The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) added 23 new Maintenance ambassadors to its staff April 15 in a graduation ceremony at the First Congregational United Church of Christ (945 G Street NW) where staff heard from new Director of Public Space Operations Kristi Cunningham Whitfield, announced employees of the year and received inspiration from Marriott Courtyard Washington Convention Center General Manager Thomas Penny.
The BID hired 23 new Maintenance ambassadors this spring as part of Executive Director Neil Albert’s decision to refocus the BID on its core mission of providing clean and safe services for DowntownDC. Work schedules were adjusted for the new ambassadors to enable the BID to offer maintenance coverage from 6am-11pm seven days a week. This expanded deployment schedule was designed to help the BID meet a growing demand for trash removal and maintenance services after business hours.
Maintenance ambassadors remove trash and recycling, graffiti, they power wash sidewalks, carry out beautification efforts related to landscaping, painting street poles and public fixtures and more.
The new class of graduates brought the total number of Maintenance ambassadors to 63. The BID also employs 33 Safety/Hospitality ambassadors, who act as on-the-street concierges, provide hospitality, offer directions, report conditions such as sidewalk repair needs and broken trash cans, add safety and security to Downtown and some ambassadors are trained to help connect individuals experiencing homelessness with support and service providers.
Staff gathered in the First Congregational United Church of Christ’s sanctuary to congratulate the newest class of ambassadors and heard from their new director.
“This is a day about new beginnings and transitions,” Cunningham Whitfield said. “A day to celebrate the next stage.”
The BID worked with closely with city partners and job development programs this year to offer the opportunity to become a Maintenance ambassador to local members of underserved populations. A total of 80 percent of the new Maintenance ambassadors are D.C. residents.
At the gradation, BID Executive Director Neil O. Albert highlighted the ambassador program’s historic transitional role for many employees. “This job should not be your last job. This job should be a stepping stone,” Albert said.
Ambassadors had an opportunity to next hear from the General Manager of Courtyard By Marriott Convention Center Thomas Penny, a BID board member and D.C. native. Penny shared the story of his inspirational personal journey and how after the loss of his brother when Penny was 18 prompted him to chart a new path in his life, working as a hotel dishwasher, returning to school and eventually becoming the youngest hotel general manager in the city.
Penny congratulated all of the ambassadors for their work to keep Downtown clean, safe and welcoming, sayings they hold one of the most important jobs in Downtown for hotels.
“I encourage you all to operate with a level of excellence,” Penny said.
He closed with a recitation of the poem “Prayer” by Louis Untermeyer, which read, in part, “open my ears to music; let me thrill with Spring’s first flutes and drums—but never let me dare forget the bitter ballads of the slums.”
Cunningham Whitfield reiterated Penny’s message, telling the graduating class that their new position “is the beginning of real opportunities.”
Maintenance Services Manager Ronald Jones said that their job is “so much more” than a “clean up job.” “The world is our stage and we get to perform every day,” Jones said.
In tradition, the new class performed brief skits for the audience and this year, they focused on ambassador conduct in a humorous way.
Each of the 23 new employees then received their graduation certificate from Albert and Cunningham Whitfield.
Closing out graduation, two ambassadors were named employees of the year.
The 2015 winners were Safety/Hospitality ambassador Michael R. Marshall and Maintenance ambassador Michael Winder.
Michael R. Marshall has been employed as a Safety/Hospitality ambassador for 10 years, often winning employee of the month over his career and earning the respect and support of his colleagues, supervisors and from many members of the public he encountered daily on the job. “I’m extremely surprised and excited,” he said. “I’m speechless. What a fitting tribute!” Marshall said he most enjoys the communication each day on the job as well as his role in “helping the homeless and anyone in need.” “It all comes down to help,” he said. Marshall enjoys reading and watching old movies. He likes to spend time with his family and his fiancee’s children.
Michael Winder has served as a Maintenance ambassador for five years and has quickly grown to be a standout star on the team, winning employee of the month four times in his career. He said he was thrilled to win. “This is the Super Bowl of the BID right here,” he said. The Virginia Beach native said he loves “being out” on the job and “meeting different people” each day. He said he takes great pride in helping to maintain a clean Downtown and knowing that he “has a part” in the bigger picture of Downtown’s quality of life. When not at work, Winder enjoys listening to music, watching movies and cooking.
Crystal Evans contributed to this story.