Mixing work with family

Susan Brinker - NewsPress

August 23, 2008 10:22 pm

— Recognizing that “family” is an integral part of a person and affects everyone, even in the workplace, Smart Start Payne County is accepting nominations for the third annual “Spirit of the Family Award.”
Nominations are being accepted until Aug. 31 and eight businesses in Payne County will be selected for their strong family/workplace practices. Winners will be announced at local venues in October.
Criteria includes health insurance and health support services; dependent care; flexibility and employee leave; implantation of work/life benefits; what motivates a company to address family issues and how a company has made a difference in supporting or strengthening families in this community.
Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to apply. Applicants will fall into categories of small (up to 25 employees), medium (up to 75 employees), large (up to 250 employees) and the last category for businesses with more than 250 employees.
Businesses countywide are invited to submit a survey supplied by Smart Start Payne County. The survey includes questions about company benefits and workplace environment and is available online or via fax or mail. The winners will be chosen based on a tally of the criteria from the survey. For the online application go to www.smartstartpc.org/ 2008_SOF_application.pdf.
The 2007 Spirit of the Family Award winners were Reese Chiropractic, Grimsley’s Inc., Frontier Electronic, Armstrong, Career Tech, Cushing Regional Hospital and Oklahoma State University. The Strengthening Families award winner was Stillwater Designs. The Strengthening Families award selection is based on volunteer and financial commitments that benefit families with young children in Payne County.
For information about the Spirit of the Family Awards or Smart Start Payne County call (405) 377-2786 or visit www.smartstartpc.org.
Smart Start Oklahoma is a grassroots initiative that supports families as they raise children who are safe, healthy, eager to learn and ready to succeed in school. By making local civic and business leaders, educators and volunteers aware of children’s needs and by collaborating with local service providers, Smart Start makes better use of programs or resources that already exist. There are currently 18 Smart Start Oklahoma communities including Smart Start Payne County.