Sunday, September 23, was the official start of Autumn, or Fall, as most people in the U.S call it. But it’s been feeling like Summer, as the temperature continues to vacillate -climbing in the 80s most of the times. How be it, Fall’s weather can be so volatile.  And with the uncertainty of when an arctic front may blitz the metro area, MCPS’s Energy Resources Management (ERM) could in a matter of days, switch the HVAC system to Heat only at the local public schools.  

This matter is on the mind of Ron Maxson, who is CUPF’s Core Services manager.  His staff are on the front lines of managing community use and mitigating all kinds of conflicts, including users’ complaints stemming from multiple issues including AC and Heat distribution at the public schools.  According to Ron, by this time each Fall, the Heat is usually turned on at the public schools. He thinks the lingering warm weather is the cause of the delay.  Still, he has a few suggestions for users and participants attending community events at the schools:  should the Heat be turned on unexpectedly at a permitted school, blame it NOT on HVAC malfunction nor the school’s building service staff.  The likely culprit is Fall, as the Heat will likely be turned on even though so far, this year, Fall isn’t so cool.

Known also for his high sense of humor and the art of making things plain, Ron asks that users and their guests dress comfortably and in layers. This way if it gets uncomfortably warm in the school, one may peel off the “extra” layers.

Note that the ERM office at MCPS upholds a Summer policy appropriately called “Summer Energy Conservation.” It is implemented by shutting down the public school’s AC system immediately after the academic day between 3:45 pm to 5 pm, which is the peak period for high energy consumption in the area.  We will share more about MCPS’ summer energy conservation in a future edition.  

This month I held a Fall retreat for the staff that focused on the job they do, our diversity, our shared business objective, and the talents that each of us brings to CUPF. Ms. Denise Matheny, Director of Special Events at Montgomery College helped facilitate the retreat. Montgomery College and CUPF have a very intimate relation, as the President of the College is one of the twelve members of the Interagency Coordinating Board (ICB) which is the entity that provides policy guidance to CUPF.

Among the topics Ms. Matheny touched on included communicating with stakeholders, facilitating meetings, events planning, etc. Needless to say, she was very effective. In her presentation Ms. Matheny addressed the challenges, techniques, and the many opportunities for people working in the hospitality industry.  She suitably branded the work that CUPF Staff performs daily in the context of event planning, be it large or small, private or public.              

As the Agency’s Director, my goal for inviting the guest speaker was twofold: first, to highlight the common thread between CUPF’s service, which consists of locating and matching users with the right venue for their events, and second to learn of best practices from a local top practitioner of event planning.

            The fact of enabling CUPF Staff to hear about the value of their work and the high need out there for professionals like them truly supersedes any imaginable fear of losing them to the competition. It is critical for me to let them know how valuable they are and how important the work they perform is to the community, as they positively represent the County. 

            Our thanks go out to our partners at the Department of Recreation for making available to CUPF the wonderful Nancy H. Dacek North Potomac Community Center. The retreat ended with staff from our three offices (Rockville, Germantown, Silver Spring) teaming up for a basketball game, ping pong, Cornhole toss, board games like Jenga, and a race in the parking lot. One notable fact about the Fall retreat was by the end of the day everyone felt mentally stimulated, physically and socially energized.      

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