A Day in the Life of a Warden
Just the other day I had the opportunity to be Warden for a day, I was able to see what really goes on behind closed doors. The day started off with checking e-mail and the breakfast meal. If you think about it we all do the same thing - we get to work and check our e-mail. Then at around 0730 there was a meeting with QA to go over documents that were going to be the topic of the meetings that were to happen during the day. During all this the Warden was getting e-mails from corporate about the day's meetings.
After meeting with QA we were headed right to the weekly department head meeting where we discussed policy and ways to keep our facility running so that we may once again have a great QA audit in 2010. Right after the department head meeting we went to lunch, the meal was great and its was very nice to get away from the facility and all the meetings and just take a few minutes and relax before we had to head back and go strait into yet another meeting. I would like to thank our food service manager for taking us all to lunch; I was able to learn a few things about everyone while we talked over lunch, things that were not work related. Sometimes it's easier to understand people when you learn things that you did not know.
Now came the big meeting of the day the conference call with corporate, this was to be a very important meeting because of the discussion of the 2010 budget and preparing for the QA audits. The meeting had some good information but for me it was a little boring, I like to get right in and start working the sitting and listening was hard for me. While the meeting was going I started to wonder when our facility managers had time to work on running our facility because with all the meeting there was no time for anything else. I realized that it was up to everyone that works here to help out and run our facility. Some things are a bit clearer now such as when we as employees ask questions and don’t get that immediate response; I now know why our managers are busy with budgets, audits and many other tedious tasks.
During the meeting on the phone about the QA audits and budgets we were instructed as one of the best facilities for QA audits to devise a strategy to help all facilities meet the 97% goal on QA audits. The Warden, QA Manager Mathews, Business Manager Poindexter, and I went to the conference room and started working on a power point presentation that would be presented on the following day. That’s right we had only a few hours to put a presentation tougher. By the way this power point will be on share drive I'm not sure what the name will be but this was discussed in one of the meetings, so if you want to know of things that are happening look it up.
After all the meetings were done there was a tour of college students that was to arrive and take a tour of the facility. I meet this tour at the front entrance and escorted them to the conference room where they would talk with the Warden and other staff before taking a tour. After all this I found myself at the end of my day, but the warden and senior staff were not leaving just yet, they stayed and finished the tour and worked on who knows what else. I would like to say if you get a chance to be Warden for the day, do it and learn something about our business. Also thanks again for being able to learn and even participate in some of the happenings of our company.
Thank you,
Chris Sullivan Armory Officer
Sound Out
Linda Sevison at Idaho Correctional Center:
It would be great if everyone could have the opportunity to walk in the shoes of other staff members at least once, whether it be the warden, assistant wardens or others. We don't always understand the trials of our co-workers in other departments because we don't really know what they do. It would also open our eyes to the complexities of running a facility or even just a single department and learning how they all inter-connect.
Laura Green at Cimarron Correctional Facility:
This would be an AMAZING experience. I wish all of the facilities would allow this. It would truly be an enlightening and EYE OPENING experience for all of us.