The Downtown DC Business Improvement District’s (BID) Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance workers (SAMs) were surrounded by art in a beautiful space Aug. 6 at their employee of the month meeting held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA). NMWA (1250 New York Ave NW) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to recognizing women’s creative contributions.
Their one-of-a-kind art collection is housed in DowntownDC in a stunning building erected in the early twentieth century as a Masonic Temple. Exhibits currently on display include Organic Matters, which explores the relationship between women, art and nature, and Super Natural, which is about how women interact with the natural world. Both exhibitions run through Sept. 13.
These exhibitions are in addition to the museum’s permanent collection, which includes a painting currently on display by local artist Alma Woodsey Thomas called Iris, Tulips, Jonquils, and Crocuses.
Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors but is free on the first Sunday of every month.
NMWA has a history of partnership with the BID, including for the New York Avenue Sculpture project, which displays public art by female artists in the medians of New York Avenue. The effort helps redefinie the avenue as a pedestrian-friendly corridor and strengthen its sense of place as an arts and culture district. The museum and the BID work with the D.C. Office of Planning and other local agencies to make this project a reality.
SAM Supervisor Michael Creed on Aug. 6 thanked the museum for providing the performance space in which the SAMs held their monthly meeting. Creed introduced to the SAMs, who keep the streets of DowntownDC clean and safe 362 days a year, Kimberly Boyd-Lewis, the director of operations for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Boyd-Lewis expressed her appreciation for the SAMs and their dedicated assistance during the busy season of the Cherry Blossom Festival – especially their “always smiling faces.” SAMs annually carry out a variety of maintenance, hospitality and other tasks before, during and after the festival, which celebrates the friendship between the United States and the nation of Japan. Festivities run from late March to early April.
[Learn more about the Cherry Blossom Festival and associated events here.]
After announcements about SAM birthdays and updates on events happening in the local area in August, Eileen Andary, the BID’s chief administration officer, announced the selection of a new executive director and president of the BID: Neil Albert, former city administrator and deputy mayor of planning and economic development under Mayor Adrian Fenty. In addition to his tenure with Fenty, Albert served under Mayor Anthony Williams as deputy mayor for children, youth, families and elders and as director of the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
“Neil will bring a fresh perspective, economic development expertise and the clarity of what it takes to lead the BID in a downtown that serves as the economic engine for the city and the region,” BID Executive Director Richard H. Bradley said in a statement. Albert joins the BID from Holland & Knight’s Public Policy & Regulation Practice Group, where he works as a senior advisor. He will begin working at the BID this fall.
[Read the press release on Albert’s selection as executive director here.]
Following a quick reminder about fall uniforms from Hospitality SAM Teresa Savoy, it was time for the main event. Each month two SAMs are chosen as employees of the month and are announced at the meeting. For July, the honors went to Hospitality SAM Alvin Chase and Maintenance SAM Nelson Giron-Mendoza.
Alvin Chase, a seven-time SAM-of-the-Month winner, has worked for the BID for 16 years. Chase said his favorite part about being a Hospitality SAM is being out in public and meeting people. You “never know who you are going to come across.” He added that the best thing about working Downtown is “the atmosphere, especially in Chinatown.” A native of Washington, Chase enjoys time with his family and working on his boxing– a sport in which he has participated for over three decades and in which he formerly competed.
Nelson Giron-Mendoza has been with the BID for eight years and is a three-time winner of SAM-of-the-Month. As part of the Maintenance Team, Nelson said he enjoys “keeping the city clean and talking with the people.” He said that his coworkers would describe him as a friendly guy and that his favorite part about Downtown is the collection of restaurants and places to go. At home, Nelson appreciates being with his family and finding time to keep up with soccer.