Thank You Letter

Dear Department Director,

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to you for accommodating my internship project. I am grateful that I was able to complete my internship at my place of business under your guidance.

During my internship project, I had the opportunity to attend several meetings and training sessions that allowed me access to invaluable information about liquor license processed in Arizona. I was able to apply this knowledge to our current office procedures as well as use the information to complete my internship goals.

I am also appreciative that I was able to network with some many influential individuals from local government agencies and from within the liquor industry. These people were able to provide answers to questions that I had during my internship and I will be able to use them as a source of information in the future.

The knowledge and experience that you have gained in your years of working in the public sector were proven to be invaluable. I truly appreciate you taking the time to mentor me. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Kristina Kidd

What Did I Learn; Did I Accomplish My Goals

The most important things that I have learned from my internship experience is good customer service is the key to providing quality public service and that you always need to have a backup plan. Throughout my internship I was able to closely observe the practices of my Department Director.

In my opinion I was able to meet all of my initial goals of my internship project. My first goal was to learn more about the liquor license process, and I was able to accomplish this goal by attending training courses and working group meetings with Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, My second goal was to compare Maricopa County’s procedures with the procedures used by other local governing bodies to see if Maricopa County’s procedures needed to be changed. I was able to accomplish this goal by attending working group meetings which allowed me to collaborate with other local government representatives. I also attended the County Clerk’s retreat and was able to network with other county offices. My last goal was to compile and present a fee schedule for processing liquor licenses in Maricopa County. My initial goal was to present my proposal to Maricopa County Administration (County Manager, Board of Supervisors). I was not able to meet this goal due to conflicts with scheduling but I was able to present my proposal to my supervisors and Department Director.

Career Service Learning 2

For this assignment I chose to attend the HireArizona Job Fair at Chase Field on December 3^rd. Current ASU and NAU alumni and students were invited to participate in this free event. I will be completing a degree in Public Service and Public Policy next semester. I am very excited to see what opportunities will be available to me once I finally obtain my degree.

A link on ASU’s website for the career fair informed me that I must register online before I could attend the event. Once I registered I received several emails that gave directions to the event and the information for free parking. The day before the event, I received an invitation to attend a free webinar session that would explain how to “maximize my time at the event”. Unfortunately I had to work during the time that the webinar was scheduled so I was not able to attend.

I work just a couple blocks away from Chase Field, so I was able to attend during my lunch hour. I was disappointed to see that there were not many government organizations to apply with. The only government agencies that I found were Phoenix Police Department and Arizona Department of Economic Security. All of the other organizations that were present were from the private sector and they were offering jobs related to technology (software developers, system administrators, etc.) There were a few agencies in the medical, banking and marketing industry.

Free Write

My internship project is centered on liquor license processes and procedures that is an active function of my office. Last week I was able to attend a training session that was hosted by the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control (ADLLC) – Compliance and Regulation Department. A co-worker and I drove to Scottsdale Public Library and attended a 4 hour training session with other local jurisdictions that are also required to process liquor license applications for the State of Arizona.

The gentleman that was the main speaker for the training was a compliance officer for ADLLC. It was interesting to learn that compliance officers with ADLLC are sworn peace officers that have the same authority as police officers and sheriff’s deputies. They are able to arrest people and issue citations as needed. Additionally, duties of the compliance officer are liquor license violations such as serving without a license or serving to underage individuals.

Some interesting things that I learned from the training session were that there are 2 brand new types of liquor licenses that are being issued. A series 20 license is for alternating proprietors and a series 21 is for custom crushes. Alternating proprietors are issued to allow different wineries to make wine with someone else’s equipment. For example, a warehouse might hold wine making equipment and each winery will bring their fruit to the warehouse to make wine. A custom crush license is issued to an existing winery and allows people to bring their own fruit so that the winery can make wine for them.    

Free Write

There comes a time when you have to leave the company that you work for in search of new and better opportunities. I feel like I might be at that point in my career. I have worked for my current company for over 4 years. When I interviewed for my company, I had just started school to obtain an Associate’s Degree. I was able to advance quickly within my small department but unless I make on a management role (which will not be available until someone vacates the position) there is no room for further advancement with my department.

Next May I will graduate with my Bachelor’s Degree in Public Service/Public Policy and I am excited to see what doors open now that I have a degree. I was able to advance within my current department without the required degree because I was able to use time on the job in lieu of a degree. Also, most of my co-workers do not have 4 year degree and only a couple have a 2 year degree.

My company emails new job posting to all employees company email each Thursday. I usually scan through each job posting to see what the requirements and pay are for each job. All job postings that are comparable to my current salary required at least a 4 year degree and several years of experience. These requirements have deterred me for applying in the past but I plan to start applying for a new job within the next few months.

Strenght of my Organization

I feel that the main strength of my organization is customer service. The customers that our office serves are members of the public, various government entities and other Maricopa County Departments. Our job is to answer any questions that the public might have related to Maricopa County and more specifically the Board of Supervisors. My office answers phone calls and emails and accepts walk-in customers that need help or services from Maricopa County. Often our office is not the correct office that can assist them but before we can send them away, we must find the correct agency that can help them.

 

My Director has strict rules for excellent customer service. We are not allowed to forward phone calls without first introducing the customer to the correct department. If the correct agency is located within our 10 story building, we must accompany the customer to the correct agency that can help them. It may seem like a lot of work but I think it is an example of excellent customer service. Other places might respond with “sorry we can’t help you” and turn the customer away. Our office is required to research the customer’s request and find the correct answer to their question.

 

One thing that I would do differently if I were in charge would be to streamline some of the office procedures. Our Director has been in place for almost 25 years and some office procedures have not changed since she first started. Technology has changed so much over the last few years and our procedures are not updated to match these improvements. If the procedures could be updated, it would save our office time and resources when completing day-to-day office functions.

Free Write 3

As this year comes to a close, it is a very hectic time for my office.  My office is the Clerk for the Board of Supervisors so that means we work for them and handle all the administrative functions for them. At the beginning of each year - a new Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is elected. This means that when the new Chairman starts, all processes and procedures that our office has been doing for the last year will change. This will be my fifth chairman change and for my experience, each chairman and their staff like to do things different from the last chairman.

For example, one chairman will allow you to walk into their office and speak with them in person when a situation arises. However, another chairman may require that you send their staff an email to explain the situation and wait for them to respond to you. This can cause frustration when you are trying to get a quick response.

Additionally, the dates and times for weekly meetings that have been the same for the last year are now going to change. Our office will now have to change our schedule so that it works with the new chairman's schedule. This will be confusing for the first few meetings.