Connections
with cook

October 25, 2022

Welcome to the latest edition of CONNECTIONS WITH COOK!

Dear Colleagues:

I truly believe last week was one of the busiest and most exciting weeks of my tenure at the Delaware River & Bay Authority!

Our Board of Commissioners had a full agenda on Tuesday, October 18. The Board approved the promotion of our new Police Administrator and authorized the approval of a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Local 542, following an affirmative vote by union membership. 

The Board also enthusiastically embraced the Personnel Committee’s recommendations that there will be no 2023 benefit plan design change, and there will be no increase in the employee contributions for the 2023 healthcare premiums for those employees enrolled in the DRBA medical plans. 

Wednesday was reserved for wishing our recent retirees well in their next chapter. It’s been difficult to give a proper farewell to our friends over the last few years, so we were able to gather to pay tribute to those who have contributed so much to the DRBA. Wednesday’s lunch honored those who have retired from the Bridge, Administration, Police, and Wilmington Airport. Wednesday evening was set aside to celebrate our colleagues from both the Cape May-Lewes Ferry and Cape May Airport. I saw a lot of relaxed, happy, and smiling faces from that retiree group last Wednesday!

Thursday was a great day. We welcomed Avelo Airlines to Wilmington Airport. I know we have a lot of people in our organization who make our Airports successful and passenger airline service is really just the cherry on top of having a successful regional airport. Avelo Airlines is bringing service to the greater New Castle County region, initially to five destinations in Florida, but we hope they eventually serve other areas as well. We’ll need everyone at the DRBA to be advocates for this new service out of Wilmington Airport, so tell your family, friends, and anyone who will listen to take advantage of the convenience that Avelo will offer our community.    

Finally, many of you know that I’m a survey guy and I especially like to know what is on the minds of our employees. Throughout my time at the DRBA, many of you have told me that we need to do a better job of communicating. It’s one of the reasons I started Connections with Cook; to be able to let you know about what’s going on around the DRBA. We’re also continuing to look for more efficient and direct ways to communicate. Our next edition of Connections with Cook will be in a new format which will allow us to communicate more directly with each other and offer a great new look. More information is coming soon, but I wanted to let you know that we hear you!

Oh, and the Phillies are in the World Series!

If you have suggestions, questions, or if you would like to recognize a colleague, please don’t hesitate to contact me through telltheboss@drba.net.   

Please continue to be considerate of your co-workers and be respectful of the decisions of others regarding the steps necessary for personal protection. We need to act responsibly and together for everyone’s health and safety.   

Thank you.

hello, avelo

After months of negotiations, we were able to announce the great news of Avelo Airlines coming to Wilmington Airport (ILG) in February! Beginning February 1, 2023, Avelo will serve five (5) nonstop Florida destinations from ILG: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.

Avelo was founded with a vision to help its customers save money and time. Since first taking flight on April 28, 2021, Avelo has flown more than 1.2 million customers on over 10,000 flights. According to Avelo Airlines founder Andrew Levy, Wilmington Airport (ILG) was the perfect fit: “Avelo was founded with a simple purpose – to Inspire Travel. Our very low fares and nonstop flights to five sun-soaked Florida destinations coupled with the fast and seamless experience at Wilmington Airport will make traveling easier than ever. We appreciate the warm reception and support Avelo is receiving from many government and business leaders here. We look forward to welcoming everyone aboard Avelo’s first ILG flight in February.”

Wilmington (ILG) will be Avelo’s fourth base of operations. The airline currently operates bases at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Southern Connecticut’s Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).

I’ve talked about how we all need to be advocates for the DRBA and having Avelo Airlines come to Wilmington Airport gives us a perfect opportunity. We know the greater New Castle County area embraces the convenience of flying out of ILG and I feel it’s our job to let everyone know about it. I’ll be telling anyone who will listen about ILG and Avelo and I hope you will as well.

For flight information and some introductory fares, check out AveloAir.com.

Congratulations to colonel mcFadden

Last week, the DRBA Board of Commissioners approved the permanent promotion of Colonel Wayne E. McFadden to Police Administrator for the DRBA Police Department. 

Colonel McFadden was hired by the DRBAPD in 2014 after a highly decorated career with the Camden City/Camden County Police Department. Wayne quickly rose through the ranks of the DRBAPD, displaying the leadership qualities that made him an excellent candidate for Police Administrator.

Wayne is a U.S. Army Veteran, a graduate of Thomas Edison State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice and a Master of Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University. 

Please join me in congratulating Colonel McFadden and wish him much success in leading the Delaware River & Bay Authority Police Department.  Good Luck Colonel!    

EHS Award Winners

The Environmental Health & Safety Department continues to bring in the accolades!

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), in conjunction with the Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR), recognized and honored the Delaware River and Bay Authority’s (DRBA) Millville Executive Airport for its recycling excellence, naming the operation a 2022 Rising Star at a special award ceremony

The EHS Team and the Millville Airport instituted facility-wide waste management and recycling changes to improve policies, practices, data management, site infrastructure, local and regional government outreach, customer support and employee environmental and recycling education and awareness. This holistic approach has resulted in significantly more material being recycled by staff and on-site contractors.

The Millville Executive Airport recycles a diverse mix of materials including paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, scrap metal, used oil, concrete and soil. Millville also improved its recycling education and training programs for staff. Congratulations to the whole Environmental Health & Safety Team!

united way campaign

A reminder that you still have an opportunity to participate in this year's United Way Campaign. The DRBA matches your contributions, dollar for dollar, to your preferred organizations. Each employee who contributes a minimum of $52/year ($2 per pay), will be entered in a drawing for exciting gift cards and a chance to win a day off from work. The United Way of Delaware also has a raffle for a car for those pledging $150 or more!

To participate in the United Way Campaign, you can make your donations online to the United Way of Delaware at https://secure.uwde.org/epledge/1741792,  and for United Way of New Jersey donations, go to https://tinyurl.com/drba-uwgpsnj.

If you prefer to use a form to make your donation, please contact the following employees who have volunteered to assist in this valuable campaign:

Michele Pyle – New Castle

Amie Kortas – New Castle

Wendy Decker – Cape May

Amy Hulme – Cape May

Emily McDougall – Lewes

Thank you for your support to our communities and to the United Way.

DRBA FALL WELLNESS FAIR

Today (Tuesday, October 25) is the day to attend this year’s Wellness Fair in Cape May. You have the opportunity to meet with representatives and wellness experts from participating vendors such as Health Advocate, Omada Health, Highmark, and Voya Financial. Be sure to stop by today. 

reminder! drba police to participaate in 23rd national drug take back day

Every spring and fall for the past 12 years, the DRBA Police Department has participated in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  On Saturday, October 29th, the department will join in the 23rd such event. This confidential, no-hassle program provides an opportunity for the folks to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceuticals and other medications to law enforcement officers for proper disposal. 

Numerous collections sites are established throughout the area for the public to relinquish over-the-counter, controlled substances, or prescription drugs – including tablets, capsules, ointments, creams, and liquids as well as expired animal medication and vitamins. No syringes please. 

Between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on October 29th, the DRBA Police will be collecting old prescription and over-the-counter drugs inside the Wilmington Airport Terminal Building and the Ferry Terminal Buildings in Lewes and Cape May.  If you know of someone looking to get rid of some old medicines for proper disposal, please let them know of this opportunity. Special thanks to M/Cpl. Alexis Walther for organizing this effort!

KUDOS!

I wanted to thank all of my colleagues for their efforts on our recent accomplishments.

The items I mention in this edition of Connections with Cook are no small feats and would not be possible without the commitment and hard work from everyone in our organization. And I mean everyone!  From our Board to our customer-facing, front-line employees, across divisions and departments and back up to our managers, directors and senior leaders. It takes everyone. Thank You!

It was a great week!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the following employees over the next few weeks:

Mike Jones (10/27)Michelle Griscom (10/29)Jason Lamora (10/29)
Stanley Kite (10/30)Evan Hanson (10/31)Dominic Liberto (10/31)
Michael Givens (11/1)Sue Seager (11/2)
Jason Kirchner (11/3)
Leah Demarest (11/6)

If you happen to see any of these folks walking around the DRBA, be sure to wish them a Happy Birthday.

Don’t forget to reach out to me at telltheboss@drba.net if you have any ideas, want to give a shout out to your fellow employees, or just want to hear more about a certain project.

Thank you,

Tom