Luncheons at ranch resorts on your dime…
I cannot make this up. Here’s how your tax dollars are being spent: On luncheons…at ranch resorts…for 2010 Census Partnership specialists and coordinators and 2010 Census partners. An article from Arizona reads as follows:
The 2010 Census Partner Appreciation & Thank You Luncheon was held on Thursday, August 12th, at the Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort in Tucson, Arizona.
The event was held to recognize partners that participated beyond the requirements to aid in the success of the 2010 census.
The luncheon agenda included:
Welcome – DarLene Burkett and Laura Cummings, Partnership Specialists
Words of Appreciation – Cathy Lacy, Regional Director, Denver Regional Census Center
Data Overview & Next Steps – Pamela Lucero, Partnership Coordinator, Denver Regional
Census Center
Presentation of Awards – Cathy Lacy, Regional Director, Denver Regional Census Center
Does this mean that people were flown from DENVER to ARIZONA for a luncheon? My initial guess is “yes” and I will get to the bottom of this immediately.
MyTwoCensus has already contacted Steve Jost of the Census Bureau to determine how much this luncheon cost and how many other luncheons or similar celebrations are taking place or have taken place throughout the country.
Tags: Arizona, awards, Denver, parntership, partner, partners, pork, ranch, resort, taxpayer, waste
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:11 am
What if you got to the bottom of it BEFORE throwing out your wild speculations here? That might be something like journalism…
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:22 am
zzzzz nothing to see here
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:13 am
Sometimes I think you harp on the wrong things. First it was the totem pole http://www.mytwocensus.com/2010/08/04/yes-i-am-still-harping-on-the-totem-pole/ now it’s the luncheons. What happened to the rubber bands? Stay focused SRM. Stay focused.
August 23rd, 2010 at 8:49 am
It seems to me that if the DRCC is over a ten state region that they will fly to all ten states to have a luncheon with the partnership specialists for each state.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:09 am
I suppose one could fly speck every single event or Census related project for cost efficiencies, however this example was a poor one to choose to make some argument about waste. Indeed, it is a great example of how vital the 2010 Census partnership effort is, and how much it helped save the taxpayers.
First, the partnership effort deserves a great deal of credit for helping the country achieve a mail back response rate and cooperation during our door to door phase that contributed to reducing the total cost of the Decennial Census by $1.6 billion.
Second, this luncheon was at no cost to the taxpayers as the food was provided by partners. They were gathered together for a Census sponsored briefing on data products that will be coming out from the 2010 Census and the Bureau spent just $500 for room rental for that briefing. We took the opportunity at this briefing to also thank these partners for their generous contributions toward making the 2010 Census a success.
One example of how our 255,000 partners helped reduce the cost of the Census through their own civic engagement is how much money the government saved because local organizations donated space for testing and training centers. Nationally, they helped saved the taxpayers over $179 million in rents that did not have to be paid so we could train our temporary workforce of some 565,000 enumerators. This luncheon was a small gesture of thanks for their significant contribution.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Thanks Steve for the update. We appreciate facts.
August 25th, 2010 at 8:11 am
You start your post by saying you can’t make this stuff up but that is exactly what you did….telling your readers that the census bureau paid for the luncheon.
August 26th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Does your “team of professional political journalists” have a softball team?
Do you have a picture of your “team of professional political journalists” or are there just 2 more lies there — i.e., the “team” & the “professional” part?
August 28th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Where did all the other posts go?