Reflecting on the Chairman Record Legacy
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Chairman Randy Record presided over his final Metropolitan Board meeting in his leadership role on December 11, 2018. He was joined by his wife, two daughters, grandson and many other family members.
It was a time for directors, elected officials and staff to acknowledge his accomplishments.
The External Affairs office created a tribute video to the Chairman, summarizing his many accomplishments. Much of the video was told in the Chairman’s own words as he reflected on his goals and accomplishments:
Chairman Record received a commendation from Senator Dianne Feinstein and was presented with a floor statement that was read at the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. by Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Corona).
At the board meeting, speakers from Western Municipal Water District, Eastern Municipal Water District (Chairman Record’s district), West Basin Municipal Water District, and fellow board members, praised Record for his commitment to serve, building partnerships and forging solutions.
Chairman Record presented his fellow directors with a special gift, a plaque with a piece of the original 1933 transmission system power cable created by Metropolitan staff, “a small token of how much I have enjoyed working with you all,” Record told his colleagues.
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Fast Work to Repair the Santa Monica Feeder
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Think your holidays were busy? Try adding
repairing a leak to a major water delivery pipeline
to your to-do list.
That was the challenge for a team from Metropolitan’s WSO and ES Groups when a leak was discovered on the Santa Monica Feeder the week before Christmas.
Crews worked around the clock to repair the leak, initially discovered December 14 in the city of Beverly Hills, and to find a temporary alternative water supply for the city, which relies primarily on deliveries from the Santa Monica Feeder.
Due to several underground utility lines in the area, it took a couple of days just to confirm that it was Metropolitan’s pipeline leaking; then came the work to pinpoint the leak’s exact location, shut down the pipeline and complete the repair.
During the shutdown, Metropolitan and Beverly Hills urged residents and businesses to conserve water, holding a joint
press conference
that attracted widespread media coverage and featured remarks from WSO Group Manager
Jim Green
and city officials.
The pipeline was back in service on December 22, just in time for Christmas but not before WSO and ES staff had to put some of their holiday celebrations on hold.
The Santa Monica Feeder was completed in 1941 and stretches 24 miles from Eagle Rock to Santa Monica. At the site of the leak, the pipeline is made of cast iron, spans 32 inches in diameter and is about 13 feet underground.
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Bringing Experience and Expertise to Board Office
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Geraldine Walters
has had a front row seat to Metropolitan's history while working with the Board of Directors for the past 26 years. She began her career at the Sunset building when the Board had 51 members who were mostly male and averaged 65 years old. During her tenure, she has worked with nine Board Chairs, an increasingly diverse group of board members and countless departmental staff. Her responsibilities include assisting the Directors and the Chair, as well as executive management and staff.
Geraldine
is the lead board letter coordinator, responsible for training other staff in the board letter process. She remembers when the board letter process was a much more manual and cumbersome job. Even after board letters were finalized, there were countless more hours of work to copy, collate and mail hundreds of paper copies. Today, board packets are digital and reside on Metropolitan’s website for the board and public to view and download in minutes.
Geraldine’s
fondest memories include working for previous Board Secretary Karen Dorff. Karen ruled the board letter process with an iron fist while demanding perfection.
Geraldine
says she can’t really see herself anywhere other than where she is working now, and values serving the Board of Directors.
Outside of work,
Geraldine
has been involved with Girl Scouts for 25 years while her two daughters Katie and Kristin grew up. She also enjoys camping adventures with Joe, her husband of 34 years, and their dog Max.
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