Hilltoppers,
Welcome to Winter! Wait – it is still only October, but you could fool me. I want to give a big shout out to our amazing property services team for clearing our parking lots, patios and sidewalks. They start on the process of shoveling and putting down ice melt at 5am, so when the majority of us arrive, we have a safer path to our buildings. Thank you for all you do!
I also want to acknowledge a big oops on our recent Pumpkin Patch Party. I have talked with some of you that had a great time, which I am happy to hear, and sounds like it was depending on when you went. My experience was very different. When I arrived, I was completely caught off guard by the hundreds of people parking and going into the patch. I was equally dismayed by the significant lack of facemasks being worn. So much so, that I turned my family around and left. It did not feel safe to me, especially considering the spike in COVID cases in our community.
I recommended this as a safe alternative for a Hilltop event; being outside, socially distanced, spread over several hours, and understanding masks would be required. I greatly underestimated the number of people that go to the Patch and their lack of mask usage. If you are like me and showed up during these really busy times, I am truly sorry that this event did not turn out the way we had planned. We continue to learn, and sometimes growth can be painful.
-Mike
