Winter Arrives at Union Station, photo by Larry LaCom
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MET THIS WEEK
A weekly newsletter by and for Metropolitan employees
December 3, 2018
Met Employee Wins ACWA Scholarship
Carlos Carrillo , an Assistant Resource Specialist II in Water Resources Management, won the Stephen K. Hall Water Law and Policy Scholarship at the fall conference of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) last week.

In winning the $7,000 scholarship, Carlos faced tough competition from other graduate students who applied for the prestigious award. He'll use the scholarship to finish his Masters in Public Administration at USC.

Carlos is taking three classes this semester and working full-time. “People told me it was going to be a lot of work and I wouldn't get any sleep. And they were right,” he joked to the packed house at the conference. “But I know it will all be worth it.”

Carlos grew up in Los Angeles and has a degree in environmental science from Santa Clara University. For a Water Policy and Law class, he had to write a letter to the head of a water agency. He researched Metropolitan and drafted a letter to GM Kightlinger . He never actually sent the letter, but learning about the organization motivated him to want to work for Met after he graduated.

One of Carlos ’ mentors is Bob Harding , from whom he has learned so much about water policy and our organization. Now,  Carlos works full-time on long-term supply and demand forecasts for the Integrated Water Resources Plan.

Carlos has volunteered for LA Waterkeeper, Council for Watershed Health and Tree People, organizations that share his commitment to sustainable water management. In his spare time, he plays guitar, is becoming a master at grilling and travels with his girlfriend. 
Saving Water in Unique and Smart Ways
Did you ever think a question about Southern California water would end up on a popular game show?

Well it has. Metropolitan recently partnered with the popular Chinese TV trivia game show, “Who’s Smart?!” to host six episodes highlighting the importance of conservation and water-use efficiency.

“Who’s Smart?!” is a weekly show on ETTV, a media company dedicated to serving the Chinese community in the United States.

Show contestants are asked a set of challenging questions on four different stages. The premise of the show is to advance to the next stage by answering the questions correctly. Winners are rewarded with prizes at the end.

Metropolitan’s segments on the show integrate water-related trivia and conservation messaging throughout the episodes to encourage viewers to make saving water a 365 everyday thing.

Participating in this game show is one way Metropolitan is reaching diverse audiences. Another was targeted advertising for Black Friday. Met took to the airwaves to encourage Southern Californians to maximize deals on qualifying high-efficiency clothes washers with the district’s rebate program.

Holiday-themed social media posts supplemented the radio ads with a series featuring clothes washers, rain barrels and a holiday to-do list.

Click here to see a clip from an episode of Who's Smart?! Click here to see one of the holiday-themed social media posts.
He's Flying the Friendly Metropolitan Skies
Joe Mizia joined Metropolitan in January 2017 as an aircraft pilot, having flown commercially for 15 years.

Metropolitan owns and operates two airplanes which are primarily used to patrol the vast conveyance infrastructure and support water system operations by transporting cargo, personnel and water samples to and from remote facilities on a regular basis, and to support emergency repairs and response needs.

According to Joe , “The most challenging aspect of my job is maintaining the flight schedule in such a fluid environment. My job is to make sure everyone gets to their meetings or assignments on time. It’s not unusual to have a planeload of people with very different needs.”

Joe’s job is an exciting one. “I love contributing to so many different groups at Metropolitan. "One day, I may be helping linemen by patrolling power lines looking for a problem," he says, "and the next day I could be flying a camera crew from PBS trying to capture for them some of our amazing history.”

As a commercial pilot, Joe has flown some extraordinary people in his career. “I flew a guy named Elon Musk long before he ever launched a car company and another time I flew a humble senator from Arizona named John McCain.”

He explains there is a big contrast between flying for Metropolitan and flying commercially. Commercial flight schedules consist of long days and even longer weeks.
“These days, I can make up much of that lost time with my three children and a wife who managed to hold everything together.”  
New hires, transfers, promotions & retirements are posted here each month.   
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