Community Use of Public Facilities Newsletter

November 14, 2018 |  Community Use of Public Facilities Newsletter


CUPF title logo

After-Hours Help Line: 240-490-CUPF (2873)



Announcements & Updates

Opening Day for Use of Artificial Turf Fields & Other Facilities

General reservation requests for use of artificial turf fields at schools and regional parks is now open for dates of use from December 1st through March 14th. General reservation requests for use of County’s buildings and Libraries will open on November 15th for use from January through June. If you have questions, please email our office at cupf@montgomerycountymd.gov or call our Customer Service Desk at 240-777-2725.


Reservation Requests During the Upcoming Holidays

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving Break Reservation requests for dates of use from November 19th, through November 25th, are no longer being accepted

Winter Break

Reservation requests for dates of use from December 21st, through January 2nd, must be received no later than December 7th.


Happy Thanksgiving! CUPF’s Offices and MCPS Facilities Will be Closed

In observance of Thanksgiving Day, our office will be closed on Thursday November 22nd and Friday November 23rd. Except the Silver Spring Civic Building, no activities are scheduled at MCPS and County government buildings on Thursday November 22nd. Community activities will resume Friday November 23rd, and weekend/holidays rates will apply for use of MCPS’ facilities on that day.


In Honor of Our Veterans, CUPF Hosted In-Training Service Dog and Future Companion of Wounded Warriors

CUPF Staff

Most everyone here at CUPF knows that our colleague, Nancy Ashley is an aficionado of small domesticated animals. Her two favorite subjects in an impromptu conversation are about caring for pets and baking for her colleagues.

Nancy has a long history of volunteering with organizations associated with companion and therapeutic animal services. Since 2012, she’s volunteered with Warrior Canine

Connection (WCC), an organization that “enlists recovering warriors in a therapeutic mission of learning to train service dogs for their fellow veterans.” At the WCC, Labrador and Golden Retriever puppies are raised and trained by volunteers for up to two years before going through their Advanced Placement training with professional trainers.

This past Summer, WCC needed a volunteer to care for a service dog named POYNER while his Puppy Raiser was on travel. Nancy was among those volunteers contacted by email for that task, which included bringing the dog to work with her daily for a week. The American Disability Act provides for service dogs to go anywhere, but Nancy isn’t the person with a physical disability. She talked to her supervisor, Liz Habermann, who was more than happy to lend her support -above and beyond mandatory ADA protections.

As the proud mom of a former Marine Captain, who has done two service tours in Afghanistan, Liz was instantly up for the idea of bringing POYNER to the workplace, as was the then newly hired CUPF director, Ms. Ramona Bell-Pearson.

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The symbolism of hosting the dog in our office demonstrates CUPF’s appreciation for military personnel including service dogs. POYNER was being trained as a service dog; therefore, co-workers were advised that Nancy would have to give permission before anyone could approach, much less pet him. His attention was to be solely on Nancy. Eventually, POYNER spent most the days under Nancy’s desk, happily chewing on dog toys or napping. During the week, Nancy reinforced the dog’s “Touch” command training, to use his nose or paw to open the automatic doors. Each time POYNER would successfully execute the Touch command, Nancy and coworkers would cheer him on.

Having POYNER for that week made us think not only of the sacrifices our soldiers made but also about the needs and challenges they face when returning home. Service dogs like POYNER are well trained and can bring solace and companionship to a warrior suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or some type of physical impairment. As stated on WCC’s website at https://warriorcanineconnection.org, “Warrior Canine Connection utilizes a Mission Based Trauma Recovery model to help recovering Warriors reconnect with life, their families, their communities, and each other.”

CUPF is proud to have contributed in the training formation of a service dog like POYNER that will serve those who’ve served our nation.


The Director’s Corner

RBP

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

While our Director is on a family trip to the land of the Aussies (Australia) and the Kiwis of New Zealand, we borrow the Director’s Corner to thank -as Ramona would have done- the Staff at our three locations (Germantown, Silver Spring Civic Building, and Rockville) for the gigantic work they do daily, matching users with facilities of their choice for community events throughout the year. As many of you know, managing public spaces is very fluid and requires great amount of dexterity, patience, and tact. Our thanks also go to you the users for your understanding of our efforts to meet yours and other fellow residents’ needs.