Linda Luedtke is excited to become this year's UNOPA President.
Term: July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013
President Linda Luedtke has chosen: Positive Attitudes require Positive Thinking for 2012-2013.
My theme this year is Positive Attitudes require Positive Thinking. Since I like giraffes and other large wild animals I decided to have a little fun with them to demonstrate positive attitudes. I think all of the animals that I assigned to my elected officers must have a positive attitude in order to survive in the jungle or Serengeti. So for this next year UNOPA members will be on safari. I have made each of you a luggage tag with a positive thought printed on it for your trip.
I will be leading the way with the help of our elected officers, and board members so pick up your luggage tag, jump in the jeep, and off we go on safari to explore the jungles and Serengeti plains of UNL. We will open our eyes and see the beautiful campuses, enjoy the flowers and trees, and remember to thank our landscape workers for the great job they do. We will attend plays, concerts or fine art shows to learn what our students are doing. We will plan to attend several Lied Center programs for a positive experience in the arts. We will say Hi to our friends as we meet them along the way. We will learn about our great university by attending brown bag lunches. We will develop our talents as we volunteer to work on UNOPA committees. Our goal will be to not only survive but enjoy our time spent at UNL.
It will take us all working as a team with our positive attitudes to tackle the obstacles in our paths. We will want to use our skills, knowledge and each other to make UNL a better place to work and our work places more enjoyable. If we can overcome the negativity we find and see the positives in each situation our stress levels will be reduced and we will be more productive employees. We will want to come to work, as work will be a haven from the larger jungle that we deal with every day in our personal lives.
I want each of you to be prepared to face the challenges of life with a positive attitude and you can practice that attitude adjustment each day here at work. If you will write down at least one positive thought or action each day you will soon see a list that will make you smile. You will find over time it is so much easier and less stressful to be positive. Review your list of positive thoughts or actions every week. You will notice if you are positive and happy when you interact with others they may decide to emulate you and be positive also. Talk about the good things that are happening in your life. Give someone a compliment and you both will feel good. One terrific way to recharge your attitude is to surround yourself with positive people as their enthusiasm will be catching.
A positive attitude has many benefits: People actually enjoy being around you. You can accomplish so much more when you look at the bright side of things. Your creative juices will kick in when you are trying to solve a problem if you tell yourself you can do it. Your mental health improves when you think positive. Your physical health also improves as a positive attitude can help fight illnesses.
I know in my own case when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I knew I needed to have a positive attitude as our three children were young and they needed me. I told myself I would do whatever it took to live and see them grown up. I truly believe that a positive attitude made all the difference in my recovery. I now have 6 beautiful grandchildren to enjoy and our newest one Jenson is here today along with his mom Andrea, my daughter-in law, and Jennifer, our oldest daughter to help me celebrate. I also have a loving husband of 45 years and I’m sure a positive attitude has helped our marriage endure. I also attribute some of my positive thinking to my parents as they were my inspiration to never give up, to always keep trying, and to believe nothing is impossible.
Remember only you can determine the kind of day you will have. If you wake up telling yourself no matter what happens during the day, you will have a positive attitude, you will have a much better day. Everyone needs to live each day to the fullest and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish and the joys you will reap.
Almost weekly we hear of changes happening at UNL. We should embrace these changes with a positive attitude. Just because we’ve always done something a certain way doesn't mean it’s the most efficient or best way. If there is a better way to make our lives easier and have less stress then we need to accept these changes. Just think of the way technology has improved our jobs and our lives. It may take effort on our part to adjust to these changes or learn something new but the results usually far out weight the challenges.
Being involved with UNOPA needs to be one of those positive activities in your life. UNOPA has so many positive benefits from professional growth, to networking, to friendships for a lifetime. I have been a member of UNOPA for 18 years and the friendships I have made by working on committees, working the football parking lot or attending meetings or workshops are something I treasure. UNOPA brings the people we work with on a daily basis together so we can put names with faces and we feel like they are our friends when we call them for advice or help. This is just one of the many benefits of networking and having the opportunity to work with other members across campus on committees and events.
The professional growth activities are abundant and we all need to take advantage of them whenever possible. I’ve been a member of the state organization NEOPA and the national organization NAEOP for the past 8 years. I have had the opportunity to attend workshops and conferences sponsored by these organizations as well, and I can see first-hand the value in belonging. From the national office, I have received my PSP and CEOE certification. I have made friends in all these organizations and broadened my horizons while learning skills to help me do my job better. Several of our UNOPA members are 3D members (that’s when you belong to all 3 organizations). I want to encourage all our members to learn about these opportunities and Debbie Hendricks is the person to contact as she will be our PSP Director this next year. I also want to congratulate Lola Young as she will be installed as our National President and Gretchen Walker as our Higher Education Chair this coming July in Costa Mesa, CA. These ladies are going to be able to use the leadership skills at the national level that they have learned over the years from being 3D members.
UNOPA is an avenue to higher administration and our efforts to make a better place for staff to work and grow in their jobs does not go unnoticed by the Chancellor’s office. I will be meeting with Bill Nunez, the Associate to the Chancellor, regularly so please bring any concerns to me that you wish to have addressed.
I want UNOPA to be that positive place where our members can develop their leadership skills, build confidence in their abilities while they participate in workshops, meetings, and events that make everyone feel like they can conquer the jungles of everyday life. In addition to our normal activities I want to let you know that this year we will also celebrate UNOPA’s 50th anniversary. We will be planning a huge celebration to remember all the good things that UNOPA has done for UNL employees the past 50 years. If you have memorabilia or some ideas on how to celebrate this important event please let either me or Marcy Tintera, or Linda Arnold know. These two ladies have graciously offered to help with the celebration. I’m sure they could use committee members.
Speaking of committees, as you can see we still need some Committee Directors and lots of Committee Members. So please volunteer!!!, I know we are all busy but that doesn't mean that we can't make some time for ourselves and have some fun working with other UNOPA members this next year. We can practice our positive thinking together and have a voice at UNL. In conclusion, please email or call me with any concerns or questions that UNOPA or myself can help you with. I want you to take your special luggage tag with you and hang it in your office to remind you to every day, Positive Attitudes require Positive Thinking and enjoy your UNOPA safari trip this year. Also remember that your glass should always be ½ full not ½ empty.
Thank you.
