Giant Connect Four, games and more awaited the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) ambassadors at Penn Social (801 E St NW) for their Employee-of-the-Month meeting in March.
The DowntownDC venue is the biggest sports bar in Washington D.C., offering a 22-foot movie screen and nine 10-foot television screens to ensure you won’t miss any of the action while watching your favorite team! Penn Social has patio seating, three bars, 30 draught beers, a full menu, two stages and multiple levels. Plus, there are various board games, shuffleboard, foosball, giant Jenga and Connect Four on hand.
Paul Schorsch, events director for Penn Social, thanked the DowntownDC ambassadors for their service in Downtown and noted that their venue is a hit for corporate events as well with a capacity of 500 for events.
BID Executive Director Neil Albert thanked the ambassadors for their diligence, consistent hard work and all that they have done for the BID. “Thank you for all of the good work that you do, this has to be the cleanest BID,” said Albert. Schedules, change of shifts and deployment plans were also discussed to create more coverage of ambassadors, putting a maintenance ambassador on the street daily from 6am to 11pm.
Albert noted technology would be utilized for the ambassadors to better manage shift and deployment and to record cleanliness and maintenance throughout their day. BID ambassadors were invited by to talk and share thoughts and opinions with Albert and other BID staff regarding shift changes.
Albert also revealed the ambassador’s new uniform design pilot, to be implemented for the latest Maintenance ambassador class, 23 individuals who graduated in mid-April. Albert said that functionality as well as design are being examined during this pilot and asked the ambassadors to offer their opinion and advice and as well as their patience as the BID implements design changes.
The new maintenance class can be seen sporting a different jacket, pants, hats and shirts that are being modified as they are rolled out over the BID’s 90-plus staff of ambassadors.
At the employee meeting, the BID also had the opportunity to partake in the venue’s fun and make a game of its own. Supervisor Michael Creed and select ambassadors played “Guess that SAM” and tried a brief round of Connect Four.
Each month, two BID ambassadors are recognized as employees-of-the-month for their remarkable service within Downtown DC. The well-deserving winners for March, presented by Schorsch, were Safety/Hospitality Ambassador Oyoo Okumu and Maintenance Ambassador Hector Segura.
Ukumu Oyoo, originally from Uganda, has been a BID Ambassador since 2011 and has received several employee-of-the-month honors. Okumu said he loves his job at the BID and feels like it is one of the greatest. He enjoys meeting different people and helping them, which is why Chinatown is his favorite place to work. Okumu enjoys being a Safety/Hospitality Ambassador but what warms his heart the most is when people come to him afterwards to say thank you for his services. Okumu recently helped a woman who was lost while trying to locate the White House. Later, she found Okumu to thank him for helping her find her destination. In Okumu’s free time, he enjoys spending time with friends, watching basketball and football games and catching up on CNN to review the news. His favorite places to send people in the BID are the Spy Museum and Capitol City Brewery.
Hector Segura has been a BID Ambassador for 13 years and has received the employee-of-the-month award on five different occasions, including in November of last year. Segura said his wife and daughter are extremely important to him and are his daily motivation to always do his best. In Segura’s spare time, he enjoys his favorite baseball team, the Washington Nationals, and likes to wear his uniform paired with a Nationals hat while watching the games. Segura said that his most-enjoyed BID establishment would definitely have to be Cuba Libre (801 9th St NW), a restaurant that celebrates Cuban heritage and explores their delicious and savory flavors.