December 26, 2025 • 22 mins
In this podcast, Communications and Outreach Program Manager Derek Ross and Community Relations and Special Projects, Emily Brewster-McCarthy will be discussing their plans for 2026. During this discussion we will learn more about the new faces at CUPF. More importantly, why should you listen to our podcast.
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- Email us at CUPFPodcast@montgomerycountymd.gov
- For the latest updates go to Community Use Bridge
- For more info about CUPF go to our website
Thanks for listening!!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:13):
Welcome to Off the Cuff, a Community Use of Public
Facilities podcast, the showwhere we explore, discuss, and
introduce you, our listeners, tothe wonderful world of community
use.
I'm Emily Brewster McCarthy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:25):
And I am Derek Ross.
Together, we are your host, andwe are here to provide you with
some of the most up-to-date newsand information about Cuff.
Emily, are you ready to getstarted?
Absolutely, I'm ready to getstarted.
Listo by Mambo?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I'm ready to Mambo.
Yes, yes, yes, we are back.
(00:46):
I feel like I always start likestarting off like that because
you know what?
What better way to say that weare back here for another
podcast?
Welcome to Off the CuffCommunity Use of Public
Facilities podcast.
This is what?
Season two?
Oh, the episode three?
Yeah, episode three.
Episode three.
We are already getting through,already getting through it.
We we've titled this New Facesand New Leadership.
(01:07):
What, New Us?
New Us.
And I think that this is this isactually going off of what we
talked about last episode.
Because when you said new, allof this new, I was like, oh, we
definitely need to discuss thisnew, new a little bit more than
usual.
But Emily, we already heard yourvoice.
But hi, Emily.
Hi, how are you?
What's good?
What's good?
How you doing?
I'm doing great.
How about yourself?
I mean, I'm all right.
(01:27):
I'm all right.
I always say I'm all right, butyou know, I'm feeling good.
You know, life is okay, youknow.
But just to let you know, we'renot trying to date or timestamp
this at podcast, but it isFriday for us.
It is.
This Friday.
We like Fridays.
I don't know why we said that orI said that, but uh, Fridays is
great for me.
Great, you know, it's goodtimes, good times.
Um, how are you doing?
We want to do some highs andlows?
SPEAKER_02 (01:47):
Yeah, we can do highs and lows.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
Let's do highs and lows.
I think I started last time.
You gonna start?
You got something?
SPEAKER_02 (01:52):
Uh yeah.
We'll keep it a little light.
Okay, okay.
Right before recording, we weretalking a little bit of uh
gaming and video games.
And so, you know, that's kind ofmy thing, too.
Okay.
Uh, you might not expect it whenyou meet me, but you know,
that's what I like to do in myspare time.
Okay, okay, okay.
So, you know, I'm happy aboutthat.
I'm always happy to talk aboutvideo games.
SPEAKER_01 (02:12):
All right, we can do that.
We can do that.
SPEAKER_02 (02:14):
But um, yeah, my low is honestly, like I said, do I
ever really have a low?
No, I don't think so.
But I think you know what?
My low is, and this is theopposite, because like you said,
it's hooray is Friday, right?
But my low is like, we aftertoday, we gotta wait two more
days to go back to work at Cove.
And I love it here.
So, like, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
Good times.
We are we are good times.
See, see, that makes me feel badbecause when you come in, you go
yo, you I have no low, and thenhere I am.
You know what?
Low is low is low.
I'm going through my lowness,and then here you are.
I'm I don't have no lows.
I'm like, all right well, I Iguess I don't have that many
lows or something like that, orcoming in too sad.
But were you good with yourhighs and lows?
SPEAKER_02 (02:53):
Should I jump in or uh yeah, you could jump in.
SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
Okay, okay.
Well, my high, we're talkingabout video games.
Well, in 1988, I used torepresent Duck Hunt, okay?
If you wanted to challenge me inan old school game of duck,
well, we got to find the rightTV too, just to let you know.
SPEAKER_02 (03:07):
Yeah, I don't know that they make connections.
Uh, well, that's what I'msaying.
SPEAKER_01 (03:10):
Well, that's why I'm still the defending champion in
1988, because there's nobodythat can still play, even though
I'm in a room full of gamers andstuff like that.
I'm pretty sure somebody will belike, hold on, Derek, I'll
challenge you and I willdominate.
So, but any lows, I don't know.
You know, if I want to say a lowand we don't want to make the
community feel like, oh, that'sa low, that I really don't have
any super lows.
I think a low is that, you know,we're supposed to actually kind
(03:32):
of hang out.
You know, we're supposed to getour kids in the same room.
So there's a lot of things thatwe're going to try to do as a
team, as a network, and stufflike that.
But as we continue on in thispodcast, you know, we try to
bring in that whole did you knowaspect of it.
And from a did you knowstandpoint, of course we have to
bring up the podcast.
We as we close out this new thisyear going into the new year, we
(03:55):
want the community to know thatthis podcast is up and running.
We are, we are rocking.
You're going to hear so muchmore from us from the podcast.
This is going to be one of ourmain uses or one way that we
kind of get our communicationout there as well.
Hey, Emily, I know we talkedabout the podcast, but what is
it about the podcast?
What is the community gettingfrom us?
SPEAKER_02 (04:17):
I mean, not only are we giving them a lot of
information, right?
Good information, telling themto go visit our blogger, we're
telling them to um well, we'retelling them all about what
spaces are available for uh use.
Um but really, you know, I thinkit's about us.
I think it's about showingcollaboration and letting the
(04:38):
community know that we're reallyum pro them and we really want
to get them to use their spaces.
And um just a little bit of a ofa background here.
I um I think it was mentionedbefore, maybe the last season,
that I've been with the countyfor for a little while already,
um almost 15 years.
And I was with HHS for amajority of that before I moved
(05:01):
to Cuff, and I ran a um rites ofpassage program for young women,
and I actually used Cuff Spaceswhen I was working at HHS.
So I, yeah, I would rent a roomum through Cuff uh at MCPS
locations, um, and we would runa group there.
So we're really trying toencourage the community to um
(05:22):
think of really creative ways touse these spaces.
Um so whether you want to run arites of passage program for the
youth in your neighborhood,whether you want to host an HOA
meeting, whether you just wantto have a bingo night with
people that are around or umactually, you know what?
Now that I'm thinking about it,during one of our outreach
activities um or events, uhsomebody came up to us and said
(05:44):
that they um they teach bikeriding, right?
And so that for that, you couldrent a parking lot from us.
I don't know that people knewthat.
SPEAKER_01 (05:53):
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
It's always unique, especially,and I think one of the
definitely, like you're saying,the pros and cons.
The one big pro, I don't evenknow if this is a con, but the
pro is that we definitely learnwhen we're doing outreach about
who is looking for what.
What is it that they're tryingto align with?
What is it that they didn't knowabout Cuff, and what is it that
they can learn from us, which iswhy the podcast is important.
(06:14):
Like we we're typing up so much,we're putting you know blogs
out, we're updating the website,we're making you we're making
sure that the community isreading and learning about Cuff,
but we're also taking this timeto give you some of that good
old audio, give you some of thisvoice, some opportunities for
you to understand that there'sso many different unique things
that you could be doing with thecommunity use of public
facilities, off the cuffpodcast.
(06:34):
I just wanted to throw that inthere.
But you brought up school usage,yeah.
And we were talking about games,video games, and facilities and
stuff like that.
We're talking about so manydifferent avenues and so many
different options.
We do want to also remind peopleevery time that the Silver
Spring Civic Building is one ofthe primary locations, I think
our only destination or locationfor private celebrations.
SPEAKER_02 (06:58):
Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (06:59):
So if you think about that, that means that if
you are in that Silver Springarea, if you are in Silver
Spring and you wanted thatlocation to be your primary
location, prime, prime realestate, prime spot.
Well, the Civic Building cananswer a lot of things.
It can do a lot of great thingsfor you, similar with other
facilities as well.
So when we're talking about didyou know when we're talking
about our podcast, we're talkingabout letting you know that this
(07:21):
podcast is for real.
It is.
SPEAKER_02 (07:23):
Can I say that?
SPEAKER_01 (07:24):
Can I say we're for real?
SPEAKER_02 (07:25):
100.
SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
Okay.
Oh, I like that.
100.
We are for real.
We're here, off the cuffcommunity use of public
facilities podcast.
We're we're going to keepthrowing that in there because
we want to make sure that we'rekeeping people updated, we're
keeping people fresh, keepingpeople in the know about who we
are.
Now, you've already discussedit, and you mentioned community
activities and being done atother facilities.
(07:47):
And I did like that one when itwas brought up.
I forgot the department or theperson specifically, but when
they mentioned bike riding andlooking at facilities and
spaces, it does make you feellike that.
But what other spots that youcan you think of?
We talked about it before.
Is there something new that younever mentioned that's a good
place to do an event withcommunity use of public
facilities?
SPEAKER_02 (08:06):
I mean, I feel like one of the spaces that is like a
hidden gem of ours is ClarksburgCottage.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
It's beautiful.
I don't know if you've ever,well, obviously you have and we
have, I have.
But I don't know if thecommunity, you know, has spent
the time to admire how beautifulthat building is.
It's gorgeous.
SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
It is gorgeous.
It is gorgeous.
There are some key buildings,some facilities that we're
bringing up, not just because ofthe usage opportunity of it, but
just because some of it may justwork well with your schedule.
It may work well with whatyou're trying to do, which is
why we always encourage peopleto come check out our website.
Come check out Cuff, CommunityUse of Public Facilities.
You can Google it, you can typeit in, you can figure out from a
(08:46):
standpoint.
And quite honestly, Emily, ifI'm bringing it up, we're going
into the new year.
This is a great opportunity foryou to think about, you know,
what you're going to do for thenew year, public events, public
activities, something that canbe aligned with community use of
public facilities.
I'm just throwing that in therebecause we're talking about the
podcast, anything else likethat.
But as we are remembering andgoing through stuff, I know as
(09:06):
I'm bringing up the podcast, Iwanted to bring up my life
growing up in recreation,growing up using facilities,
being in Boy Scouts, doing allof these activities, and now
witnessing from this angle somany different activities and
facilities being utilized by somany groups and organizations,
nonprofits.
I feel like Cuff is at a goodpoint.
You know, a lot I feel like morepeople learning about us, but
(09:28):
you know, we're we're gonnafigure this out.
We're gonna figure this out.
Is there any other facilities,Emily?
You got anything else you wantto talk about?
SPEAKER_02 (09:34):
I mean, I'm trying to think of activities that um I
like I said, I grew up doing,and like you said, you grew up
doing, uh, but also that I do asan adult, right?
Sometimes we just want to have apickup game with some of our
friends.
Let's do it.
Yeah, let's go right now.
Let's go.
Okay, I mean, listen, you wantto get dunked on?
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Oh, don't do that.
SPEAKER_02 (09:51):
I'm a whole 5'2, okay?
But I will dunk on somebody.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
If you dunked on me, I would be so upset.
SPEAKER_02 (09:57):
Listen, not to say you couldn't do it.
Just wait.
SPEAKER_01 (10:00):
I would be so upset, I will quit.
I would be so upset.
I'm like, 5'2, Emily done dunkedon me.
I gotta go home and I'm done.
I'm done for the day.
But yes, like gymnasiums, thatthat is always a key part of the
conversation.
When we're talking about, andwe're just throwing it in there
just in case you wanted to knowas we get through this.
Auditoriums, too, as well.
Um, church groups useauditoriums, uh, auditoriums for
(10:24):
plays, dances, and stuff likethat.
I am so surprised about so manydifferent usages our buildings
and facilities get.
A lot of them.
SPEAKER_02 (10:32):
You know what?
And I think there's one otherone, Marion Friar uh Plaza.
Oh, yes.
Right, right outside of our uhWheaton headquarters.
SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
Wheat Wheaton.
SPEAKER_02 (10:40):
Listen, if you're a musician and you want to have an
outdoor show, that is yourthat's your spot.
It's a good spot.
That's a good spot.
And it's it's metro accessible.
It's literally right outside themetro.
Right there.
Easy to get to.
And if you need any help, we ourstaff is right there in the
building right next to it.
SPEAKER_01 (10:55):
We're right there.
Right there.
That is always a good place.
You know what?
We we always talk about, and I'mnot to say we do ignore it, but
we talk about indoor andoutdoor, but we do, we I
sometimes forget about outdoor alot, you know?
Yeah.
Because Veterans Plaza, we haveMarion Fryer Plaza, we have
different very various veterans'parks.
Like we have so many differentoutdoor locations that are
(11:16):
available to the community.
So if we don't say that enough,we we sorry.
We we don't bring it up enough.
We should bring it up more, butI promise you we will in 2026
and stuff like that.
But as we go through this,Emily, we can't forget about the
whole conversation.
Did you want to mentionanybody's names?
We we mentioned new faces.
Let's get to it.
(11:37):
Let's be strong.
Let's end this strong.
We have a lot of new faces withCuff.
SPEAKER_02 (11:40):
We do.
SPEAKER_01 (11:41):
We do.
So did you want to introduceanybody or just give people
names?
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
Let's do that.
SPEAKER_02 (11:47):
I would love that.
Okay, so let's not that we'rewe're we're not going in any
order.
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (11:52):
Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (11:53):
Um, but we have four new staff.
SPEAKER_03 (11:56):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (11:57):
Uh upper management that have joined us, right?
SPEAKER_03 (11:59):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (12:00):
We got a new director, we got a new
operations manager at SilverSpring Civic Building, we have a
new operations manager for coreservices uh at Cuff, uh out of
the Wheaton Headquartersbuilding.
And then we also have a divisionmanager um for community
relations and special projects.
Wow, wow.
So I'm gonna go ahead and godown that list.
Um, so actually, I'm gonna gokind of backwards.
(12:22):
So our new um division managerfor community relations and
special projects is Eric Frosch,who you would know uh formally
as the operations manager ofSilver Spring Civic Buildings.
SPEAKER_01 (12:34):
Yep, yep, yep, Eric.
SPEAKER_02 (12:36):
So he has joined our team over at Wheaton, but he did
not leave Silver Springempty-handed.
We actually put a wonderful,wonderful person uh there to um
kind of take on, you know, therole uh that Eric had.
And even though Eric cannot bereplaced, he had so many
wonderful connections.
Wonderful.
Um, but he's working reallyclosely with our new uh
(12:57):
operations manager at SilverSpring, who is Miguel Losada.
SPEAKER_03 (13:00):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (13:00):
Uh we are so, so happy to have him on board, um,
as well as Eric, but Eric's beenaround uh Cuff for a little bit.
So we welcome him to the Wheatonstaff, Eric, and then we welcome
uh Miguel to the Silver Springuh staff along with the uh Cuff
family uh in total.
And then we have EduardoFuentes, who is our operations
manager um for core services inthe Wheaton headquarters
(13:22):
building.
Um he's also awesome.
You guys will all get to um meetthem.
Hopefully, you hear from them.
Yes, and they'll get to know alittle bit more about their uh
they they can share more abouttheir background.
Um and then last but not least,we got a new director.
SPEAKER_01 (13:36):
New director.
SPEAKER_02 (13:38):
I listen, I know we talked briefly last time and a
couple other episodes ago wherewe were so sad to see Ramona go.
So um, you know, she retired andwe're happy that she's, you
know, she got to retire andshe's enjoying and you know,
hopefully traveling the worldand having fun.
And though we do have her for alittle bit longer, right?
SPEAKER_03 (13:57):
We do.
SPEAKER_02 (13:58):
Um, but we have somebody, when I tell you, I
could not be happier.
Um we have a new director.
Her name is Janelle Burwell.
SPEAKER_01 (14:08):
Hello, Janelle.
SPEAKER_02 (14:09):
And already the impression that she is giving,
uh, we're we're heading in suchan awesome direction.
Um, I couldn't say anything.
Derek, do you have anything tosay?
I'm like out of words to say.
It's gonna be an awesome change.
Like, I don't know how how elseto describe this.
SPEAKER_01 (14:24):
Yeah, yeah.
It it's we're not just sayingone, two people, we're saying
four.
Four.
We're saying a lot, it's so muchchange happening.
And I know from a comms ofcommunications, community
relations background, this ismore or less a good change for
us because now we can all kindof reset a little bit.
And reset meaning that, youknow, Ron and Ramona, our
(14:44):
previous operations manager andour previous director, I always
call by first name becausethey're such great people, good,
cool people to know.
Um, they left us in a good spot.
Yeah, they did.
And so now that there's newleadership in this gives us an
opportunity to kind of regroup,like you said, like I think you
said last time, like revamp.
Like we get a chance to get somemore input, get different
opportunities.
We're also working with otherpeople in the department now,
(15:06):
too, to just just I wouldn't sayshare, but just be able to enjoy
this whole community avenue.
Like we well, community is inour name.
So why not make itcommunity-oriented?
So we get a chance to do allthat.
But I'm I'm excited.
I'm excited.
We've had a couple meetingsalready.
We're gonna keep havingmeetings, and I think that
there's more transparency as itcontinues to become grow like
(15:27):
that.
We're here too as well.
And I want to make sure that weshare and keep that opportunity
open.
That there is an open, ofcourse, there's an open seat for
our director.
Of course, of course.
Always.
Always.
We want to throw that out thereas well, too.
And we have operations managers.
We want to make sure everybodygets a chance, and we want to
make sure people understand thatthis podcast, from a cuff
standpoint, you won't just hearour voice, you'll be hearing a
(15:49):
lot of people's voices.
That's what I'm saying.
New faces.
SPEAKER_02 (15:51):
And I think the other thing that's kind of
unique and special about our ourpodcast and what we do over at
Cuff is we really try to let thecommunity know a little bit more
about us as employees, as staff,as also fellow community
members.
Uh, we're not really gatekeepinguh what we do, um, what we're
like.
We really want the community toknow that we are just like them
(16:12):
because we are them.
And everything that we do istaking them into consideration,
taking us into consideration.
Uh, we really want to plan andbuild what's best for the
community in Montgomery County.
Um so looking forward to uh allof this new, like we were
saying, new year, new us, newfaces, refresh, revamp.
(16:33):
Not that anything was bad or,you know, wasn't wonderful
before, but we have such a coolopportunity now to kind of
emerge anew uh in the new year.
And like I said, four newpeople, you know, coming in, uh,
upper management, and everysingle one of them, again, not
(16:53):
that this is listen, I know I'mI I'm not being paid to say this
next part, okay?
Okay, okay.
But the four of them have suchwonderful spirits and energy,
and uh they're bringing so muchum livelihood and um just
overall purpose to what Cuffdoes.
And we are such a collaborativeteam.
(17:15):
Um, so it's not just Derek and Iand whoever else is sitting
around us um doing the podcast.
We really um dip into each oneof our staff members and all of
our collaborations, all of ournetwork all around Montgomery
County.
Um, this is about upliftingeverybody else in the community
and um not just our voices andwhat Cuff does, but really just
(17:36):
wrapping it up and and puttingit all in a package in a gift
almost.
Yes, yes.
Um to say, hey, one-stop shop.
You hear about Cuff.
These are opportunities andthese are spaces that you can
take to like do cool things likebasketball games, you know, um
gaming tournaments or whateveryou want to do.
Um, but also know that uh if youwant any other or if you need
(17:56):
any other resources, that we gotthem.
SPEAKER_01 (17:59):
Mm-hmm.
Yep, yep, yep.
And I I'll I'll definitely endit like that.
It's just say that I knowthere's always a good moment
where we have a chance toexplain large facility usage.
And that means that largegroups, like they're there
meaning, like if you're tryingto do an event, say a track,
track event, you know, agymnastic event where there's
gonna be a good large amount ofpeople.
(18:20):
And we've seen it.
I know I've gone to some schoolson a weekend and just be like,
wow, yeah, there are a lot ofpeople here using communities
but facilities.
So it's always a unique energyto be able to see how this is
working, especially when itcomes to large groups of like
over a thousand people to just agroup of maybe five to ten
people who are just looking fora classroom or something like
that or a meeting space orsomething.
(18:41):
So what I'm saying is that Cuffgot you covered.
unknown (18:44):
We we got you covered.
SPEAKER_02 (18:45):
And check us out online, um, not only to get
information, but Derek worked onsome really cool, along with you
know, our friends over at Tebs,have worked on some really cool
360 um tours of our spaces.
So if you want to check out ourspace, go on our website and
check out our blogger.
They have all of the stuff.
We have, you know, like I said,one stop shop, sure.
But like you can also get on ourwebsite and if you don't have
(19:08):
time to go to the actual field,to the actual school, to the
actual auditorium, that's thatspace, go on our website and
take the 360 tour.
SPEAKER_01 (19:15):
360 tour.
We're trying to get morepictures up.
We're trying to do a lot.
We're trying, I guess we say newfaces, new, new, new.
We're talking about just newlook.
We want people to see what thesefacilities are, what they can do
for you, and stuff like that.
And especially all of theseprofessional people that are
coming around asking formeasurements of rooms and sizes
and stuff like that.
You know, capacity.
We understand, we get it, butthere is also an element about
(19:38):
it that we're trying to add to,especially when you use Active
Montgomery, activemontgomery.orgto reserve spaces.
There is a lot more informationthat we're trying to add to
these tabs, these buttons tokind of give you a little bit
more spotlight, put it likethat, into some of these
facilities and stuff like that.
Well, Emily, I think, you know,I think we I think we did good.
I think we did good thisepisode.
I think we're doing all right,doing all right.
(19:59):
But Joe.
Jokingly, as we close this out,how you feeling?
Any high fives?
Should we shout out anybody orsomething like that?
SPEAKER_02 (20:06):
I'm gonna make a quick joke about last time we
did a high five and my handswere kind of sweaty.
Oh my goodness.
So when we high fived, I feellike I splashed everybody around
us.
And you know, so why don't wefist bump this one?
Let's fist bump.
Okay.
Let's fist bump.
SPEAKER_01 (20:18):
Okay, boom.
There we go.
There we go.
See, that makes it even worse.
So that was you jokingly said at5-2 dunking on me.
So if you dunked on me withsweaty hands, that means that
you just palmed the ball.
Amen.
I don't, that means that that'samazing.
That's amazing.
So I want to throw that outthere.
But yes, yes, yes.
We just fist bump.
We want to give a shout-out, ofcourse, to so many different
organizations, departments thatcontinuously use Cuff.
(20:40):
And if you know organizations,departments that probably, hey,
have you talked to community useof public facilities?
That's us.
Talk to us.
Yeah, we're cool over here.
We cool.
We cool.
We do cool things and stuff.
I don't know what the coolthings are, but we do cool
stuff.
So whatever it is that you'relooking for, hopefully community
use of public facilities isthere to help you.
But once again, new faces, newus.
(21:02):
We're also getting ready as wecontinue on to count down to the
new year.
So we're gonna still do more andmore and more talking about the
new year and getting ready.
But it is 2026 is coming,Lemony.
It's coming.
Let's get ready.
So it's just ready.
But besides that, subscribe toour podcast.
Subscribe to us.
We're gonna keep throwing thatout there.
But closing, do you got anythingelse, Emily?
We good?
We good?
I'm good.
(21:22):
We good?
I'm pumped.
You heard it from Emily first,everybody.
We're good to go.
So once again, thank you verymuch and see you later.
SPEAKER_02 (21:29):
We'll see y'all next time.
SPEAKER_01 (21:30):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:33):
This podcast is brought to you by County Cable
Montgomery, your source for newsand information from the
Montgomery County government.
Connect with us via cable,Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube
by searching for County CableMoco.
Welcome to Off the Cuff, a Community Use of Public
Facilities podcast, the showwhere we explore, discuss, and
introduce you, our listeners, tothe wonderful world of community
use.
I'm Emily Brewster McCarthy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:25):
And I am Derek Ross.
Together, we are your host, andwe are here to provide you with
some of the most up-to-date newsand information about Cuff.
Emily, are you ready to getstarted?
Absolutely, I'm ready to getstarted.
Listo by Mambo?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I'm ready to Mambo.
Yes, yes, yes, we are back.
(00:46):
I feel like I always start likestarting off like that because
you know what?
What better way to say that weare back here for another
podcast?
Welcome to Off the CuffCommunity Use of Public
Facilities podcast.
This is what?
Season two?
Oh, the episode three?
Yeah, episode three.
Episode three.
We are already getting through,already getting through it.
We we've titled this New Facesand New Leadership.
(01:07):
What, New Us?
New Us.
And I think that this is this isactually going off of what we
talked about last episode.
Because when you said new, allof this new, I was like, oh, we
definitely need to discuss thisnew, new a little bit more than
usual.
But Emily, we already heard yourvoice.
But hi, Emily.
Hi, how are you?
What's good?
What's good?
How you doing?
I'm doing great.
How about yourself?
I mean, I'm all right.
(01:27):
I'm all right.
I always say I'm all right, butyou know, I'm feeling good.
You know, life is okay, youknow.
But just to let you know, we'renot trying to date or timestamp
this at podcast, but it isFriday for us.
It is.
This Friday.
We like Fridays.
I don't know why we said that orI said that, but uh, Fridays is
great for me.
Great, you know, it's goodtimes, good times.
Um, how are you doing?
We want to do some highs andlows?
SPEAKER_02 (01:47):
Yeah, we can do highs and lows.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
Let's do highs and lows.
I think I started last time.
You gonna start?
You got something?
SPEAKER_02 (01:52):
Uh yeah.
We'll keep it a little light.
Okay, okay.
Right before recording, we weretalking a little bit of uh
gaming and video games.
And so, you know, that's kind ofmy thing, too.
Okay.
Uh, you might not expect it whenyou meet me, but you know,
that's what I like to do in myspare time.
Okay, okay, okay.
So, you know, I'm happy aboutthat.
I'm always happy to talk aboutvideo games.
SPEAKER_01 (02:12):
All right, we can do that.
We can do that.
SPEAKER_02 (02:14):
But um, yeah, my low is honestly, like I said, do I
ever really have a low?
No, I don't think so.
But I think you know what?
My low is, and this is theopposite, because like you said,
it's hooray is Friday, right?
But my low is like, we aftertoday, we gotta wait two more
days to go back to work at Cove.
And I love it here.
So, like, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
Good times.
We are we are good times.
See, see, that makes me feel badbecause when you come in, you go
yo, you I have no low, and thenhere I am.
You know what?
Low is low is low.
I'm going through my lowness,and then here you are.
I'm I don't have no lows.
I'm like, all right well, I Iguess I don't have that many
lows or something like that, orcoming in too sad.
But were you good with yourhighs and lows?
SPEAKER_02 (02:53):
Should I jump in or uh yeah, you could jump in.
SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
Okay, okay.
Well, my high, we're talkingabout video games.
Well, in 1988, I used torepresent Duck Hunt, okay?
If you wanted to challenge me inan old school game of duck,
well, we got to find the rightTV too, just to let you know.
SPEAKER_02 (03:07):
Yeah, I don't know that they make connections.
Uh, well, that's what I'msaying.
SPEAKER_01 (03:10):
Well, that's why I'm still the defending champion in
1988, because there's nobodythat can still play, even though
I'm in a room full of gamers andstuff like that.
I'm pretty sure somebody will belike, hold on, Derek, I'll
challenge you and I willdominate.
So, but any lows, I don't know.
You know, if I want to say a lowand we don't want to make the
community feel like, oh, that'sa low, that I really don't have
any super lows.
I think a low is that, you know,we're supposed to actually kind
(03:32):
of hang out.
You know, we're supposed to getour kids in the same room.
So there's a lot of things thatwe're going to try to do as a
team, as a network, and stufflike that.
But as we continue on in thispodcast, you know, we try to
bring in that whole did you knowaspect of it.
And from a did you knowstandpoint, of course we have to
bring up the podcast.
We as we close out this new thisyear going into the new year, we
(03:55):
want the community to know thatthis podcast is up and running.
We are, we are rocking.
You're going to hear so muchmore from us from the podcast.
This is going to be one of ourmain uses or one way that we
kind of get our communicationout there as well.
Hey, Emily, I know we talkedabout the podcast, but what is
it about the podcast?
What is the community gettingfrom us?
SPEAKER_02 (04:17):
I mean, not only are we giving them a lot of
information, right?
Good information, telling themto go visit our blogger, we're
telling them to um well, we'retelling them all about what
spaces are available for uh use.
Um but really, you know, I thinkit's about us.
I think it's about showingcollaboration and letting the
(04:38):
community know that we're reallyum pro them and we really want
to get them to use their spaces.
And um just a little bit of a ofa background here.
I um I think it was mentionedbefore, maybe the last season,
that I've been with the countyfor for a little while already,
um almost 15 years.
And I was with HHS for amajority of that before I moved
(05:01):
to Cuff, and I ran a um rites ofpassage program for young women,
and I actually used Cuff Spaceswhen I was working at HHS.
So I, yeah, I would rent a roomum through Cuff uh at MCPS
locations, um, and we would runa group there.
So we're really trying toencourage the community to um
(05:22):
think of really creative ways touse these spaces.
Um so whether you want to run arites of passage program for the
youth in your neighborhood,whether you want to host an HOA
meeting, whether you just wantto have a bingo night with
people that are around or umactually, you know what?
Now that I'm thinking about it,during one of our outreach
activities um or events, uhsomebody came up to us and said
(05:44):
that they um they teach bikeriding, right?
And so that for that, you couldrent a parking lot from us.
I don't know that people knewthat.
SPEAKER_01 (05:53):
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
It's always unique, especially,and I think one of the
definitely, like you're saying,the pros and cons.
The one big pro, I don't evenknow if this is a con, but the
pro is that we definitely learnwhen we're doing outreach about
who is looking for what.
What is it that they're tryingto align with?
What is it that they didn't knowabout Cuff, and what is it that
they can learn from us, which iswhy the podcast is important.
(06:14):
Like we we're typing up so much,we're putting you know blogs
out, we're updating the website,we're making you we're making
sure that the community isreading and learning about Cuff,
but we're also taking this timeto give you some of that good
old audio, give you some of thisvoice, some opportunities for
you to understand that there'sso many different unique things
that you could be doing with thecommunity use of public
facilities, off the cuffpodcast.
(06:34):
I just wanted to throw that inthere.
But you brought up school usage,yeah.
And we were talking about games,video games, and facilities and
stuff like that.
We're talking about so manydifferent avenues and so many
different options.
We do want to also remind peopleevery time that the Silver
Spring Civic Building is one ofthe primary locations, I think
our only destination or locationfor private celebrations.
SPEAKER_02 (06:58):
Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (06:59):
So if you think about that, that means that if
you are in that Silver Springarea, if you are in Silver
Spring and you wanted thatlocation to be your primary
location, prime, prime realestate, prime spot.
Well, the Civic Building cananswer a lot of things.
It can do a lot of great thingsfor you, similar with other
facilities as well.
So when we're talking about didyou know when we're talking
about our podcast, we're talkingabout letting you know that this
(07:21):
podcast is for real.
It is.
SPEAKER_02 (07:23):
Can I say that?
SPEAKER_01 (07:24):
Can I say we're for real?
SPEAKER_02 (07:25):
100.
SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
Okay.
Oh, I like that.
100.
We are for real.
We're here, off the cuffcommunity use of public
facilities podcast.
We're we're going to keepthrowing that in there because
we want to make sure that we'rekeeping people updated, we're
keeping people fresh, keepingpeople in the know about who we
are.
Now, you've already discussedit, and you mentioned community
activities and being done atother facilities.
(07:47):
And I did like that one when itwas brought up.
I forgot the department or theperson specifically, but when
they mentioned bike riding andlooking at facilities and
spaces, it does make you feellike that.
But what other spots that youcan you think of?
We talked about it before.
Is there something new that younever mentioned that's a good
place to do an event withcommunity use of public
facilities?
SPEAKER_02 (08:06):
I mean, I feel like one of the spaces that is like a
hidden gem of ours is ClarksburgCottage.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
It's beautiful.
I don't know if you've ever,well, obviously you have and we
have, I have.
But I don't know if thecommunity, you know, has spent
the time to admire how beautifulthat building is.
It's gorgeous.
SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
It is gorgeous.
It is gorgeous.
There are some key buildings,some facilities that we're
bringing up, not just because ofthe usage opportunity of it, but
just because some of it may justwork well with your schedule.
It may work well with whatyou're trying to do, which is
why we always encourage peopleto come check out our website.
Come check out Cuff, CommunityUse of Public Facilities.
You can Google it, you can typeit in, you can figure out from a
(08:46):
standpoint.
And quite honestly, Emily, ifI'm bringing it up, we're going
into the new year.
This is a great opportunity foryou to think about, you know,
what you're going to do for thenew year, public events, public
activities, something that canbe aligned with community use of
public facilities.
I'm just throwing that in therebecause we're talking about the
podcast, anything else likethat.
But as we are remembering andgoing through stuff, I know as
(09:06):
I'm bringing up the podcast, Iwanted to bring up my life
growing up in recreation,growing up using facilities,
being in Boy Scouts, doing allof these activities, and now
witnessing from this angle somany different activities and
facilities being utilized by somany groups and organizations,
nonprofits.
I feel like Cuff is at a goodpoint.
You know, a lot I feel like morepeople learning about us, but
(09:28):
you know, we're we're gonnafigure this out.
We're gonna figure this out.
Is there any other facilities,Emily?
You got anything else you wantto talk about?
SPEAKER_02 (09:34):
I mean, I'm trying to think of activities that um I
like I said, I grew up doing,and like you said, you grew up
doing, uh, but also that I do asan adult, right?
Sometimes we just want to have apickup game with some of our
friends.
Let's do it.
Yeah, let's go right now.
Let's go.
Okay, I mean, listen, you wantto get dunked on?
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Oh, don't do that.
SPEAKER_02 (09:51):
I'm a whole 5'2, okay?
But I will dunk on somebody.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
If you dunked on me, I would be so upset.
SPEAKER_02 (09:57):
Listen, not to say you couldn't do it.
Just wait.
SPEAKER_01 (10:00):
I would be so upset, I will quit.
I would be so upset.
I'm like, 5'2, Emily done dunkedon me.
I gotta go home and I'm done.
I'm done for the day.
But yes, like gymnasiums, thatthat is always a key part of the
conversation.
When we're talking about, andwe're just throwing it in there
just in case you wanted to knowas we get through this.
Auditoriums, too, as well.
Um, church groups useauditoriums, uh, auditoriums for
(10:24):
plays, dances, and stuff likethat.
I am so surprised about so manydifferent usages our buildings
and facilities get.
A lot of them.
SPEAKER_02 (10:32):
You know what?
And I think there's one otherone, Marion Friar uh Plaza.
Oh, yes.
Right, right outside of our uhWheaton headquarters.
SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
Wheat Wheaton.
SPEAKER_02 (10:40):
Listen, if you're a musician and you want to have an
outdoor show, that is yourthat's your spot.
It's a good spot.
That's a good spot.
And it's it's metro accessible.
It's literally right outside themetro.
Right there.
Easy to get to.
And if you need any help, we ourstaff is right there in the
building right next to it.
SPEAKER_01 (10:55):
We're right there.
Right there.
That is always a good place.
You know what?
We we always talk about, and I'mnot to say we do ignore it, but
we talk about indoor andoutdoor, but we do, we I
sometimes forget about outdoor alot, you know?
Yeah.
Because Veterans Plaza, we haveMarion Fryer Plaza, we have
different very various veterans'parks.
Like we have so many differentoutdoor locations that are
(11:16):
available to the community.
So if we don't say that enough,we we sorry.
We we don't bring it up enough.
We should bring it up more, butI promise you we will in 2026
and stuff like that.
But as we go through this,Emily, we can't forget about the
whole conversation.
Did you want to mentionanybody's names?
We we mentioned new faces.
Let's get to it.
(11:37):
Let's be strong.
Let's end this strong.
We have a lot of new faces withCuff.
SPEAKER_02 (11:40):
We do.
SPEAKER_01 (11:41):
We do.
So did you want to introduceanybody or just give people
names?
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
Let's do that.
SPEAKER_02 (11:47):
I would love that.
Okay, so let's not that we'rewe're we're not going in any
order.
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (11:52):
Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (11:53):
Um, but we have four new staff.
SPEAKER_03 (11:56):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (11:57):
Uh upper management that have joined us, right?
SPEAKER_03 (11:59):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (12:00):
We got a new director, we got a new
operations manager at SilverSpring Civic Building, we have a
new operations manager for coreservices uh at Cuff, uh out of
the Wheaton Headquartersbuilding.
And then we also have a divisionmanager um for community
relations and special projects.
Wow, wow.
So I'm gonna go ahead and godown that list.
Um, so actually, I'm gonna gokind of backwards.
(12:22):
So our new um division managerfor community relations and
special projects is Eric Frosch,who you would know uh formally
as the operations manager ofSilver Spring Civic Buildings.
SPEAKER_01 (12:34):
Yep, yep, yep, Eric.
SPEAKER_02 (12:36):
So he has joined our team over at Wheaton, but he did
not leave Silver Springempty-handed.
We actually put a wonderful,wonderful person uh there to um
kind of take on, you know, therole uh that Eric had.
And even though Eric cannot bereplaced, he had so many
wonderful connections.
Wonderful.
Um, but he's working reallyclosely with our new uh
(12:57):
operations manager at SilverSpring, who is Miguel Losada.
SPEAKER_03 (13:00):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (13:00):
Uh we are so, so happy to have him on board, um,
as well as Eric, but Eric's beenaround uh Cuff for a little bit.
So we welcome him to the Wheatonstaff, Eric, and then we welcome
uh Miguel to the Silver Springuh staff along with the uh Cuff
family uh in total.
And then we have EduardoFuentes, who is our operations
manager um for core services inthe Wheaton headquarters
(13:22):
building.
Um he's also awesome.
You guys will all get to um meetthem.
Hopefully, you hear from them.
Yes, and they'll get to know alittle bit more about their uh
they they can share more abouttheir background.
Um and then last but not least,we got a new director.
SPEAKER_01 (13:36):
New director.
SPEAKER_02 (13:38):
I listen, I know we talked briefly last time and a
couple other episodes ago wherewe were so sad to see Ramona go.
So um, you know, she retired andwe're happy that she's, you
know, she got to retire andshe's enjoying and you know,
hopefully traveling the worldand having fun.
And though we do have her for alittle bit longer, right?
SPEAKER_03 (13:57):
We do.
SPEAKER_02 (13:58):
Um, but we have somebody, when I tell you, I
could not be happier.
Um we have a new director.
Her name is Janelle Burwell.
SPEAKER_01 (14:08):
Hello, Janelle.
SPEAKER_02 (14:09):
And already the impression that she is giving,
uh, we're we're heading in suchan awesome direction.
Um, I couldn't say anything.
Derek, do you have anything tosay?
I'm like out of words to say.
It's gonna be an awesome change.
Like, I don't know how how elseto describe this.
SPEAKER_01 (14:24):
Yeah, yeah.
It it's we're not just sayingone, two people, we're saying
four.
Four.
We're saying a lot, it's so muchchange happening.
And I know from a comms ofcommunications, community
relations background, this ismore or less a good change for
us because now we can all kindof reset a little bit.
And reset meaning that, youknow, Ron and Ramona, our
(14:44):
previous operations manager andour previous director, I always
call by first name becausethey're such great people, good,
cool people to know.
Um, they left us in a good spot.
Yeah, they did.
And so now that there's newleadership in this gives us an
opportunity to kind of regroup,like you said, like I think you
said last time, like revamp.
Like we get a chance to get somemore input, get different
opportunities.
We're also working with otherpeople in the department now,
(15:06):
too, to just just I wouldn't sayshare, but just be able to enjoy
this whole community avenue.
Like we well, community is inour name.
So why not make itcommunity-oriented?
So we get a chance to do allthat.
But I'm I'm excited.
I'm excited.
We've had a couple meetingsalready.
We're gonna keep havingmeetings, and I think that
there's more transparency as itcontinues to become grow like
(15:27):
that.
We're here too as well.
And I want to make sure that weshare and keep that opportunity
open.
That there is an open, ofcourse, there's an open seat for
our director.
Of course, of course.
Always.
Always.
We want to throw that out thereas well, too.
And we have operations managers.
We want to make sure everybodygets a chance, and we want to
make sure people understand thatthis podcast, from a cuff
standpoint, you won't just hearour voice, you'll be hearing a
(15:49):
lot of people's voices.
That's what I'm saying.
New faces.
SPEAKER_02 (15:51):
And I think the other thing that's kind of
unique and special about our ourpodcast and what we do over at
Cuff is we really try to let thecommunity know a little bit more
about us as employees, as staff,as also fellow community
members.
Uh, we're not really gatekeepinguh what we do, um, what we're
like.
We really want the community toknow that we are just like them
(16:12):
because we are them.
And everything that we do istaking them into consideration,
taking us into consideration.
Uh, we really want to plan andbuild what's best for the
community in Montgomery County.
Um so looking forward to uh allof this new, like we were
saying, new year, new us, newfaces, refresh, revamp.
(16:33):
Not that anything was bad or,you know, wasn't wonderful
before, but we have such a coolopportunity now to kind of
emerge anew uh in the new year.
And like I said, four newpeople, you know, coming in, uh,
upper management, and everysingle one of them, again, not
(16:53):
that this is listen, I know I'mI I'm not being paid to say this
next part, okay?
Okay, okay.
But the four of them have suchwonderful spirits and energy,
and uh they're bringing so muchum livelihood and um just
overall purpose to what Cuffdoes.
And we are such a collaborativeteam.
(17:15):
Um, so it's not just Derek and Iand whoever else is sitting
around us um doing the podcast.
We really um dip into each oneof our staff members and all of
our collaborations, all of ournetwork all around Montgomery
County.
Um, this is about upliftingeverybody else in the community
and um not just our voices andwhat Cuff does, but really just
(17:36):
wrapping it up and and puttingit all in a package in a gift
almost.
Yes, yes.
Um to say, hey, one-stop shop.
You hear about Cuff.
These are opportunities andthese are spaces that you can
take to like do cool things likebasketball games, you know, um
gaming tournaments or whateveryou want to do.
Um, but also know that uh if youwant any other or if you need
(17:56):
any other resources, that we gotthem.
SPEAKER_01 (17:59):
Mm-hmm.
Yep, yep, yep.
And I I'll I'll definitely endit like that.
It's just say that I knowthere's always a good moment
where we have a chance toexplain large facility usage.
And that means that largegroups, like they're there
meaning, like if you're tryingto do an event, say a track,
track event, you know, agymnastic event where there's
gonna be a good large amount ofpeople.
(18:20):
And we've seen it.
I know I've gone to some schoolson a weekend and just be like,
wow, yeah, there are a lot ofpeople here using communities
but facilities.
So it's always a unique energyto be able to see how this is
working, especially when itcomes to large groups of like
over a thousand people to just agroup of maybe five to ten
people who are just looking fora classroom or something like
that or a meeting space orsomething.
(18:41):
So what I'm saying is that Cuffgot you covered.
unknown (18:44):
We we got you covered.
SPEAKER_02 (18:45):
And check us out online, um, not only to get
information, but Derek worked onsome really cool, along with you
know, our friends over at Tebs,have worked on some really cool
360 um tours of our spaces.
So if you want to check out ourspace, go on our website and
check out our blogger.
They have all of the stuff.
We have, you know, like I said,one stop shop, sure.
But like you can also get on ourwebsite and if you don't have
(19:08):
time to go to the actual field,to the actual school, to the
actual auditorium, that's thatspace, go on our website and
take the 360 tour.
SPEAKER_01 (19:15):
360 tour.
We're trying to get morepictures up.
We're trying to do a lot.
We're trying, I guess we say newfaces, new, new, new.
We're talking about just newlook.
We want people to see what thesefacilities are, what they can do
for you, and stuff like that.
And especially all of theseprofessional people that are
coming around asking formeasurements of rooms and sizes
and stuff like that.
You know, capacity.
We understand, we get it, butthere is also an element about
(19:38):
it that we're trying to add to,especially when you use Active
Montgomery, activemontgomery.orgto reserve spaces.
There is a lot more informationthat we're trying to add to
these tabs, these buttons tokind of give you a little bit
more spotlight, put it likethat, into some of these
facilities and stuff like that.
Well, Emily, I think, you know,I think we I think we did good.
I think we did good thisepisode.
I think we're doing all right,doing all right.
(19:59):
But Joe.
Jokingly, as we close this out,how you feeling?
Any high fives?
Should we shout out anybody orsomething like that?
SPEAKER_02 (20:06):
I'm gonna make a quick joke about last time we
did a high five and my handswere kind of sweaty.
Oh my goodness.
So when we high fived, I feellike I splashed everybody around
us.
And you know, so why don't wefist bump this one?
Let's fist bump.
Okay.
Let's fist bump.
SPEAKER_01 (20:18):
Okay, boom.
There we go.
There we go.
See, that makes it even worse.
So that was you jokingly said at5-2 dunking on me.
So if you dunked on me withsweaty hands, that means that
you just palmed the ball.
Amen.
I don't, that means that that'samazing.
That's amazing.
So I want to throw that outthere.
But yes, yes, yes.
We just fist bump.
We want to give a shout-out, ofcourse, to so many different
organizations, departments thatcontinuously use Cuff.
(20:40):
And if you know organizations,departments that probably, hey,
have you talked to community useof public facilities?
That's us.
Talk to us.
Yeah, we're cool over here.
We cool.
We cool.
We do cool things and stuff.
I don't know what the coolthings are, but we do cool
stuff.
So whatever it is that you'relooking for, hopefully community
use of public facilities isthere to help you.
But once again, new faces, newus.
(21:02):
We're also getting ready as wecontinue on to count down to the
new year.
So we're gonna still do more andmore and more talking about the
new year and getting ready.
But it is 2026 is coming,Lemony.
It's coming.
Let's get ready.
So it's just ready.
But besides that, subscribe toour podcast.
Subscribe to us.
We're gonna keep throwing thatout there.
But closing, do you got anythingelse, Emily?
We good?
We good?
I'm good.
(21:22):
We good?
I'm pumped.
You heard it from Emily first,everybody.
We're good to go.
So once again, thank you verymuch and see you later.
SPEAKER_02 (21:29):
We'll see y'all next time.
SPEAKER_01 (21:30):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:33):
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