Welcome to November. It is pretty amazing to be sitting here on Nov. 4 with a temperature of 71 degrees. Now, many people know I wear shorts deep into the season, like January, so November is nothing new. But it is still nice not to get looks from people as I come to work. Quick aside, I worked as a page at the Dover Library in high school. This position puts books away when they are checked in. It is less shocking to have a 17-year-old wearing shorts in the winter than a 47-year-old. That said, there was a snow day, and I showed up to work – in shorts – and I am not sure what was more appalling to Don Mullen, the library's director and one of the calmest people you’d ever meet: my shorts or the beard I was cultivating at the time. 

Moving on… while the page position was my first with the city, and most profound as I met my wife through that position, my second first position with the city was as an intern (stop me if you’ve heard this before). I valued that opportunity very much. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to bring on an intern or a fellow. Some, like Donna Benton and Jackson Kaspari, have flourished, and we’ve been able to hire. Others have been touch and go, and we both were happy when their time was up. In this year of transition, I wondered what an intern on the Business Development side of the organization would be like. Well, we need to wonder no longer, Holly Magowan started with the office last week. Over the next few months, Holly will be helping us with a few projects. We hope that we’ll see the foundation she works on expanded when we recruit the Business Development Coordinator to round out the team. 

Internships are an exceptional way for students to begin career exploration. There certainly is hands-on learning and the ability to learn what works and what doesn’t work for them. I am a big advocate for the idea that the more you recognize what you don’t like to do, you can steer toward what you do like. In many ways, it's easier to quantify what to avoid than direct yourself toward what you like than the opposite. To that end, I hope that interns soak up information and experience, more so than hope they provide a deliverable. Don’t get me wrong, I am not hoping for lazy effort, but I see the intern as someone who should be a sponge and should focus on learning with the idea that the education adds value to the organization later when they have proven they have the character, drive, and need for continual learning. 

To that end, I want interns/fellows to work on big projects with complex components that expose them to multiple departments and programs within the city. I mapped stormwater infrastructure and considered impervious surface cover, Donna worked on refacing the Capital Improvements Program video, the Tax Increment Finance District, and on a zoning project. Jackson worked on his greenhouse gas emissions project. One fellow worked on Sustainable Dover – back in 2009, no less. Two interns worked on the McConnell Center renovations, one identified ways city staff could compost and reduce waste produced within the workspace, and a few worked on surveys and data gathering for Master Plans. These projects all bloom into new avenues for improving efficiency and for improving services to the public, which is exactly what government should be doing. 

So, we’ll report out in January – when I’m still wearing shorts to work – how Holly grew and what she learned. Until then, we’ll keep her on her toes, and she’ll do the same. 

No newsletter next week, so I want to pass along a big thanks to all Veterans. Your service is a calling above others, and I appreciate the commitments you’ve made.

Enjoy,

Deputy City Manager: Development and Strategic Initiatives