TGFS menu

Staff Assembly announced that University Catering will serve the following:

Entrée — New Orleans grilled chicken sausage with sautéed peppers and onions on a hoagie roll, baked fresh on campus, and served with potato salad

Vegan entrée — Seitan tacos with sautéed pepper and onions on mini-corn tortillas, served with Mexican rice, guacamole, diced onion and cilantro, and a choice of dog nose, verde or classic salsa

Sides — Tex-Mex Red Bean and Corn Salad with cilantro dressing, and spinach and cabbage slaw

Dessert — Gunrock Cupcake Tower featuring chocolate, lemon and vanilla — and vegan cupcakes, too

Beverages — Canned sodas, lemonade, iced tea and bottled water, or, bring your reusable mug and fill up on these thirst-quenching infusions: Lemon Basil and Jamaica Fresca

NOTE: If you have special dietary needs that are not met by the planned menu, contact Alma Contreras, campus events coordinator, (530) 752-2720 or aecontreras@ucdavis.edu.

Here’s a toast to Staff Assembly, which is hard at work organizing the 31st annual Thank Goodness for Staff celebration.

Of course, we can’t toast with anything alcoholic while we are working, so a visual will have to do: Refer to the TGFS logo! (And, while you’re at it, think about entering the contest to design next year’s logo.)

This year’s TGFS Picnic is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, on the Hutchison Intramural Field, west of the west entry parking garage, off La Rue Road. Here is all of the latest information from Staff Assembly, on the picnic menu and tickets, merchandise, raffle tickets and Gunrock Bingo squares, the TGFS Idol Contest, the Partnership Showcase, recreation, transportation and volunteering, and the 2012 logo contest.

Oh, and don't forget the Guess the Weight contest! See the photo and read what all the buzz is about.

Tickets — The TGFS organizers said deans and vice chancellors are paying, with department heads asked to take note of the purchase process.

Each unit is asked to designate one person to be the ticket representative. Each department head should announce the name of his or her unit’s ticket representative, and staff members within that unit should make sure the rep knows they are coming. (And make sure that your rep knows if you want a vegan meal.)

Each rep will then order all the tickets for their unit at one time, using the Conference and Event Services online system and a DaFIS account number. The ticket purchase deadline is 5 p.m. May 2.

Merchandise — TGFS buttons and T-shirts are on sale via online ordering through 5 p.m. April 27. Limited supplies will be available at the picnic.

Raffle tickets and Gunrock Bingo squares — You can use the same online ordering system to buy raffle tickets and bingo squares (for a chance to win a trip for two to Disneyland or Sea World).

TGFS Idol Contest — The organizers are taking sign-ups from musicians, comedians and other talented staff members, asking them to be in this show for their fellow staff members. Staff Assembly announced a $50 prize for first place and $25 for second. The sign-up deadline is April 29. Sign up here.

Partnership Showcase — Staff Assembly is offering free vendor spaces to campus organizations. The deadline is April 22. Register here.

Recreation — The TGFS Volleyball Tournament is under way (having started this week and continuing through May 9), but you still have time to sign up for a number of other activities. Click on the links for more information.

• Bowling — April 25-29 and May 2-6.
• Fun Run-Walk — Tuesday, May 10 (one day before the TGFS Picnic)
• Golf tournament (including barbecue) — Saturday, May 7. Registration through April 29
• Tennis tournament — Saturday, April 30. Register by April 18.
• Summer softball — July 5-Aug. 11. Registration June 20-24.

Logo — This year's logo is the work of Jeanne Hart, undergraduate program coordinator for German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and film studies. She designed it last year, receiving a $50 prize — and a T-shrt, of course!

Now, during TGFS 2011, the organizers are seeking entries for the 2012 logo. All staff members are eligible.

Logos must be original, either hand-drawn or digitally produced, and each design must include the year (2012), TGFS, UC Davis Staff Assembly and theme of the designer's own choosing, and no more than four colors.

All eligible logos will be put forth for a staff vote at the TGFS Picnic picnic. The logo with the most votes will win.

The deadline for logo submissions is 5 p.m. April 22. More information.

Transportation — Staff Assembly says: “If you can walk, walk! It’s the best option.” Or ride your bike — and use the TGFS Picnic’s complimentary bicycle valet parking.

If you are driving, please carpool with your co-workers. Free parking will be available on the fifth and sixth levels of the west entry garage.

Staff Assembly has arranged bus rides for people who work off campus, with pickups on Drew Circle, Chiles Road, Cousteau Place, Research Park Drive, the California National Primate Research Center, Agricultural and Natural Resources, Materiel management, the wastewater treatment plant, and the Center for Laboratory Animal Science.

More information.

Volunteers — Staff Assembly is looking for faculty and administrators to do the serving at the picnic, and staff themselves to help with other TGFS tasks.

• Faculty and administrators: Sign up here.
• Staff: Click here to learn about the volunteer opportunities, and click here to sign up.

Complete TGFS information is available online. Or, you can contact Staff Assembly, (530) 752-0988 or tgfs@ucdavis.edu.

More Staff Assembly events: UC Davis Day with the Oakland A’s, vs. the world champion San Francisco Giants (Sunday, June 19), and the UC Davis Family Picnic at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Saturday Aug. 6). See Recreation for the details.