Make a Resolution to Give Back
By Maj. Gen. Alfred Valenzuela

   The start of a new year always seems to bring change.
   Many of us make resolutions to improve our health, save money, etc.
   Whatever your personal resolution is, I hope you’ll keep in mind what SAHA’s resolution is year-round – to provide quality, affordable housing for the residents of San Antonio.
   The new year is also a great time to think about volunteering.
   I personally am a big advocate of volunteerism. I believe those who have been blessed should help their neighbors in need.
   By working at SAHA, we’re all doing that. But some of your co-workers are also involved in activities outside of their jobs.
   For example, Diana Pina, property manager for Monterrey Park Apartments, volunteers for Baseline Bums. The organization collects blankets, jackets, diapers and other necessities to distribute to local charities.
   Ethel Turner, admissions manager, headed up organizing our staff’s participation in this year’s Christmas Under the Bridge. This community-wide effort provides meals and gifts to people who are homeless.
   The efforts above are just a couple of examples of how our employees are giving back.
   For all of you involved in giving back to our San Antonio neighbors by volunteering, I thank you.    And I hope that you’ll consider volunteering throughout the upcoming year as well.



Not Enough Time in a Day
   Most of us spend eight hours a day working, six or
more hours a day sleeping, time driving to and from
work, time running errands, etc.
   Do you ever feel like there is not enough time in a day to accomplish everything you need to?
   We are often bombarded with many tasks, and at work, one of them is training.
   Attending mandatory SAHA training or spending time training others may not be at the top of your list of priorities. But it should be.
   Below you’ll find some practical tips to help you improve your time management.
   • You must commit to action. You can train others and improve your own time management through better planning, prioritizing, delegating and controlling your environment.
   • You must understand yourself. Identify what behaviors you have that may affect your time management and how you can change your habits, routines and attitude.
   • The key to successful time management is to plan and then protect the planned time. People who say they don’t have time do not plan or fail to protect planned time.
   • Plan what you to do and when to do it and then stick to it.
   Managing your time involves conditioning or reconditioning your environment. For people who have demands placed on them by others, particularly other departments, managers, customers, etc., time management requires diplomatically managing the expectations of others.
   Time management is chiefly about controlling your environment, rather than allowing your environment to control you. If you tolerate, and accept without question, the interruptions and demands of others then you effectively encourage these time management pressures to continue.
   As mentioned earlier, it’s important to factor attending SAHA training into your time management. That’s why we’re providing you with the 2009 training schedule in this issue of Insight. Having the schedule for the year in advance allows you to effectively plan your attendance.




Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Jan. 19
President’s Day, Feb. 16
Battle of Flowers Day, April 24
Memorial Day, May 25
Independence Day, July 3
Labor Day, Sept. 7
Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11
Thanksgiving, Nov. 26
Day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24
Christmas, Dec. 25
Floating Holiday

SAHA Human Resources Team
  As the human resources (HR) department continues to grow and change to reflect the evolving needs of employees, there have been changes and additions to our team.
   We are pleased to introduce our HR team to you.

  We are all committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and timely information and we believe that everyone is an important, valued member of the SAHA team. Through its continuous efforts and dedication to excellence, HR is committed to delivering positive and helpful customer service to the entire SAHA family. 

 Please feel free to contact any member of your HR Team for assistance.

Front (l-r)
Pat Morrison, senior HR manager
Tina Arrambide, trainer
Marcella Maldonado, HR intern
Ann McKinney, recruiter
Back (l-r)
Leo Martinez, administrative assistant
Kenneth Mitchell, compensation
Angela Crawford, trainer
Denise Golson, employee relations
Elton Lott, HR manager – training
Gerald Avila, senior HR manager
Millie Clapp, benefits
Crystal Montana, HR systems
Not Pictured
Melanie Villalobos, VP, Corporate and Employee Relations