carpooling. Levels 5 and 6 in the west entry garage (off Hutchison Drive) will be available for TGFS parking, with no citations from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to Transportation and Parking Services.

Recreation

The TGFS bowling and volleyball tournaments are under way, and the golf tournament is scheduled for May 8.

The Fun Run-Walk takes place May 11, the day before the picnic. Early registration ($5) ends at 11:45 a.m. May 10 at the Activities and Recreation Center front desk. The run (5 kilometers) and walk (1.5 miles) are set to begin at 12:05 p.m. on the lawn just north of the ARC. Registration that day begins at 11:45 a.m., for $7.

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