Grace Elverum
All Star Coach June 2005
Employer: WA State DSHS - CSO North
Occupation: Office Assistant
Grace has been the designated ETC for DSHS-North CSO for almost 2 years. She "happily" volunteered to fill the position after the former ETC's workload increased and was no longer able to fulfill the obligations of ETC.
She carpools 37 miles, one way, every morning from Deer Lake with her husband and 2 – 3 other co-workers to her northside worksite.
DSHS-North CSO's CTR program utilizes a DSHS statewide $2 a day incentive for the use of any commute alternative, compressed work week schedules, preferred carpool parking, and Grace is working with another DSHS site in the Valley to coordinate CTR information on their website. With great management support and working with her CTR committee, Grace is always looking for ways to improve their CTR program.
When asked what she likes most about being ETC, Grace's answer is "I like it all". Talking to employees about commute alternatives, attending staff meetings to further educate and market their CTR program and she "loves" the mycommute.org calendar because it's so easy to use and is a great tool to track usage and publicize CTR. She also "loves working with all the great people at the Spokane County CTR Office because they make it fun and easy".
One of Grace's proudest moments in her role as ETC was educating employees who utilize a compressed work week schedule on how to sign up and use the mycommute.org calendar.
Her words of wisdom for other ETCs is "make it a point to talk one-on-one with employees. Don't get discouraged if someone says no and don't take it personally. One of the best ways to get the interest of employees is to focus on current gas prices and the money they can save simply by ridesharing. Way to Go Grace!