Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Fall, Open House and the World Series

As we enter the Fall Season, I reflect back on my childhood school days and fondly recall the tradition of back to school "Open House." And of course, October was the month for the Major League World Series (never went into November back then as it can today!).
 
The Open House is a chance for you to "show off" your school, your classroom and classmates to parents and family! It was always a fun evening of sharing what was going on in your life from 8AM to 3PM inside your learning world, the elementary school classroom and playground! The City recently offered the same Open House opportunity where residents, family and friends could tour our Fire House, Police Station and City Hall. Residents had the opportunity to learn about our City Government, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), emergency preparedness, and fire and crime prevention. For the kids, the highlight of the day was definitely checking out the police cars and fire engines!
 
As the City Manager, it was an opportunity to "show off" our great community facilities and my “my classmates” (in this case the City Executive Team) who are some of the greatest department heads in the nation! At the Open House, residents had a chance to meet and talk with City staff including Police Chief Matt Martell, Fire Chief John Healy, Assistant City Manager Dante Hall, City Clerk Doris Palmer, Human Resources Director Ann Ritzma, Public Works Director Jeff Moneda, Finance Director Edmund Suen, Community Development Director Curtis Banks, Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Liu and my Management Assistant Julie Paping. Don't forget to put the Fire, Police and City Hall Open House on your calendar for next October (it usually falls on the first Saturday in October).
 
In regards to the World Series, our ball club the San Francisco Giants won't be there (back in 2016!) but it is shaping up to be a great series. As I write, it seems it may be a Mets-Royals World Series. Even though our Giants are not in it, October still brings the same excitement of a great Fall Classic with the World Series!
 
I still recall the special days in elementary school when the teacher would roll in the TV and set it up in front of the classroom to watch a few innings of the World Series. Baseball instead of Math, English, or History...Wow! What a treat and what an era! I have a vivid memory of watching the Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles in my 4th grade classroom, while Sandy Kolfax and Jim Palmer battled it out. A great memory for me! Giants fans, you will be glad to remember that the Baltimore Orioles won that series from our rival LA Dodgers, sweeping the Dodgers 4 games to nil and shutting them out 3 of the 4 games.
 
Open House, World Series, "showing off" your classmates and school, it doesn't getter better than that. Enjoy the rest of October and I hope it is a classic!


 






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