The January SAM of the Month meeting, hosted by Madame Tussauds (1025 F Street), was somewhat surreal. Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees, known as SAMs, were greeted by the wax replica created in their honor for the DowntownDC BID’s 15th Anniversary celebration last November. As imagined, this was no ordinary meeting!
Joanna Hobday, the wax museum’s senior sales and marketing manager, urged the SAMs to embrace their newfound celebrity status. The reason: the wax replica represents the first time in Madame Tussauds’ 200-plus year history that it created a non-celebrity wax figure. Go SAMs!
In fact, visitors can often see the SAM in Wax outside the entrance to the wax attraction and at BID functions around Downtown. In addition to being surrounded by wax figures of past presidents and Hollywood and music stars, it soon will be joined by a wax figure of Whitney Houston. Madame Tussauds plans to roll out four replicas which depict four separate points of the late superstar’s life this month—another first in the wax museum’s 200-plus year history. No other public figures have four distinct wax likenesses. Whitney fans take note: a wax figure of her singing the “Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XX will be installed in the wax museum’s Downtown location.
During the meeting, held in Madame Tussaud’s new, private event space (which will soon be available for corporate events, meetings and birthday parties), two SAMs who exhibited dedication to excellence and hard work were recognized as the November SAMs of the Month. They are Maintenance Team Member James Wells and Safety/Hospitality Team Member Michael Marshall.
James Wells joined the SAM Program two years ago as part of the Class of 2011. The native Washingtonian enjoys working on a team comprised of nine Maintenance SAMs who work the 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift. A former short order cook, Wells knows more than most that D.C. has come a long way. “It’s been a big transformation—many improvements compared to the ‘60s. Now you have everything here, condos, plenty of businesses and restaurants.” Wells spends his spare time with family, watching TV and going to church. Occasionally, the single student (he’s taking a weatherization class) slips a little roller skating and bowling into his schedule.
Michael Marshall will celebrate six years as a SAM this month and is pleased to now have two SAM of the Month designations under his belt. A self-described “people person,” the D.C. native affirms that Downtown “has something new to offer every day.” As a proud member of the newly formed Quality Assurance Team, made up of specially-trained SAMs who report problems in public space, Marshall enjoys being a part of a team that addresses safety issues on Downtown streets. When not working, the former hospital technician, security officer and real estate agent, enjoys Bible studies and watching the History Channel. Marshall has plans to marry this year.
Congratulations, Wells and Marshall (and double congratulations to you, Marshall)!