INSIDE OKDHS ANNUAL REPORT 2011

(MUSIC PLAYS) 

No Audio: Mark Beutler, Communications Manager

Mark Beutler: The Annual Report is really more than just statistics. It's kind of a snapshot of the entire year. It gives a look at some of the numbers that we put out there as well as introduces folks to some of the people that have benefitted from our services throughout the past 12 months. There are two different ways that folks can access the Annual Report. There's, of course, the traditional print version which gives all of your statistics and everything there that's in a hard copy format. 

We also have an online version that people can go to at the click of a mouse. You know, they can go there at their own leisure and check out the facts and figures that are there. They can also look at the videos that we've produced and actually see the people that we've talked to and hear in their own words the difference that OKDHS has made in their lives. This has been my favorite part of working on the Annual Report. 

So much of the time, the media can be relentless in the pursuit of a story and unfortunately, more often than not, it's a negative story. So, to go out and actually meet the people across Oklahoma who use our services and who've become some of our success stories and hear their stories and hear about how we've made a difference in their lives - that is really heart-warming for lack of a better word. 

We use the Annual Report to present to our legislators to look at our funding issues for the upcoming year. Of course, every agency has its own specific needs, whether it's building and maintaining bridges at ODOT or the Health Department working to keep people healthy. Here we have so many different agencies relying on us for SNAP (food stamps) or TANF, the elderly using the ADvantage Waiver Program. 

There are so many different agencies that are vying for a little piece of the budget, but this gives us a little bit of a way to show our legislators what we do and all the various individuals throughout the state that we serve. It talks about all the individual services that we offer. It gives you a lot of the different numbers, the things that have happened in the past year. 

So, it's really a useful tool that we can use throughout the coming year, a way for people to go back and look at some of the things we've done and the number of people that we've helped who have benefitted from our services. 

No Audio: Katherine Leidy, Programs Supervisor Design Services and Print Shop.

Katherine Leidy: Early in the year when we start talking about the theme, we let everyone kind of get ideas and look throughout their divisions for stories that would fit the theme that are uplifting about the services we provide for the public. And so, throughout the planning process we develop the stories and come up with some good ideas to tell the story of what DHS does. 

Mark Beutler: This Annual Report has really been a team effort. We began working on this way back in the summer and our Communications team meets once a month and we began kicking around ideas for it. So, we talked about some of the different people that we could interview, some of our success stories. And then our Design Services Team, they sort of came up with the idea for "Hope for Oklahoma" and designed the whole look of how the Annual Report looks this year. So, like I say, it's really been a team effort. 

Katherine Leidy: Early on in the production process we have a team meeting with representatives from all the different divisions and the Office of Planning, Research and Statistics and the Office of Communications and we throw around ideas for the theme. And a lot of the ideas we had this year had to do with hope. We came up with many different phrases that had hope in it. 

And, when all was said and done we thought just the word hope would be the best. When we come up with a good idea, we take it to the Director and if he's okay with it we run with it, and he really liked it. Once we have a theme, the people who are writing the stories and producing the videos take that into account when they're producing their stories. 

And then, our photographers go out into the field and take photos with the thought of hope being the story. Then our Graphic Artist, David Kim, takes everything and puts it together and he really gave it a really good image of hope on each page. We intertwined the stories with quotes about hope and pictures of the people. So, it really gives a good story about what we do for the public. 

No Audio: David Kim, Graphic Artist II.

David Kim: Actually, I think my job title is Graphic Designer but, I think my job in DHS, I have a service job for the public. My job is helping people putting the information - from each department or agency - to their projects. So, my opinion is I am a helper to Oklahoma. 

Katherine Leidy: We are very fortunate to have very talented graphic artists on our staff. And David Kim, who is the graphic artist on the Annual Report, did a great job in pulling together the photography, and the stories, and the graphics and charts to make a story that tells more about, not just the statistics, but the people behind the statistics and how we're helping the public. We start early in the calendar year with our discussions about the theme and story ideas and how the last one went. 

And over the past few years, the team that we've put together across the agency has really gelled to make a great team where we're sharing ideas and coming up with great ideas and getting things done on time. Throughout the year we work on the story ideas, the interviews, the writing. There's a lot of editing and proofing that goes on, a lot of design work that happens. 

David comes up with several concepts and then over time we find the right one. So, it's a very time consuming process, but we have a great team that makes it work very well. We also do the printing for the Annual Report as well as a lot of other materials. We're really fortunate to have all these resources in-house: from photography to graphic design and having an in-house print shop. We're really fortunate to have all that together. 

We have a very strong team, a very professional team in the print shop.And they not only print our Annual Report, but they print all of the brochures, and handbooks, and conference materials, business cards, envelopes, and all the forms that are used throughout the agency. They keep very busy and they always come through in a pinch. We can always count on them. 

Mark Beutler: Working on the Annual Report this year - this has been my first time - it's really been an eye-opening experience. I mean that in a good way because we've talked to so many different people from so many different walks of life. 

And it's just been very pleasant to hear their stories and hear how DHS has really played an important role in their lives and how we've helped them. You know, for those of us who work here at DHS, it's not just a job. It's really about helping our neighbors. And, that really goes back to our core mission of why we've been around for 75 years and that's helping individuals and families lead safer, more independent, more productive lives.