Pay It Forward

I feel very fortunate to have been selected to participate in the Foundations Program held in Nashville earlier this month and am very grateful to my facility administration for allowing me to be absent during this week long training. With that, I was quite impressed with those CCA employees who took the time out of their busy schedules to educate me on a number of very important topics such as our operations, our finance and our people.

I did not quite have a grasp on why we do what we do until I was taught how to scan the external environment for not only threats but opportunities, or what John Robinson and his staff are thinking about when they develop a staffing plan for our facilities, or what Mr. Turner would look at to ensure that we are running a safe and secure operation. In addition, I learned so much from Ben Elrod on the art of negotiation and Mark Floyd on employee relations and Bill Rusak who educated me on how we are all perceived. Learning the finance and business acumen was most beneficial to me to be taught on subjects such as basic fiscal prudence, understanding CCA financial reports and how to control our expenses.

I am grateful to my classmates with whom I was able to network with and learn how they conduct their daily affairs within our various CCA facilities. Some of the best learning was accomplished when I was able to sit with some seasoned CCA wardens to discuss their thoughts and experiences. I am grateful to being exposed to some of the best and brightest correctional industry leaders who shared not only their experience but their vision for our collective future. However, more important than that, I am grateful to have joined a company that considers its biggest resource its very own staff. To be able to take what we have learned in Foundations Class 7 and pay it forward to others is our collective mission. One that we will certainly not shy away from.

Michael Donahue
Assistant Warden
Florence CC