Training to Communicate.
Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
From the end of July through the first week of August, I spent my time in Maryland at our William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. While I have spent the last year and a half (April 2022) as the communicator, I have never received any formal training for the position and this trip was the plan to change that.
Boeing 737-700 Past the halfway point.
Flying from Southern California can always be hectic depending on which airport you choose to travel from. My trip started with a plane ride out of Burbank scheduled for 8:30AM and that was where I hit my first hurdle. Plane issues and flight delays plagued my trip, but I did eventually make it to my destination. It just happened to be 15 hours after I start my trip.
After a night’s rest, from a full day of travel I was able to explore the facilities of W3. I have included several photographs I took from my time exploring. Enjoy…
View from the “balcony” of my room.
Located up the Patuxent River from Chesapeake Bay, a stunning Waterfront Location.
Next, I found the Memorial Park Here at W3.
Bridge and pathway for the Workers’ Memorial Park.
Monument constructed for all those who have been Lost.
Bricks in dedication to our lost Brothers and Sisters.
The Brick in dedication to our Local’s Members.
The Gazebo located at the end of the memorial walkway.
Now I moved to another area of the facility and found it’s not all work and no play. The next set of photos is some of the leisure’s we had available to us.
Pool ready to swim right after class on a hot day.
A Game Room and Bar for after-hours relaxation.
From Cornhole, Horseshoes, and a Playground should you bring your kids, there is so much to look forward too. You have Tennis and Basketball off on the right and “Yes” that is a golf course in the background.
Photo Taken by: Instructor Ross Olson
It’s not all play though. Every member here is sent for a reason. The two classes that were being conducted during my stay were the Communications Class that I was attending and Leadership 1. Our days are spent working hard, studying, discussing, and learning about the topics of the class we are attending.
My day was spent learning about how to become the best communicator for our Union. It started with a dive into writing. Learning strategies for how to write interesting and engaging articles. After hours, upon hours, of writing we moved on to graphic design. Here we were given several tools and example to build eye catching and attention-grabbing graphics.
The volume of information was vast, and another great thing was having the opportunity to network with other Local and District Communicators. Meet members from other Locals and discuss issues we all have. The interesting thing is the number of similarities we all have in issues and solutions.
Basic Communications Class of 2023 (Photo Credit: Ross Olson)
At the end of my trip and education, I have learned a lot. I have learned new strategies and I was given new tools to utilize to help make me a better communicator for you, “The Membership”. One of the biggest takeaways for me was to story writing. Giving more information for the membership to want to be involve. That is where I came up with this section for stories. I want stories from you. Stories to spread to the membership. Stories that bring a sense of pride and accomplishment for the Membership and the Union.
To finish up, please, if you have a story you want to share, submit it.
Thank you for your time in reading this and I hope you enjoyed see some of what our Union has to offer. If you would like the opportunity to attend a class here at our William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center, please come talk with us on the Executive Board and we’ll see if we have a class you can attend. We want everyone to want to be involved and be proud to work with our fellow Union Brothers and Sisters.
Thank you,
Derrick Hernandez
