08/21/2020
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Good Afternoon MTAS,
I hope you have had an amazing work week. Mine has been busy, and thus the delay in getting this Mustard to you.
Last week was somewhat routine, with the exception of a field visit for me to the city of Dunlap to meet with President Boyd, Warren, Mayor Dwain Land, and the owner of Bronco Power Boost, Billy Whittaker. Here is a photo from the visit. Bronco Power Boost sells an electric generator that will serve as residential power back up for about 20 hours. City hall had one installed that will power the main computer and drive-up window at city hall (you can see the generator in the photo). President Boyd was impressed with all of the innovations that such a small community has been able to accomplish around renewable energy and economic development. The mayor showed me the city’s industrial park where a majority of the new buildings there had solar panels installed on the roofs. The main city park and city hall also had solar panels with plans for additional improvements and upgrades that will save the city thousands of dollars. The return on investment was relatively short given that electricity is such a large part of a city’s budget. Warren is definitely the champion for renewal energy and is helping his cities realize phenomenal results.
Also last week I heard an interview with singer Christylez Bacon. In the interview, he was talking about his new single entitled “Quarantined.” The interviewer asked him about the pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement. I want to share with you his description of systemic racism that he has encountered. “This situation, like, from law enforcement, unfortunately is nothing new. It’s nothing new to me, but I understand how it’s new to other people. Before this George Floyd situation, talking to people who aren’t black or people of color that had [never had] this type of experience with law enforcement was like tellin’ ‘em about the existence of a yeti or a sasquatch. They were like oh we’ve heard of the yeti but we’ve never seen the yeti – you know what I’m sayin’? But it’s like yo, we tryin’ to tell you it exists. It exists, but then it’s just like, people like, almost gasp like in a way and like nah, nah that don’t exist…” Obviously this interview struck me, so much so that I went to the recording and tried to transcribe this part. I hope it speaks to you too, and I welcome a conversation with you about it.
Oddly enough, there were no birthdays or work anniversaries for the week ended August 14. However, I still have a celebration! Sheila Figgins will be joining us as a training coordinator in Nashville on Monday, August 24. Sheila is filling the position vacated by Sarah when she became a training consultant. Since in-person new employee orientations at UT have been suspended, her first day in the office will actually be IN the office. Please extend a warm MTAS welcome to Sheila. You’ll know her when you see her because I’ve included her photo.
I started this Mustard on Monday, and now it is Friday. I guess I’d better wrap it up and get ready for a new week on Monday. I hope you are taking care of yourself and staying healthy as we grind through the COVID-19 pandemic. The weekends aren’t what they used to be, but I hope you can get outside and enjoy a little fresh air.
Happy Friday!
Margaret
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