MAPE participates in statewide corrections conference

MAPE members from the Department of Corrections (DOC) saw their union taking a leading role at this year's Minnesota Corrections Association conference in Mankato. MAPE again sponsored the annual corrections conference which offers professional development, networking activities and the opportunity to earn continuing education credits.

"We were able to send 10 of our DOC members to the conference. We are trying to develop members' leadership skills and build connections," MAPE Statewide Vice President Angie Halseth said. "We're encouraging people who are already members to step into leadership roles, and also signing up new members while getting MAPE's name out there."

Region 11 Director Jessica Raptis said she was impressed to see formerly incarcerated men now working on behalf of those who were also incarcerated, "It's one of those things that rejuvenates you to see people come out and be successful. They know the troubles they went through and don't want those barriers in place for others."

Keith Halseth, a caseworker at Lino Lakes correctional facility, said he learned from one of the classes he took at the conference about how to deal with bosses and administrative people, "She was one of the better speakers and I wanted to hear every word she said. She spoke about toxic bosses and her perspective was insightful. She also spoke about the importance of a work-life balance."

MAPE also hosted a booth at the resource fair and earned kudos for hosting a friendly competition among the vendors regarding who had the best pen. "In the mornings and during breaks, everyone attending comes through and visits the booths. All the booths have swag. Every table has a pen, so we asked them to contribute a pen and then asked attendees to come by our booth and vote on which organization had brought the best pen. We made so many connections with other organizations because we made it fun and they came to our booth to learn more about MAPE," Vice President Halseth said.