County HR seeks approval to buy employee sweatshirts for 2025 training day, favors local vendor

Crystal Malchos, Geary County HR director for special projects, presented quotes and a plan to purchase sweatshirts as employee gifts for the 2025 county employee training day titled "Why You Matter." Malchos told commissioners she prefers buying locally and said the sweatshirt would be usable across departments.

"Why you matter," Malchos said when describing the training-day theme, and she said staff had difficulty choosing a single gift that would suit all job types. The HR team proposed a dark‑green sweatshirt with the county emblem on the front and the county name and logo on the back. Malchos said the county obtained quotes from a local vendor, Honor, and from 4imprint, which supplied last year's coolers.

Malchos recommended ordering items only for employees who return size rosters so the county will not hold excess inventory. She said departments will be asked to submit employee sizes and that distribution will be limited to those who respond.

Commissioners discussed budget availability and favored supporting a local vendor despite slightly higher pricing. Malchos said the purchase would come from the training-day budget and that organizers planned to limit the order to the number of employees who submit sizes rather than stock extras.

Tiffany Havener and Jackie Reisinger, co‑chairs of the 2025 Geary County employee training day, were listed as organizers who will collect sizes and assist with logistics. The commission approved sending staff to obtain final quotes and to proceed with ordering if the item fits the existing training-day budget.