| The Other Side of MSA |
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Mike Brooks, Public Works Maintenance Manager, City of Murrieta,CA
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This column is now a regular feature of The Maintainer. If you have
someone in your chapter who does amazing, unique, unusual things or
who used to be a celebrity, please send the information to Mike Brooks,
Inland Empire/Desert Chapter, mbrooks@murrieta.org Don’t feel intimidated,
you won’t have to do any work. Just give him the basic story and
contact information and he’ll take it from there.
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A Little Help from my Friends ... |
Yes, we stole the headline from the old Beatles song!
But how better to describe the way we all get through the
daily events we call life? Most, if not all, MSA members rely
on many resources to juggle the responsibilities of their
job, family & friends, obligations, hobbies and volunteers
activities. |
It was once said that “no man is an
island” and when it comes to accomplishing
things in a group, such as the MSA,
nothing could be closer to the truth. With
all that said, the focus of this article is
to shine a small spotlight upon a person
who is a true friend of the MSA. For
many years she has toiled away, avoiding
recognition as much as possible, while
keeping the Inland Empire/Desert Chapter
on the straight & narrow. Who is this person,
you ask? None other than the City of
Temecula’s own Maria Hilton.
Maria is currently the only member
of the Chapter from the city, as all the
people who got her involved with the MSA
have moved on to retirement. She enjoys
the title of Chapter Administrative Assistant.
Her membership began in 2003.
When the Chapter started having diffi culty
getting people to take on the numerous tasks of Chapter
Secretary, she voluntarily took it upon herself to handle
all the paperwork and record keeping for the Chapter. Her
attention to detail has given the chapter board a confi dence
that all the administrative duties involved in the functioning
of the Chapter are in good hands. |
Maria began working for the Temecula Public Works
Dept following many years working for three different Police
and Sheriff’s departments. She worked in the mental health
area, which gave her an appreciation for the challenges
of dealing with diffi cult people. She has now been with the
City for almost 19 years! |
In her younger days (she won’t divulge her age) she
was a bit of a vagabond, living in 10 different cities in California,
including the Bay area and So Cal. She now enjoys
the good life as a resident of Temecula. |
Her MSA involvement started when her former boss,
Brad Buron, a longtime MSA member and former Chapter
President, had her help him with MSA business. Brad has
long since retired, yet Maria enjoyed the MSA so much she
agreed to continue helping the Chapter. She puts in many
of her “off-duty” hours keeping track of our membership,
processing paperwork, sending out correspondence to our
members and most importantly, keeping the Chapter in the
good graces of Bev! |
Maria is the type of person you can count on when
you need to make sure something gets
done on time and correctly. When she is
not busy doing her Administrative duties
for the City, she enjoys old black & white
movies and she is an accomplished dancer.
In her youth she regularly performed in
a dance troupe and once danced Flamenco
for an audience that included Bob
Hope. |
Not satisfi ed with just doing her
regular duties, Maria is always happy to
take on “special assignments”. In 2009
she wrote her fi rst grant application for
the City. The grant was approved and her
agency was awarded $75,000.00, which
is being used to plant over 700 trees in
the right-of-way over the next two years.
The program is very popular with residents
and will help make Temecula a little
“greener”. |
Maria is a vital part of the team and although she can
only come to a couple of MSA functions per year, she
always has a smile on her face, a positive attitude and a
willingness to serve. When asked about Maria, the most
common statement made about her is “You’re so funny!” |
I guess that’s why she fits in so well and allows the
MSA to “get by with a little help from our friend”…….. |
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Ed Note: This is “Bev” speaking. As a long time agency employee
myself and former City Clerk, I can tell you that the past
18 years of working with Maria and other MSA “Administrative
Professionals” out there (Jan Wange, Susie Evans, and Diana
Gonzales to mention a few) have made my life so much more
pleasurable. Having been in a position of hiring these professionals
at my previous positions I know fi rst hand just what it takes
to “rise” above and beyond the call of duty. As a former General
Manager once told me in 1979, “When you have risen to this level
it is a given that you can type, answer the telephone, handle the
radio and take shorthand (remember that one?) but here is where
you prove your Executive abilities.” Many MSA Administrative
Professionals have defi nitely risen to that level. I salute you!!!!
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