December 2011
The SAM of the Month meeting recognizes individual SAMs for their stellar performance and informs all SAMs of new developments in the DowntownDC BID area by enhancing their understanding of Downtown institutions. This, in turn, enables them to better assist visitors, workers and residents.
The historic Church of the Epiphany at 1317 G Street was the site of the January 2012 Monthly SAM meeting. During the meeting, SAM Maintenance Team Member Jessie Marlow and Safety/Hospitality Team Member Marquez Clifford were saluted as the December SAMs of the Month.
 Jessie, recognized once or twice before for his strong work ethic, is a veteran member of the SAM team, nearing his 13th year on the job. The native Washingtonian has seen Downtown transition from a wasteland to a model urban gathering place. Or, as he likes to say, “It’s changed 6,000 times since then. If I had gone away and come back, I would be lost.” When he’s not working, the father of eight girls and one boy spends time acting and singing, performing at hospitals, churches and the Arc Theater. If you see him driving around in the SAM truck (or even see him acting on stage), say hello; he’ll holler back.
Marquez is a newcomer, having joined the SAM Program a year ago. The former loss prevention agent for the Gap clothing store had been in retail for 16 years, including at the now-defunct Filene’s Basement and Bar Louie (701 7th Street). Despite that long history, Marquez prefers donning the SAM uniform and distributing directions, advice and her considerable expertise to Downtown workers, residents and visitors. “There’s more freedom, less stress. I don’t have to meet quotas, and I get to meet a lot of different people every day,” she says. In addition, the native Washingtonian acknowledges that while she’s been in DC all of her life, “I had never seen or been into some of the places that the SAMs have an opportunity to visit.” All of the busyness, however, takes it toll. In her spare time, Marquez enjoys sleeping and tending to her cat, Stormy.
Congratulations, Jessie and Marquez!
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SAMs on the Street
Words of praise are nothing new to the SAMs. Every month visitors, workers and residents take time out from their busy day to tell us how they were touched in some way by the help and reassuring presence that our SAMs provide.
| "As we were coming up from the subway into the Federal Triangle center, we were fortunate to meet Vivian Morgan. This was our first visit to DC, so we had many questions. She gave us some information and showed us how to get to where we were going. We had a wonderful conversation with her. She is an asset to DC. Thank you, Vivian."
Bob and Patti Stratton
Ft. Meyers Beach, Florida
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 "I want to send my thanks and gratitude to your company and the employee who helped me while I was in the Downtown Washington, DC, area a couple of weeks ago. I was there for an interview but forgot my telephone. Khasan Taylor was working that day when I tried to figure out how to reach the friends whose house I was staying at so that I could return to their home. This gentleman was hospitable enough to help me reach my family in Chicago to get my friends’ phone number. He also went out of his way to make sure I got on the correct train and bus to get back to their house. He was patient, understanding and very informative, and made it very easy for me to understand what to do. Had it not been for him, I would surely have been more lost than I already was!
Joseph Murillo III
Des Plaines, Illinois
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 "I want to commend highly Mr. Raymond Dantzler and the community service worker [from the Superior Court’s DC Misdemeanor and Traffic Community Court], who was fulfilling his community service with the BID. They were sweeping and raking the tree boxes near the G Street entrance to the Verizon Center on October 19. They were raking out cigarette butts when we had a discussion about the 5-cent fee for bags. If they did not rake out those butts, the butts would go into the street and directly down the sewer drain. You are very fortunate to have such thorough and knowledgeable employees. May they have all the luck in the world in their future endeavors.
Nancy Masterson
Washington, DC
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"Our family was fortunate to visit your great city from May 29-June 7, 2010. We had a great trip thanks to members of your SAM teams, especially one, Catherine Thompson.
 On Wed. June 2, we first met her coming out of the Navy Memorial Metro station and she immediately offered assistance to us. She pointed out the Newseum, the National Archives, and even suggested close and good places to have lunch when we asked her. She was very cordial and friendly the whole time. She gave us maps, directions, everything. We really enjoyed talking with her.
The very next day, June 3, we saw her again coming out of the McPherson Square Metro station and she remembered us! We had a nice chat and she gave us directions to get to the White House for the White House tour. It was so nice to see her again. she asked us how everything went the day before and we told her of our visit to the Newseum, which she recommended since the National Archives would take longer and might not fit into our schedule. She was right. We told her how glad we were that we followed her advice. We even took a picture with her outside of the Metro station that day.
We wanted to write to you to let you know about our great experience in Washington, DC and about the great time we had meeting and talking with Catherine Thompson. We wanted to commend her for the great job that she and all of you are doing for visitors like us and what you are doing for the city of Washington, DC.
Also, is there a way we could send the picture we took with her to her? We would really appreciate it and we really would like to thank Catherine and all of you for all that you have done for us.
Take care, best wishes to all of you and your families, and all of your friends and colleagues. Thank you again for all that you do. Keep up the good work!
Mahalo and Aloha,
Erin, Wendy, Myra, and Eric Kusunoki
Honolulu, Hawaii
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" I am writing to give accolades to the Downtown SAMs (Cheryl Brown, Freda Mintah, Michael Creed, Khasan Taylor, David Hall, Nickcaro Smith and Charlie Stevenson) who were involved with an incident that occurred on Friday, May 28. As you know, the suspect who was apprehended was a mental health consumer. He was transported and, as it turns out, he had some very serious mental health issues. This suspect could seriously have hurt someone. However, due to the quick radio communication and reporting that was performed by the SAMs, a more serious situation was prevented. I want to commend your staff for being good reporters and witnesses. That is a key part of any investigation. Your SAMs were exemplary in letting me and my fellow officers investigate the scene. At the same time, they were ready with good witness information and ready to lend a hand in any other way that was needed. As the Downtown business beat officer in PSA 101, it is my observation that all the SAMs do a fine job day in and day out across the spectrum of their regular duties. However, this past Friday, I was very pleased to see that with a “partnership of problem solving,” a quick resolution was brought to what could have turned out to be a far worse situation."
Officer M. McConnell
Metropolitan Police Department
First District
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 "I just wanted to let you know that your employee, Catherine V Thompson, was very helpful. We were visiting from Ohio and were looking for a particular restaurant. When we asked her where it was, she asked where we were headed after we ate because there were two in the area and she wanted to send us in the right direction. We easily found what we were looking for and definitely left the area with the perception that DC is a visitor friendly city.
Thank you for the SAM kiosks around the city...this one certainly saved us some walking around in very high temperatures."
Olivia Mitchell
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I recently was looking for a post Office. I asked Ron Lloyd for directions. Ron immediately pointed me to the nearest station. Then, when I said I was going the other direction, he directed me to the Post Office inside the lobby of the Department of Labor. I never would have found it without him. Thank you for having him on the street!
Christian Klossner
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