HACA and SHCC Staff Newsletter for May, 2022

Historic Moment at Chalmers Courts:

Ribbon Cutting and Ground Breaking

Last month we marked two huge milestones in HACA's history: the grand opening of 156 brand new units at Chalmers East, and the groundbreaking on 156 additional units at Chalmers West. Thank you to the blue-shirted HACA staff in attendance and for showing our City and State leaders how the best agency in the nation improves resident quality of life.

"You come to a place like this, and it's just so beautiful and inspiring," said Austin Mayor Steve Adler during the event. "I am so excited for the residents of Chalmers. Your place in this City is core to who we are in Austin."

Also in attendance were representatives from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the City's Housing & Planning Department, and community partners from CommUnity Care, Boys & Girls Club, and Zavala Elementary to name a few.

Once completed in 2023, Pathways at Chalmers Courts will have 398 state-of-the-art apartments where 158 units of eighty-year-old public housing once stood. To view the entire grand opening celebration, visit KXAN's coverage HERE, and to check out photos from the day, please go HERE.

Senior Mayfest Health & Wellness Fair 2022

May's other major in-person event honored our amazing senior residents with the Senior Mayfest Health & Wellness Fair. The Vegas-inspired theme of the 29th annual event was "Viva HACA Seniors!" The day featured an Elvis impersonator, casino-style games, bingo, prizes, and many hugs and smiles after so long apart.

Austin Public Health was on-hand to give out free vaccinations for COVID-19 and SHINGRIX. Residents also had the opportunity to visit booths from a variety of vendors with free information and resources, including:

African American Youth Harvest Foundation
AGE of Central Texas
Area Agency on Aging
Austin Energy
Austin Pathways (Digital Inclusion)
Austin Public Health COVID Vaccine Clinic
Austin Public Health Adult Vaccine Program
Cap Metro
Central Texas Allied Health Institute
CommUnityCare
Family Eldercare, Inc.
League of Women Voters
Sustainable Food Center/Farmshare
Travis County HHS, Coming of Age
UnitedHealthcare (Medicare)

Our friends at Saatva Mattress were also incredibly helpful throughout the event, helping serve lunch and clean up afterward.

Congrats to Evelyn Holman, Community Development Events Specialist, and the Austin Pathways team for throwing such a great event!

To view more photos of the event, go HERE.

HACA Family Scholarship Winners

Pictured, left to right: Destiny, Declan, Kari, Tra'Von, Katie, Nate, Broday, Wynter

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2022 HACA Family Scholarship recipients! This year HACA was able to award 13 scholarships of $5,000 each to outstanding students of HACA employees that are pursuing post-secondary education.

Congratulations to these outstanding students and their HACA family members:

Destiny Green, Austin Community College (Nancy Green- Assisted Housing)
Declan Greenhaw, University of Arkansas (Carlton Greenhaw - Finance)

Kari Johnston, University of Texas (Nancy Green- Assisted Housing
Tra`Von Manning, University of Houston (Stephanie Manning - SHCC)
Katie Meyer, Texas State University (Dwight Meyer - Assisted Housing)
Azalia Perez, Concordia University (Luis Perez - LIH)
Daisy Perez, University of Texas (Luis Perez - LIH)
Rachel Pierron, University of Texas (Cynthia Pierron - SHCC)
James Robbins, Florida Institute of Technology (Daniel Robbins - LIH)
Nathaniel Robredo, Austin Community College (Joseph Robredo - Assisted Housing)
Joseph Teagle, Texas State University (Crystal James - LIH)
Broday Winton, Texas State University (Lonnie Winton - SHCC)
Wynter Winston, University of Texas (Sandra Winston - LIH)

HACA Wins 9 Texas NAHRO Awards!

Last month, the Texas division of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) held its annual conference and award ceremony in Austin. HACA was very well represented as our agency took home nine awards in the Large Agency categories.

2020:

Best Annual Report - Large Agency

Other Agency Publications- Large Agency

Media Recognition - Classifications: B

Maintenance Person of the Year - Phillip Schaffino

Resident of the Year - Myra Rubalcava

2021:

Best Annual Report - Large Agency

Best Newsletter - Large Agency

Other Agency Publications- Large Agency - YouTube Video, Now is the Time for Rosewood

Resident of the Year - Alexis Henderson

If you see Phillip or Myra, give them a big congrats. And let's all thank Alexis the next time we see her too!

Keep All Fob Access Doors Closed

As you have seen in the news, and in last week's BreachSmart training video, it is very important to workplace security to keep secure doors closed. Please do not leave any key fob access doors open at Central or on property. Let's all be more aware of door security going forward. Thank you!

Referral Bonus at $2,000 through June 4th

As we heard from HACA CEO Mike Gerber last week- we are doubling the already-doubled bonus amount for any employee referral to $2,000! To qualify, your referral must be hired by HACA and stay on for 45 days. This temporary offer is only in effect through June 4th, so act fast!

To check out current openings at HACA, go HERE!

Top Workplaces in Austin

In the weeks ahead, HACA will be participating in a Top Work Places in Austin survey. You will all be asked to participate and give your honest viewpoint about what it's like to work for a government-related organization like HACA.

The results of the survey will determine if HACA is awarded by the Austin American Stateman with a Top Work Place in Government Award for 2022. The survey will be conducted online by a third-party called Energage and will be completely confidential. The employee survey will be an excellent opportunity for leadership to hear about what HACA is doing right, and where we can improve.

Details to come, and thank you in advance for participating in the survey.

Building and Vehicle Request Reminders

A friendly reminder from Operations & Procurement Services (OPS): please submit all Building Work orders and Vehicle Maintenance/Requests to [email protected] rather than emailing staff members directly.

For more information about the OPS department's forms and policies, visit the intranet HERE.

New Hires and Promotions

Roel Hernandez - Compliance Specialist
LaToya Mize - Special Program Coordinator
Maria Lopez - HQS Inspector

Johnny Rios - June 2
Analissa Muradia - June 4
Brenda Silva-Barber - June 5
Breanna Tenorio - June 6
Margarita Oquendo - June 7
Rosemary Rios - June 8
Lydia Perez - June 9
James Merschdorf - June 11
Sarah Lewis - June 11
Daniel Robbins - June 15
Jessie Sama - June 16
Nacy Mcilhaney - June 20
Suzanne Schwertner - June 22
Keeana Deshay - June 22
Kate Levell - June 27
Daniel Mosley - June 27
Laura Bodai - June 27

Employees No Longer with HACA

Elliana Mejia - Assisted Housing
Awveon Ross - Low Income Housing
Allison Roberts - Assisted Housing

Debra Aldridge - 17 years
Natalia Ballejo - 13 years
Crystal James - 12 years
German Ibarra - 7 years
Danny Locklear - 6 years
Monica Loera - 6 years
Jose Lopez - 6 years
Lapread Stallworth - 6 years
Robert DiPasquale 4 years
Kristine Feely - 4 years
Denise Miller - 4 years
Josephine Dangerfield - 1 year
Lawson Harris - 1 year
Jose Reyes - 1 year
Naomi Romero - 1 year