Modified TDF - Part III: A Fictional Drama Screenplay

Genre: A futuristic, science-fiction, crime drama with Catholic and Latin undertones.

Cast & Crew: Samuel Lee Smithsonian; Jennifer Constantia Unitus; Andrew Todd Maximiliano; Marceline Theresa Teglio; and DNS Staff Members: Citizen’s Patrol & Action Committee Liaison, Citizen Complaint Deputy Marshal & Case Manager, Citizen’s Patrol Supervisor, Volunteer Organizer & Administrator, Community Service & Rehabilitation Advocate Specialist, and People’s Attorney & Legal expert.

Conflict [Antagonist vs. Protagonist]: An over-taxed MPD and criminal justice system; social miscreants in need of rehabilitation; a newly appointed Department Head of a “test pilot” program designed to filter out all those in the system who could be rehabilitated?through the unconventional means of the new program.

Continued…..?

Jenny arrived at Sam’s office and she could see he had a cluttered mess to contend with! In preparation for their move to another quadrant, there were moving boxes strewn about and the office walls had been stripped bare. Miscellaneous odds and ends were haphazardly deposited in different spots on the floor and on Sam’s desk. Sam looked up from packing and was pleased to see Jenny standing in the entrance smiling. “Mi posso entrare, Samuele?” Sam raised his eyebrows, “Ah, un romano! Si, Puoi, Jennifer!” Sam cleared space on a chair for Jenny to sit at his small table. After the two exchanged pleasantries Sam started right in with the “brass tacks” of impending tasks. He began by asking Jenny to recapitulate her skills inventory check-list, specifically her budget analysis and money-management?experience. When last viewing her resume he saw she had banking customer service experience. “My official title was Personal Banker or Customer Relationship Liaison at a regional branch in my home state of Indiana. After about six months in customer service I was promoted to in-house finance specialist to fulfill private client banking needs; usually in the form of adjoining multiple account services. My duties also included product advertising, cross-selling the bank’s financial products and services, debit and credit issue resolutions, and subsequently monitoring account activity to mitigate or correct any transaction problems. I was the liaison or go-between for opening new checking or savings accounts, lines of credit, and obtaining financing or providing loan referrals.” Sam nodded as he quickly jotted down Jenny’s comments. “You performed those services one-on-one for private clients?” “Yes. I received referrals from the branch manager, who wished to cultivate relationships with some of the more ‘affluent’ members of the community. People who preferred their privacy and more personalized services.” Sam raised his eyebrows, contemplating how to formulate his next question. “This was a ‘special’ group of customers?” Jenny could see Sam slowly understanding her former bank manager’s relationship strategy. “My branch manager was a Freemason. Are you familiar with their organization?” “They are a fraternity dating back to the guilds of stonemasons in Europe, at or about the 13th century, right?” “Yes, and the United States Masons or Freemasons originated in England (Feuerherd, 2017). My branch manager catered to wealthy masons who preferred anonymity, and he asked me to assist them.” “Did any of your coworkers or other bank tellers working there assist members from this premier group? “If there were [we] did not know about each other.” Sam pondered a bit. “So to your knowledge you were the only one servicing those accounts?” “To my knowledge, yes, Sam.”

“What were some of your bank’s financial?products and services, Jenny?” “Well.....we offered custom-tailored lending solutions, escrow services, self-directed investing, and residential mortgages. On the more cerebral side of my job, I was a credit risk assessor and budget analyst; collections and loss prevention adjudicate, credit recovery specialist and customized strategist for helping our clientele with Five Essential Wealth Practices: Investing, Borrowing, Spending, and Managing and Protecting monetary assets.” “What qualified you for as you stated, the ‘cerebral’ aspects of your job?” “I was computer savvy, meaning I required little help or accommodation when working at a PC, and I was able to read, understand, and interpret legal documents, financial statements, and banking and lending policies.” Sam nodded indicating his comprehension and said, “Now here’s what I need you to do for DNS, Jenny. In addition to the billion other things you have on your task list right now, I want you to manage and reconcile AR/ AP, employee salaries, payroll, and all office expenditures; process T & E card applications for designated staff, and miscellaneous petty cash allowances or financial disbursements. I will be relying heavily on your banking expertise; because I may be implementing some unorthodox things as DNS Director and Comptroller. All of which has been approved by higher ups. I want personalized concierge financial services for program participants. They will have enough to worry about with trying to rehabilitate their lives and walking the ‘straight and narrow’ way, ?Lo comprender?” “Non ho capito, Samuele. Por favor, dígalo en inglés sencillo. ?Hablo Spalian, Sam?” Sam laughed. “You speak Spalian, huh? You're a Gypsy?” She laughed and nodded. “I need you to call upon your prior banking experience to manage the work-release inductees of the program, including all bank and financial transactions. As you know, helping program participants find gainful employment and financial stability is part of DNS’s mission. Therefore, I want an in-house banking and financial specialist to assist just our department. For accountability reasons I have to serve as both grantor and guarantor of project participants’ measure of how likely they will default on debt obligations. You would set up their financial structures with an in-house central reporting and accounting software, handling financial re-assimilation and/ or integration for program inductees. Jenny interrupted, “You mean to by-pass banking bureaucracy or red tape in the form of lending policies that would lead to declines for some of our clientele?” Sam nodded. “However, I’m not looking to extend credit to just anyone. Just the people we...I am vouching for. I am prepared to absorb any and all risks associated with lending or servicing the individuals we help. You look as if you have another question, Jen. What’s up? May I call you Jen? I won’t call you the short version in front of anyone else.” Jenny nodded her consent. “I would be working with sub-prime portfolios which requires credit-risk advocacy, along with public relations magic when working with potential lenders.” “Yes, Jenny. I’m looking to acquire adjustable, fixed, or interest-only dignity and sub-prime loans for our ‘high-risk’ clientele; who would otherwise likely be barred from loans and some bank account eligibility. I expect most of them will have unfavorable or low credit scores on record, and low or unstable incomes. I also want you to work with mortgage lenders, landlords, leasing agents, and the like.” “Sam, a personal banker does not typically speak with freeholder proprietors on behalf of individuals they service maintenance bank accounts for.” “I know, Jenny, but in this context however, who better than a personal finance minister to co-sign for a tenant applicant?” “You would want me to co-sign for program participants? Under whose sanction?” “The DNS will pay for any and all defaults or deal-breakers, Jenny. You as the banker would serve as guarantor on the front end. I would prefer to keep mine and DNS’s role in the background.” “You don’t want any freeholder proprietors to know who is helping our applicants then?” “No! Ok, moving on....our clientele needs a place to store and deposit money, pay bills, and use on-line banking services. Basic accounts that differ from traditional ones they would probably be turned down for at most lending institutions. Jenny wrote down the details of this portion of their conversation. No over-draft protection which makes the applicant less risky; because if I can help it they will not be generating new debts. You would monitor all questionable account activity, but I don’t want you babysitting adults needing to prove themselves. You will have enough autonomy to know exactly how to handle each problem or issue indicated via some type of “flagging” software indicator. Follow?” “Yes, you would want me to only respond when the parameters or electronic “trip-wire” is engaged?” “Yes! None of that ‘big brother is watching’ nonsense though! I will be watching but not spying or invading the privacy of program participants. That’s not what we...our program is about.” So.... let’s make it happen!” “To start with, Sam, I need to consult with some industry insiders to get the best software. Are you willing to pay outside consultants and providers of software, possibly someone to create a custom-design for our department, Sam?” “No!” “What?” “I prefer to use what is already available and industry-proved, Jenny. I know as a former bank professional you already know what money-handling procedures and implements work best. Every professional within their realm knows what things are essential, and what things are extras that although put money into the pockets of other service providers, are not needed! Work with IT when applicable and make it happen! I prefer as few hands in the pot as possible.” ?

“Where are we at on the college fairs?” Fortunately, Jenny came to the meeting prepared. To save time she previously performed some reconnaissance, searching on-line for brochure templates that could easily be custom-designed or edited according to specifications. She opted for a tri-fold version that could be assembled after printing. “I would like to work with college representatives or student affairs staff at colleges we plan to hold events at. I require a table on which to place presentation materials and some other necessities, so working with designated people on-site will be crucial!” There were (3) colleges Sam wanted to target to start with: Great Lakes School of Criminal Justice, Minneapolis Community College, and The University of Minnesota. “I need you to follow up on those directives this week, Jenny. Additionally, I need an ETA on the scripting for pre-applicant screens for on-line applicants, and job descriptions for the open positions on the department website no later than this Thursday, ok?” Jenny nodded, “So about one work week for all then?” “Yes. You also have about two weeks to generate pre-screen questions to use at the job fairs, and scripting for the radio advertisement. That’s it for now. Get out of here and stop bothering me!” Jenny smiled, stood up, and quietly left Sam’s office. The following work day Jenny began making calls to the community colleges. She asked their phone directories to connect her with student activities coordinators. Because DNS was a business entity scheduling one-day workshops, Jenny thought it would be best to call what they were planning recruitment solicitations, similar to military recruiters that visit high schools and colleges. She could have been more specific in her explanation of what she and Sam planned to do, but thought it best to first inquire about what the options were. This proved to be a smart move! For example, after speaking with Maryanne, the lead coordinator of student academic affairs at Great Lakes School of Criminal Justice, Jenny was inspired to redefine the job fair objectives. The first major change was to call her and Sam’s visit a "Workshop" instead. The second change was the workshop invites would extend to or be open to all campus: Criminal Justice and Law students, Paralegals and Law Clerks, Litigation Advocates, Case Managers, Court Specialists, Court or Law Firm Administrators, Legal Advisors and Mediators, Probation and Parole Officers, and even National Security majors. Although she had not cleared it with Sam yet, Jenny thought it would be good for him to give some sort of presentation speech at each open-house. At all three colleges she scheduled (3) different meetings at 1-hour intervals, and 30-minute Q & A sessions with Sam at the end of each. The presentation table, which Jenny would man, would provide students with information on how and where they can apply for jobs with the precinct in the form of pamphlets. Jenny would still have to pre-screen the most desirable candidates expressing interest. She would make special business unit contact cards for those unable to stay and fill out the pre-screen forms on-site. Those individuals could call or use the website link later. After reviewing answers Jenny would narrow down a list of call-backs to interview with Sam. While she was thinking about it, she decided to call his extension to ask how he felt about public speaking. Sam was on the phone at the time so she left a voice message. He emailed his response: “I do like that idea and I think that’s the right strategy, but I really need to work on my presentation technique. Can you put together a Power Point with speaker notes?” Jenny typed: “Of course! If you could provide me with a rough draft and notes for the presentation, I can type something up, ok? Bye, I’m gone for the day!” It was about 10 minutes until quitting time. As a side note, she would be tracking every function and task performed for DNS; because it all will look good on her resume. She can also use the increase in responsibilities as negotiating leverage for wage/ salary increases later on! Jenny reviewed her large desk calendar for the following day’s task list, and made some new notations before shutting down her computer for the day.?

Feuerherd, P. (2017). The Strange History of Masons in America. Retrieved from https://daily.jstor.org/the-strange-history-of-masons-in-america/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20Masons%20(also,and%20provide%20sanctuary%20if%20needed.

Patterson, P.R. (2016). Organizational Psychology: A Fictional Drama Screenplay. Portland, OR: Unpublished Manuscript.?