Dan Hoffman: 0:08

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Rouse Review. I am your city manager, Dan Hoffman. With me is PIO. Sarah Fry, the Public Information Officer. Hi, everybody. I, it's bloom time. We've got a, a good one. Today we're gonna talk to Brad Veach from the Apple Blossom Festival. The, the man behind the machine that is Apple Blossom. Uh, so we're gonna talk Apple Blossom, and then we've got, uh, Ethan Longnecker, our Director of Emergency Management, very Apple Blossom related, but also mm-hmm. Uh, he is relatively new to the, uh, into the director seat and we'll get to talk emergency management with him now. Uh. We also have a pretty big meeting tomorrow night at the city council. Uh, I encourage folks to show up. As always. Uh, we are gonna have first reading of the budget, but we also have a few other items on there that have been generating some discussion. Uh, so I'll start off with first off, the budget one. Uh, the budget we are, I mean, it's, we're this meeting and one more, and we're finally there. It feels like this budget's been going on for a while, uh, because it was a year in which we did reassessments, you know, that prompts questions about the, the rate, you know, the, every other year, you know, unless council increases the rate. We are at revenue neutral because, uh, typically council doesn't move the rate up in off assessment years unless they've, unless they need to correct from an overcorrection the previous year. But, uh. This year, you know, years like this, I should say. Uh, they typically generate more discussion because the rate is a, is a hot topic issue. Uh, council has already approved the rate, which is a nice thing to have done with, uh, 79 and a half cents. So the rate was reduced from 83 cents to 79 and a half cents, uh, which is more than the revenue neutral rate. Um, and that results in that increase all told between our other revenue streams, you know, state, federal, you know, ver very meals tax, all the other different revenue streams that the city has, you know, results in less than a 3% increase. Uh, on the general fund, which is just below inflation. Inflation in the last 12 months was right around 3%. So very reasonable. It also keeps us. As the second lowest property tax rate in the state for independent cities of roughly our size. You know, obviously we don't compare ourselves to Richmond. Um, but you know, when you look at independent cities, you know, we're, we're all landlocked. We typically have, um, storm water issues and, and storm water permits that we have to address. Uh, we have meals, tax rates that are, you know, roughly similar. We're right around the state median for meals tax. Um, but the only independent city that we compare ourselves to that has the same compliment of services that we have that's lower than us is Fredericksburg. Uh, last time we checked, you know, we, I think they're at 76, but I think they might have, but they're in a different. Time. I think this is not a reassessment year for them.

Sarah Frey: 3:30

And what's their meal tax?

Dan Hoffman: 3:31

Oh, their meal tax is higher. They're also on 95,

Sarah Frey: 3:34

right?

Dan Hoffman: 3:34

They're on I 95. So their meals tax is basically, uh, an ATM for them. And, uh, that's nice for them. Um, we, we get a little bit of that effect because of 81. Um, and we do have the, the two exits right on any one. So the meals tax that we generate, which, you know, 80% of our meals tax revenue comes from people who do not live in the city. You know, they're travelers, tourists, and visitors. So, um, I. That is important to remember. Uh, when we talk about the meals tax, obviously 100% of the property tax rate comes from the city because it's just city property that's being taxed. Uh, we're also roughly, I think, well, not roughly, I think we're pretty sure it's right at about 22%. 22, 20 3% of our city's land is not taxed. Um, you know, it's, that's the university, that's churches, that's, uh, valley Health. Valley Health, um, CSX.

Sarah Frey: 4:33

Oh, they're a big one.

Dan Hoffman: 4:33

They're a big one. Frederick County, uh, Frederick County. Yes. We have several large pieces of property that are county properties that don't pay taxes. So, uh, it's a, you know, it's always a very complicated discussion. Um, it's, it's hard to simplify down into just a rate a. But I'm very proud of where our rate is. You know, it's, we, we are not abnormally high. In fact, we're, we're quite low, um, for an independent city. Uh, so that was said at 79 and a half since last time. And now council's, um, job is to finish the budget. We have first reading, uh, they have a, uh, kind of the final bit of revenue that they need to allocate. So we'll talk about, you know, prioritization for that final bit of revenue. Um, and it's also important to remind folks that the budget is a living document. You know, when we come back multiple times during the year with supplementals, supplemental being, um, hey, we've get, we're getting a little more revenue than we anticipated. That's a good thing. Um, you know, hopefully it's not, uh, hey, we're getting less revenue than anticipated and we need to make cuts. Uh, our finance department is fantastic. We, we estimate our revenue conservatively. So for those that might say, well, there's always more money, that's because we're conservative. That's because we don't overestimate, we don't want to be in a situation where we're having to cut the budget later because we've been too optimistic. Um, but every, you know, all the indicators are, uh, point to the city's, uh, economy is very strong. Our AAA bond rating. It's continually reaffirmed. Uh, we pay all our bills. We are, you know, like we said, people are not overtaxed, uh, relative to other cities and businesses. You know, I'm not saying that every business is thriving. Of course, you know, there will always be incidents where for whatever circumstance a business might not be doing well, and I don't mean to take away from the experience of those businesses, but, you know, meals tax continues to increase. Uh, our property here keeps getting more valuable. You know, that is part of, that's because we're landlocked. Uh, the other part of it is that, you know, we, again, contrary to popular belief, we're not adding an insane number of new housing units every year. Right? We might have some, a lot that are approved, but what really matters is what gets built. Um, so supply is the other big issue. That's just capitalism for you and. You know, that's, uh, that's also an indicator. It might not feel great when your rent goes up, but it's an indicator that housing in the city is, um, is increasing in its value and there's not a lot of supply. So that's, uh, important to keep in mind when we talk about the local economy of the city. It does not, you know, wages have also increased. Again, I know some folks, um, you know, individual experience might not be positive, but you know, when you look at the. Basically all the data out there, you know, wages have also increased fairly significantly over the last several years. Um, a lot of employers have kept up with inflation in terms of their pay. That's true of the city. We just, uh, keep up with inflation. The, the cola that I, the cost of living increase for city employees, for example, is, uh, unfortunately only 3% this year, but that does keep up with inflation. So I don't call it a raise, you know, we're basically just making sure that the dollar we pay a city employee, uh, is still worth a dollar next year. Um, other jurisdictions are a little bit more, I would've, I would've liked to have gotten 4%. That wasn't in the cards this year. Um, so tomorrow night we'll talk about some of the final priority items. It's a very public safety focused budget for new firefighters, two new police officers. That's the greatest end. I think we're getting some extra social service workers in there as well. Thanks to some state and federal funds. That is, um, you know that, I think this is the mo this is the most public safety positions we've added in my time here. I believe we've added police officers before. We've added firefighters, we've added social workers. But, um, this is a very public safety focused budget. Uh, so that's the budget. Uh, the other thing that's gonna get chatted about a bit, there is a humanitarian, it's per calling humanitarian shelter ordinance. That's on second reading. Um, for those of you who are curious what that is, uh, it, you know, first off, I'll, I'll point out probably the, the concern that some folks may have. This does not stop your favorite nonprofit from operating. You know, if it, if it does talk about, you know, let's say it's the, the rescue mission or, or Watts or, or something along those lines. They can, they still can do their job. CCAP can still do their job. Um, what it does mean though is that you, through this, you the public, through the city council have a voice in where some of these facilities go. Um, currently that's not the case, unfortunately. Uh, so it's just good policy and it is also facilitating actually the growth of some of these services. You'll hear more about that from the city in the coming weeks and months. As we look to, uh, invest in the kind of social safety net here in Winchester to address homelessness and other mental health issues, substance, substance abuse issues in the city, you'll hear more about that investment in the coming weeks and months. And this ordinance helps facilitate that. So. Um, it's really not a hindrance. It's really a benefit. Um, and, you know, I look forward to that Getting approved tomorrow night. And then everyone's favorite topic, wards Plaza. Uh, for 20 years, folks have been saying, uh, we have to do something about wards. 30 years, 30 years maybe. Uh, well before my time. In fact, when I got here, it was Wards Plaza was the top of the list of places that I heard, uh, needed to be addressed. Um, it was Wards Plaza, federal Mogul, triangle Diner. And I, I

Sarah Frey: 11:13

feel like Triangle Diner was higher.

Dan Hoffman: 11:15

Well, it might be. It might actually be. Um, I, you know, I can't guarantee that anything will ever happen with the Triangle Diner, uh, and Federal Mogul is a big nut to crack. Um, but we have, I. I feel cracked the code on Ward's Plaza. Uh, we have a grocery store. We have a, a Publix grocery store. The first one in the region. I know there's some, I don't think we're the first one in Virginia. Uh, there's a couple others got announced right around the same time. But, uh, we are gonna get a new grocery store.

Sarah Frey: 11:47

Pub subs for all

Dan Hoffman: 11:48

pub, subs for all. And that's super exciting. More housing, which I know some people might not like the idea of more people, but if you wanna keep your property tax rate reasonable, you have, you rent low, you ha we have to infill where we can. And Ward Plaza is a place where we're putting the infrastructure to accommodate it. And, um. It will be a, and and it was a lot of community participation in the development of that plan. Uh, and we're very excited about it. So tomorrow, the reason why I'm talking about it's tomorrow night, uh, we're going to, the city council will be reviewing the bond issuances to cover the infrastructure. That infrastructure is covered through what is called tax increment financing. Uh, what that does is capture the new revenue coming specifically from those developments. So it's, we're not taking additional tax revenue from a resident, uh, wards Plaza. And I'm, I'm gonna use a number off the top of my head. I think it's projected to provide about$84 million in new tax revenue. It's a big development, right? Yeah. Because it's, and it's not just property tax, you know, it's, uh, the meals tax, the gr, you know, sales tax. Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, grocery stores generate. Revenue. Right? So it is, um, it is a very financially positive development for the city. Um, but we can't ignore our infrastructure. You know, people, uh, people always complain about traffic. Of course, you know, that is one of the certainties in life. No matter how good or bad traffic is, someone will complain about traffic. Um, so we're putting in the improvements around Valley and Weems. That's what a lot of this is. And the TIFF pays for that infrastructure. Um, it's done over a 20 year period. Typically, uh, it is a very common tool that is used. Uh, can that now one com? One question I get is, can tiffs go wrong? Well, there's, of course, anything can go wrong, right? Um, there is, there are examples where, places where tiffs have been misused. By communities. Um, we've taken a lot of those lessons. A lot of them are dated, um, because, you know, they were used in situations where they shouldn't have been used. They were, they were used to pay for things that they shouldn't have paid for. You know, our commitment is that our TIF revenue is being used for public infrastructure. You know, it's improvements to the roads. If it's gonna, if, if there's gonna be a significant impact on school enrollment, it can pay for schools. So there are, um, we're using the revenue from the development to pay for that infrastructure. A lot of the misinformation that's been out there recently, um, you know, a lot of it motivated by people's own self interests. I would encourage people, if you can't show up tomorrow night, um. Watch the meeting online. Mm-hmm. Hear what, uh, the EDA and the city have to have to say about it. Uh, the EDA is a critical part of all of this. So, uh, shout out to Jeff Bitner and his crew over at the Economic Development Authority because real estate development in a city like this is economic development. A place like Wards Plaza, it's not just residents, it's a significant business component as well. Uh, and incentivizing growth, where we want it, uh, is economic development. So that's why the EDA is involved. Uh, of course the city is heavily involved. While we might wanna make sure that there's good planning principles, good new urbanism, uh, incorporated, walkable, bikeable, um, all that good stuff, parks, there will be a park, um, that the TIFF also helps pay for. So the, these are things that, um, you know. If we take an intentional and strategic approach, and that's what we're doing with the neighborhood design districts, uh, rather than just sitting back and waiting for something to happen, uh, we actually see the growth where we want it, uh, rather than it just popping up willy-nilly. That's when you get traffic. That's when you get, you know, overcrowded schools. Um, that's when you get, you know, a, an apartment building looming over a single family home. Mm-hmm. So it, it is a team effort. You know, I, it's not just the city, it's not just the EDA, it's the city council. They've been involved heavily. Our word for counselors, um, you know, Fox, uh, tag, uh, Phil Mill Stud when he was on council was also involved. So they're, they've all been very involved, uh, in this process. The community's voice been, has been very involved in this process. Uh, and, you know, I'm very excited if you've seen the, the fencing go up around Wards Plaza. Uh, that's, they're getting, they're good doing an asbestos abatement after, after the, the Wards Plaza developer, you know, very nicely allowed fire and rescue to, uh, cut up their buildings for training exercises. Uh, the police department used it for training exercises. Uh, it was very nice of them. Uh, and now they're going through asbestos abatement. You're gonna see Wards Plaza start to come down in the, in the coming weeks, not months, but in the coming weeks. So, very excited about that. Um, this bond issuance that they'll be discussing tomorrow night, pays for the infrastructure. Uh, around Wards Plaza. So, uh, tune in if you have any questions, you know, get your information from a credible source. And that's the EDA or the city. Um, like I said, it's uh, if you're getting it from somewhere else, I, I cannot say that it's gonna be accurate. Um, so, uh, get it from the city, get it from the EDA, you know, uh, we have a vested interest in making sure that this all goes well, uh, because we all live here, right? Whether it's EDA director, myself, you know, our planning folks, you know, we live in the city too. So, uh, we're all very excited for, uh, what will become a new, it won't be called Wards Plaza anymore, folks.

Sarah Frey: 18:19

Oh, thank goodness.

Dan Hoffman: 18:21

We are, we are in the Cedar Valley District. Um, actually, I'm not sure what they're gonna call the, the war What is happening at Wards Plaza, the district is called, and that includes, you know, everything across the street in Valley Avenue. Some of the properties. Just north on there, where the old Elms motel is, is part of it. Uh, there, there it's more than just Ward. The district is more than just Warts Plaza, and the district will generate, you know, a significant amount of revenue, uh, in the coming years. It's not all gonna be next year. It's not all gonna be in five years. Remember, these are 20 year plans, uh, for the future of the city. Uh, they're not short-term plans, so, uh, the market will depend. The market will largely determine how fast things move, uh, and hopefully there's not too disrupt too much disruption in the economy to hinder it. So that's, uh, the meeting for tomorrow. Uh, a few other little odds and ends on there, but those are the, the big items. Uh, let's take a quick break and talk about what's coming up in the city.

Sarah Frey: 19:32

Spring has run. It's getting to be exciting in the city. So much is coming up, starting with the Spring Spruce Up, sponsored by Redding Landscapes. Thank

Dan Hoffman: 19:41

you, Redding Landscapes.

Sarah Frey: 19:42

It is a neighborhood park cleanup event for Earth Day. So join us this Saturday, April 26th from 10 to noon at a neighborhood park near you. We're gonna be at Whittier Park Timbrook, harvest Ridge Weaver, and over at Family Land in Barnett, uh, for a morning of picking up litter, planting trees, mulching, getting our community gardens ready. So come out from 10 to noon at any of those locations and join in the cleanup. You can even earn a 5% storm water credit.

Dan Hoffman: 20:11

You, you clean up your community and save money.

Sarah Frey: 20:13

It's a win-win. Um, and then after the cleanup, come on over to Whittier Park and join us for a volunteer picnic, starting at noon. Have a hamburger, a hot dog, hang out, get to know your neighbors a little bit better, and just enjoy the beauty that our, our city parks.

Dan Hoffman: 20:29

Absolutely.

Sarah Frey: 20:31

All right. And then. Last, but absolutely, certainly not least later in the show, you're gonna hear all about Apple Blossom from B Brad Veach, the festival's executive director. But you probably have questions about road closures, where you can park, where you can take your dog when your trash is gonna get picked up early, by the way. Yep. You can get all of this information on the city's website at www.winchesterva.gov/apple-blossom. You can also just go to winchester va.gov. There's a button right on the homepage, it says Apple Blossom. Click on it, all the information, including internet, an interactive map for our detours, depending on the day.

Dan Hoffman: 21:13

Very nice. Yeah. Check that out folks. Apple Blossom, you know, kind of like, uh, pollen in the spring and snow in the winter. You know, don't. Don't be surprised.

Sarah Frey: 21:26

No. When the be prepared, when,

Dan Hoffman: 21:27

when, when the road around. Your house might be closed for a few hours. Um, you know, between races and parades, there's so much happening during the week. It is best to make a plan, be informed, um, and hydrate. So, uh, check that out. Again. Winchester va.gov/apple-blossom. Up next, we've got Ethan Longnecker to talk about emergency management, and then we'll talk to Brad. Welcome Ethan Longnecker, the new Scott Kinzinger. That's a good way to put it. That he's taller by what? Like. Two feet maybe, maybe one, maybe one foot. Yeah.

Sarah Frey: 22:13

At least. At least, least one foot. Least one foot. Come on

Dan Hoffman: 22:16

now. Now. Yeah. For those of you. Yeah. So this, this interview is to introduce the kind of new, although you've been doing it since what, December now? Yeah. Officially January 1st. Officially January 1st. December. Un officially pretty much December. Mm-hmm. Uh, our director of Emergency Management, uh, for those of you who know Scott Kinzinger, he has retired. He's, he's hanging out at the, uh, gymnastic studio with his wife now, I'm sure, with a laundry list of, uh, of chores and tasks to do. Uh, and in his place, his understudy For how many years? It's been five years with the city. Five years with the city, yeah. Uh, I, Ethan Longnecker, we, I, when Scott told me he was gonna retire. Yeah, there was no doubt in my mind it, it was, I, I don't think I even hesitated for a minute when I was like, well, Ethan's next up. There was no, no, no doubt. Um, we knew what we had. Uh, the, the farm system was chock full of talent. Uh, the farm system being just you, uh, because it was, it's a two man team. Oh. It is a two man team. And you, you draw, um, you know, resources from all over the city. Of course we do. We touch just about every department in some form or fashion. Exactly. But you are what I, you know what? I think the term is a force multiplier for them. You know, you, when we add emergency management to the police department or the fire department or the parks department or facilities, it is, uh, or the city manager's office, uh, it really enables us to. Keep the community safe in a lot of ways. You know, folks, you know, first when you think about safety in the community, of course the first thing people think about is police, fire, and rescue. Uh, but a lot of the planning, a lot of the kind of backbone, a lot of the training, uh, really comes out of, you know, the two man team, which is emergency management.

--: 24:32

Yeah.

Dan Hoffman: 24:33

So let's let folks get to know you a little bit. Uh, you just said you've been with the city for five years. Yep. You have a, you started in an interesting place though. Uh, I don't know if

Sarah Frey: 24:43

I'd say this is not a normal start for emergency management, like No, no,

Dan Hoffman: 24:46

no, no. You, no. Uh, you don't have to start from the very beginning, but Sure. Where, where did Ethan start? So, back in 19, no, just kidding. When I was a kid and I,

Ethan Longnecker: 24:58

so, um, I. In 2011, I moved to Winchester and actually moved here for a teaching job. Mm-hmm. Uh, I was a public school teacher, technology education teacher for nine years. Mm-hmm. Um, somewhere along the line of those nine years, I realized that's maybe not what I wanted to do for the next 30 years of my life. Mm-hmm. Uh, was looking at different master's degree programs. Um, actually came across an occupational safety, emergency management and security program through eastern Kentucky. Okay. Um, started taking classes with the intent of really getting into occupational safety. Yeah. Because that aligned a lot with what I was doing as a shop teacher. Yeah. And then I started taking these emergency management classes and I was like,

--: 25:38

Hmm,

Ethan Longnecker: 25:39

that's way more interesting than interesting. Safety and something I think could be my niche. Yeah. Um, and then I started looking for jobs, started applying for jobs. After I got that degree, I applied to probably hundreds of federal jobs, thinking that was my route. Yeah. Um. I'm lucky and glad that that wasn't my route. Yeah, really. I'm very happy to be at the local level, even prior to the current issues at the federal level. Um, but, uh, part of the, uh, my journey along the way was I found the radio communications manager job mm-hmm. With the city and it was within the emergency management department.

--: 26:16

Yeah.

Ethan Longnecker: 26:16

And as somebody who's taught electronics in the past, it kind of seemed like a natural fit. Um, so Scott actually hired me back in 2020, right at the beginning of Covid. There you go. Uh, to. Basically managed the city's radio system. Mm-hmm. Um, and when he hired me, he basically said to me, I, I think you're gonna be bored doing the radio stuff. And I said, well, my interest is really emergency management. Yeah. So just throw whatever emergency management projects at me. You can, we'll do the radio stuff, but we'll also Yeah. Get some emergency management experience in there. So. I think it was probably two or three years into the radio manager journey, I was promoted to the Deputy Emergency Management coordinator.

--: 26:55

Yep.

Ethan Longnecker: 26:56

Um, I was basically doing the job as the radio manager just without the title. Mm-hmm. Um, so got that job and then I've been doing that up until the January 1st official retirement date for Scott. There you go. Um, thank you. I slid into the, oh, no role you made, you made it easy. Appreciate that. You made the choice so easy. And then since January I've been working in that role and we actually hired a great person to take my position. Joe Dame, uh, Joe Dame brought him. Great name. Yes. Great name Dame. But Joe was working in Loudoun. Yeah. Uh, so we brought poach somebody back. We poached somebody from over the mountain. Yeah. There we go. But

Sarah Frey: 27:32

lives here does, but lives

Ethan Longnecker: 27:34

here. Yeah. That's right. And he has, he has a ton of emergency management experience. He has a background as a firefighter, so, wow. A lot of good experience. Yeah. To tie in with what we do,

Dan Hoffman: 27:43

we've referenced radios and I, and that's another thing I, I think most people don't know is, you know, the, the radio system in any jurisdiction is critically important. It's, you know, it is, uh, for our fire department, our police department, you know, we can't, I, I could not imagine, uh, a jurisdiction keeping its community safe without. A really robust radio system. And it ain't cheap. No. Right? It is, it is a huge investment for a locality. And I see jurisdictions, you know, squabble all the time over, you know, who's gonna pay for what. Especially when the, when some radio systems are multi-jurisdictional, they cross boundaries. Interoperability is a huge thing. You know, it's, who's gonna pay for this radio tower? Who's gonna pay for these radios? Uh, do your radios work with my radios? It is a, it is a huge thing. And, and one of these radios costs how much portables? Just over$9,000.$9,000. That's just, you know, it's not your kids' Fisher-Price, walkie talkie. No. These are, these are things that, um, you know, the, the features in them, you know, are. Are ridiculous. First off, uh, and you might think, well, 9,000, that's a lot for a radio, you know, blah, blah, blah. Hey, these are a lifeline for first responders. They are. Uh, and if that goes down and we'll talk, we're gonna interview, uh, Brad from Apple Blossom here in a second. Uh, when, you know, when radios go down, I can't imagine an event like Apple Blossom being safe. Yeah. Right. It's, it, it is a core component and that's another thing that your department does. Now, don't worry folks, we've got redundancies on redundancies. We do. We have, you know, it's not like, oh, we're gonna just have to suddenly, you know, take all the radios offline. You know, we, we have good coverage all throughout the city. That's another good thing about Winchester. I. It's, well, it's one of the few benefits of being only 9.2 square miles. Um, we have really good coverage, right? We do. Yeah. We, in fact, I think the last a lot of, for a lot of jurisdictions, the last pockets, uh, or dead zones that you might get are inside buildings, inside hospitals where there's a lot of interference. But we've even addressed pretty much most if not all of those, right?

Ethan Longnecker: 30:16

We have, yeah. So part of the reason why those radios are so expensive is they can actually communicate through the radio system over wifi. Yep. So we've worked with the hospital and we can now operate over their wifi network. So because of the nature of the structure of that building, especially in the emergency management and in X-ray rooms and things like that, radio signal. Can't penetrate that. Yep. But they have wifi, so Yeah. And we just piggyback

Dan Hoffman: 30:39

off of that. We do. So. This department is critical in so many ways. Uh, but one of the reasons why most of the city staff would interact, you know, beyond just fire and rescue, uh, is the training component. And we train for everything. Talk a little bit about the role emergency management plays in training. You know, not just first responders, but really all city staff for significant events.

Ethan Longnecker: 31:05

Yeah. So I mean, we do all sorts of training from tabletop exercises to, you know, active shooter scenarios, full folks, what a

Dan Hoffman: 31:13

tabletop exercise

Ethan Longnecker: 31:15

is. So a tabletop is a discussion based exercise where basically we get together in a room, we talk through scenarios, and then, you know, talk through a response to that scenario. And one thing our department focuses on with all of these exercises is not just conducting them mm-hmm. But the what comes after.

--: 31:30

Yeah.

Ethan Longnecker: 31:30

So, as an example, we did a full scale active shooter exercise in 2022 at Hanley High School. And we're still working on the improvement plan. Yeah. From that exercise now three years later. Yeah. Um, planning for that next exercise, which is gonna kind of be the culmination of that three year cycle. Mm-hmm. But that's not gonna end. Yes. At that exercise. It's sadly it will always be needed as that's Florida State learned last week. Yeah. And that's, that's just an example. I mean we're, as you mentioned, we do exercises with just about everybody in the city. We've done exercises with, um, nursing homes in the city. Mm-hmm. We're doing an exercise coming up with Blue Ridge Hospice, so not only internal city departments, but Yeah. Some external partners as well that we touch. Yeah. With an active shooter event. I think

Dan Hoffman: 32:13

what a lot of folks' minds immediately go to are. When are the police gonna engage? When are they gonna get into the building and, and save lives? And that of course, is critical. It's, uh, but imagine the communication that has to occur during that incident, not just on the radio, but with the public. Yeah. Parents, you have frantic parents, you have, uh, media. I mean, we, if, if, God forbid we ever had an event like that, you know, we, we will be descended upon by not just, uh, not just Wink fm right. We're gonna get, uh, you know, DC media, national media, uh, how do we get, how do we work with the school system. Mm-hmm. You know, a lot of that communication between different agencies, school system's, a great partner of ours in those things. They take it, uh, very, very seriously. Of course. Yep. Um. All of those different steps from the actual response to recovery. Yeah. And sometimes that recovery can, you know, let's say we did have a significant flood here in the city. Um, let's say we had a blizzard that knocked out power for multiple days and we had to truck away snow. You know, sometimes these events go for not just days, but weeks. Absolutely. Yeah. And having the infrastructure in place is important. Talk a little bit about how you interact with the state, because the state. Also plays an important

Ethan Longnecker: 33:45

role in emergency management. They do. Yeah. We, we are constantly talking with the state. Uh, we meet quarterly as a subregion. Um, so it's us Clark Shenandoah, Warren, Paige, Frederick, obviously, um, all kind of have this sub regional group that meets regularly, but we meet with the state as well. Um, the state is obviously our first source of resources beyond what we have at the local level and through our regular mutual aid partnerships. So if we were to need something that, you know, Frederick or Clark or Warren doesn't have, we can always go to the state and request that. Um, and actually a good example of that is after Hurricane Helene mm-hmm. Hit Southwest Virginia. Yeah. Uh, they needed resources. They needed actually people to come down and, and do the jobs that needed done. Um, so the state actually put out a call statewide to see who was interested in going down to help, um, as a local emergency manager. Uh, so I said I was interested and actually got to deploy with the state to Southwest Virginia and work on, uh, the response to Hurricane Helene. Yeah. Worked in logistics section, uh, which was just an invaluable experience Absolutely. To see the beginning stages of that recovery. Mm-hmm. Um, and get hands on with that and, and work with the partnerships and the folks that were on the ground there. Just invaluable experience to bring back to Winchester.

--: 35:03

Yeah.

Ethan Longnecker: 35:04

Uh, we haven't had, luckily, knock on wood, a major disaster like they experienced down there, so it's hard to. Train to that level. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so that, that was just invaluable experience. Yeah.

Dan Hoffman: 35:16

Western Virginia, uh, doesn't deal with a lot of hurricanes, but they do not, those lessons a lot. The lessons aren't necessarily, how do I respond to a hurricane? Right. It's the process. It is, you know, the seeing how, you know, you put logistics and, you know, the, everything from filling out the proper paperwork to get federal reimbursement. Right. Which is important to just seeing how the different components work together, uh, in a real life scenario. Yeah. Is, is super important. Um, tell me a little bit about, you know, when, when we need a resource,'cause you know, we're, we're 9.2 square miles, which is a good thing because, you know, I'll use a significant snow event. We have a fantastic public services team. We do. Right. We could. You know, depending on the volume of snow, uh, we're gonna get Winchester cleared up impassable pretty quickly. We are, yeah. Way, uh, way sooner than some of our more rural surrounding jurisdictions. Uh, but that doesn't mean we don't need occasionally resources. Uh, how do we request those? You know, you said you got requested to go down for Helene. Yes. What's the process?

Ethan Longnecker: 36:38

So the process is basically called statewide mutual aid. Mm-hmm. Where we fill out a request that goes to the state and the state will push that out to all the localities. There's a listserv, I think you're on it I see. On our end. Um, but basically it's, it's an agreement that somebody's gonna come in and fill the need. We're responsible fiscally for taking care of mm-hmm. Whatever agency. And that kind of gets pre-negotiated before the agreement's made. Um, and then they'll come in and fulfill whatever need we have. If the need can't be filled in state, there's a nationwide program called the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which basically functions the same way as statewide. Mutual aid is just on a national or potentially even international scale.

--: 37:18

Yeah.

Ethan Longnecker: 37:19

Uh, so an example of that is in southwest Virginia, they actually pulled someone from Ohio to work on the PIO end of things and Nice. Some of the public communications. So yeah, if it can't be fulfilled locally or through our normal mutual aid, it goes first to the state and then potentially nationwide if need be. Yeah. I mean we're, because

Dan Hoffman: 37:38

of our size and the fantastic quality of staff we have, you know, we, we can take care of our own probably 99% of the time, but it does come up. But we're also not on an island. Uh, we're not, and it's, it's, we take our ability to provide aid to surrounding jurisdictions very seriously. And you know, I'm always proud of it and I think. You know, I, I would, I think if you asked, you know, the residents of this city, are they proud that we can provide support to other jurisdictions in times of need? Uh, they would be, they would. I think the vast majority of folks would say yes. Like we, we are, we're Winchester, you know, we, we take care of our own most of the time, but, you know, we're also there for others

Ethan Longnecker: 38:27

and Yeah. And that, that's reciprocal, right?'cause of course, when we need help in, inevitably we will at some point. It'll, it'll, yeah. Those people are gonna be way more likely to come in and assist us. Absolutely.

Dan Hoffman: 38:37

Okay. So one of our bigger planned events every year is Apple Blossom. I mentioned we're gonna talk to Brad, uh, from the festival, but we play a very important role in, uh, making sure Apple Blossom is safe. Talk a little bit. We, during Apple Blossom, we activate the EOC, the emergency operation center. We do, uh, talk about. What goes on in the EOC during Apple Blossom?

Ethan Longnecker: 39:03

So the EOC is really a place to coordinate all the response activities. We have police representation, their incident commander from the police department. We have the same for fire. We have public works, we have emergency management. Usually our traffic control folks are in there. Mm-hmm. And basically we're monitoring the situation, uh, maintaining situational awareness, and we're just constantly ask answering questions from the folks in the field. We have that big picture view and we can kind of, uh, take those questions and usually get the best response because of that big picture view that we're getting in the EOC. So we try to bring in as much information as we can, um, for those decision makers to make the best decisions and. Apple Blossom is a, a resource sharing incident basically. And, and that's one of our roles is what resources need to go where based on that big picture view. Absolutely.

Dan Hoffman: 39:58

So, and if, if anyone ever wanted to see the ooc, actually quick plug. If you take our Civic Leadership Academy,

Sarah Frey: 40:05

it's true. You'll

Dan Hoffman: 40:06

get to see it. It is an impressive, uh. Component of the city. Uh, when is the next It's, we're, we're in the middle of a class now, right? We are

Sarah Frey: 40:15

finishing up our current class and we have applications open for the next class. Mm-hmm. So you can apply now. Um, and they start up again in September. And when you do the EOC section, Ethan and Joe actually take you through a mini tabletop.

Dan Hoffman: 40:28

Oh, really? In the EOC? We do. Yeah. That's very cool. You get to see EOC, you get to, uh, you get to see all

Sarah Frey: 40:33

the screens and a lot of

Dan Hoffman: 40:34

screens. So many screens. Looks super impressive.

Sarah Frey: 40:36

You feel like you're like on a crime show.

Dan Hoffman: 40:38

Yes. Yes. So, uh, yeah, QuickBook, if you wanna see this in inaction, uh, sign up for Civic Leadership Academy, um, you know, the public is also a critical component in emergency management. Uh, what is kind of a, what's one thing that you would like all residents of Winchester to know or do? To help them better prepare for the next emergency.

Ethan Longnecker: 41:08

So the biggest thing you can do is, number one, understand the threats and hazards that you face, whether you're a business owner, whether you're just a homeowner. What hazards and threats do you face? Obviously, you know, tsunami is not a threat that's relevant to us here in the city of Winchester. Um, if you need help with that, there's a couple documents that we have out, but we do have,

Dan Hoffman: 41:27

you know, localized flooding. Sometimes we do. Yeah,

Ethan Longnecker: 41:29

flooding is actually probably our number one Yeah. Threat that we face. Um, but those, the threats are all listed on our website. We have a regional hazard mitigation plan that spells those out. So we've done the work. You can kind of go and reference those documents, but understanding the threats and then. What actions do you need to take your yourself to prepare for those threats? Whether it's building a kit and having, you know, a couple days worth of water, whether it's having a communications plan with your family, Hey, if this happens, this is who we're gonna call, this is where we're gonna go. That type of thing. And again, there's lots of tips on our emergency management page on the city website. Mm-hmm. Uh, to help you better prepare, but just understand, you know, in a major disaster. We're not gonna get immediate assistance. It's generally at least 72 hours before we'll get some major assistance. So just being kind of self-sufficient potentially. Yeah. For those first seven. And that's where that kit comes into play and just being prepared. And other than that, it's, it's staying informed, right? So we have a public alert system, um, that you can opt into. So we have the ability to hit your phones, whether you opt in or not. Yes. Through the integrated public alert morning system. Um, but I highly encourage folks to go onto, again, our webpage and sign up for the opt in alerts. Mm-hmm. Because a lot of times things don't rise to the level of needing to hit everyone's cell phone like an Amber Alert does. Yeah. Yeah. We have the ability to do that. Um, but it's, it's something where we want to notify people, but we don't rise to that level, and that's when we hit those opt-ins. Mm-hmm. So I highly encourage folks to go and opt in on our webpage to those alerts. Um, but yeah, staying informed, kind of having that basic kit and understanding your threats and hazards are really the, the best course of action.

Dan Hoffman: 43:10

Excellent. Well, Ethan is very proud to kind of formally introduce you to, to the public here. Thank you. Uh, if you see Ethan around, he's the one that's probably a good foot taller than everybody else, uh, and a fantastic asset for the city and all the residents of Winchester. Uh, Ethan, thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Welcome back for his annual visit to the show, Brad Veach. Hi Brad. How you doing? So, I'm very good. I'm very good. It's starting to get warmer and we are Ooh, T minus, how many days away from Apple Blossom? Five days. Friday, five days. Things

Brad Veach: 43:54

kick off

Dan Hoffman: 43:55

with wine fast. The, quite the, uh, the raucous fun experience. It's Wine Fest is, it is unique because, you know, I've been to like different wine festivals before where you get your little tastes and everything like that. But when it's on your walking mall and when it's basically kind of a, a get together of a lot of the local folks too, because it's, it's a big reunion. It's a big reunion. That's, that's the word I'm looking for. Um. You know, the, when you get to actual Apple Blossom itself, the Apple Blossom weekend, you, you see a lot more folks, of course from outta town, you know, in fact, we've got some old friends coming in from out town, staying with us, uh, for Apple Blossom. And, but like the weekend before Wine Fest, it's more the reunion. It's, it's kind of more the local crowd. But you, and we obviously, we draw folks in from West Virginia and Northern Virginia, and certainly down the valley and all that kind of stuff. But it's, it's the nice kickoff. And then you've got a few days to recover before you get to the main event the next weekend. So, uh, apple Blossom obviously a huge deal for the city. Uh, I know that Brad would say. And I don't mean to speak for you, but I am, I know Brad would say that the volunteers in the community are the kind of the heart and soul of Apple Blossom, but if that's the heart and soul Brad's, the, the brains and the muscle, he, he, he is the, the he man of Apple Blossom because it would not go as smoothly without Brad. And I've, I've been around big events for a long time, for 20 plus years, you know, when I was in Gainesville, university of Foot, university of Florida football games with, you know, tens and, you know, hundreds of thousands of people, uh, you know, big music festival. I've, I've been around that stuff forever. This is enormous, especially for a town our size. And it gets pulled off flawlessly every year. You know, we, we always do a hot wash afterwards. Sure. And for the hot wash, by the way, is we talk about what we can do better and that kinda stuff after the event, it's always small stuff. I think the, Hey, one year I was like, Hey, can we have a little more handicap parking? Yeah. Done. That's fine. Like, it's little things. We don't sit there and go, well that was a debacle. Should we do this next year? It's a machine and, and Brad drives that bus, uh, better than any other event manager I've ever seen, so, oh, appreciate that. Yep. Yep. Thank you. Yeah, apple Blossom Festival is lucky to have you. Um, and I, I mean, there's just so many moving pieces and there are some new things this year, right. Some stuff's moving. Of course there's new guests. So what are you most excited for? This year. That's new.

Brad Veach: 46:52

You know, I think it's been the most challenging. Um, but probably the carnival. Um, we're really trying to clean up the carnival. Um, we've actually implemented some new rules. Oh, okay. Um, safety rules. Safety rules. Ooh. Um, we have a 17 and under policy that must be accompanied by an adult. Wow. Yep. That's good. Was Noro

Sarah Frey: 47:12

Bands of teenagers. Yeah. That

Brad Veach: 47:14

feral kids. That really helps the police department. Yes, it does. Um, and so, you know, I think that's. That's gonna be, that's gonna be good for everyone. Yeah. Um, you know, especially we want it to be a family friendly event. Yeah. Um, but it's gonna be out at the Apple Blossom Mall. Mm-hmm. Um, obviously Ward Plaza's in the middle of Yes. Demolition. We are, they're doing treatment, everything, asbestos

Dan Hoffman: 47:37

abatement now. And, uh, pretty soon it's gonna be coming down, so that's all fenced up. Yep. But, uh, no Apple, but there's plenty of space out at Apple Blossom

Brad Veach: 47:45

Mall. Yeah. So we've partnered up with the mall and, you know, there's been some, I'll say some challenges. Um, some new expectations. Mm-hmm. Like you'll, if you go out there right now, there's a bunch of J Jersey barriers. Okay. And so we work with the police departments. Yeah. City police. Um, to create a hard barrier. Good. Um, you know, just knowing what happened on New Year's Yes. Down in New Orleans. Yes. So we're being proactive mm-hmm. With the support and the help of, of the city. Yeah. Um, it's costing us a little bit more money, but we know that it's gonna be safe and, you know, you Yes. Can't put a price on safety.

Dan Hoffman: 48:18

Absolutely. You have always prioritized that. And, you know, it's a, uh, you know, I always say that we're, we're proud to partner with Apple Blossom Festival. Um, but you know, we, you do pay for that security, right? We do. We do. Sometimes people think that, oh, it's just like a giveaway or mm-hmm. You know, trust me, these officers are not out there volunteering their time. Um, but they are, you know, apple blossom's picking up the cost for that. Uh, of course we get I think Su SU's chipping in again during the parade.

Brad Veach: 48:48

Yes. Shenandoah University Football and wrestling this year are all helping with traffic control. Wonderful. Oh, bless

Sarah Frey: 48:54

them.

Brad Veach: 48:55

Yes. And so, um, then we also have the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Group. Um, who are helping out with the 10 K and that's a fundraiser. Nice. So they, they get, I won't say they get paid mm-hmm. But we make a contribution for them because I mean, that's over a hundred people Yeah. Manning different intersections, actually all in. Mm-hmm. We actually have orientation with them on Thursday night this week to kind of go over all of the safety things, Ethan.

--: 49:19

Mm-hmm.

Brad Veach: 49:20

Um, and Captain Poe will be there to Yeah. Um, you know, work, work with them on, on that. And so, you know, they actually did a really good job last year. It was their first year, but they did for short notice. They did an amazing job. So I expect it to be even better this year. Yeah. So, yeah. Ethan,

Dan Hoffman: 49:39

Ethan Longnecker is our director of e Emergency Management. Uh. Scott Inger, the, the, the institution that was Scott has retired. He is enjoying his retirement. Although I, I, if he's around, I bet we're gonna see Scott. You're gonna see him. Yeah. There's no way you're gonna keep, keep Scott away from Apple Blossom. Uh, so we've got Ethan, who's fantastic. He was Scott's Ethan's understudy for years. Ethan has not missed a beat. Oh, he's so great. He's amazing. Yeah. Um, and then of course Captain Poe, who by the way a little bit later this morning will be pinned as Deputy Chief Poe. Woo-hoo.

--: 50:13

Whoa.

Dan Hoffman: 50:14

That's right. Nice. Well deserved. I mean, I can't say enough things about Jason. Of course, I'm gonna gloat on my folks a little bit. You know, Ethan and Jason are top-notch individuals came up with the city, uh mm-hmm. You know, the internal promotions that we have been, uh, so blessed with. So, and, but you know, our partnership with you guys, your flexibility, um, you know. You are reasonable. Sometimes, you know, the emergency management folks, the security folks say, Hey, we gotta do this to make it safe. And that's, sometimes those things aren't easy, but you guys roll with it, you accept it, you realize that, you know, safety comes first with an event like this, especially out of Carnival.

Brad Veach: 50:54

Yeah. Well, and you know, I come from, from the city. Yeah, that's true. You know, I, I was here, you're an alumni. I was here, you know, post nine 11 when NIMS was created. Oh yeah. Cool. So, you know, I can understand and appreciate some of those things that maybe others may not. Yeah. Well why are you doing it that way? Yeah. Because of the NIMS training and things like that. You just, you, you're never, you're always kind of, you feel like you're always kind of a step behind, but you're trying to achieve that, that, you know, that extra level of safety. Um, but anyway, yeah, so we've got the carnival out at the mall that kicks off on Friday. Um, another new event that we're doing is down at BrightBox in Old Town. Oh. We're doing a comedy show.

Sarah Frey: 51:40

I'm so excited about this.

Dan Hoffman: 51:41

I saw that. I saw that in BrightBox. I love BrightBox. Yeah. You know, they, they do a fantastic job there. The staff are phenomenal. They are.

Sarah Frey: 51:47

And a homegrown headliner. Yeah.

Dan Hoffman: 51:49

Yeah. Pete

Brad Veach: 51:50

Bauer. Pete

Sarah Frey: 51:50

Bauer.

Brad Veach: 51:51

I didn't know he was local. Yeah, yeah.

Sarah Frey: 51:52

He only grad.

Brad Veach: 51:53

Yeah. His dad's an attorney here in town and ah, and Pete went out west and, um, nice. So yeah, he's bringing, uh, two of his, uh, close. Um. Compadres. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, with them, um, from the West Coast. Nice. And they're gonna put on three shows Friday, one Friday evening and two on Saturday. Nice. Um, of wine fest. Yeah. Okay. So, um, so we've got that, um, we are introducing an an air show, which Yes. Actually isn't new. It was actually done in the seventies. Really? Really? I had no idea. Huh? Larry m brought the idea to us a couple of years ago. Mm-hmm. And, um, he got the airport authority on board. Nick,

Dan Hoffman: 52:34

Nick Sabo over there. Nick. Nick. Yeah.

Brad Veach: 52:36

Another

Dan Hoffman: 52:37

high-end individual.

Brad Veach: 52:38

Yes. Yes, he is.

Dan Hoffman: 52:39

Fantastic.

Brad Veach: 52:39

So we're partnering up with Winchester Regional and, and their authority, uh, to put on, um, an Apple Blossom air show. Nice. And that is going to be on Saturday, next Saturday as well. Mm-hmm. Um, it'll be from nine to three. Um, it's interesting, you know, if you go to the airports, there's not a whole lot of parking. Well, we've already sold over 1500 tickets. Whoa.

Sarah Frey: 53:02

Wow. To it.

Brad Veach: 53:03

So parking is over at Navy Fed. Okay. And we've got the school schools are, um, transporting folks. Okay. Um, we, we do the same thing for the contemporary Christian to SU because we have about 3,500 people that attend that. Yeah. And so. Um, we're working with the, the county schools to do, to do the, the busing there and, um, folks will park there and they'll, they'll transport'em over and then they'll take'em back. But, um, yeah, really excited about it. Um, you know, there's an adult price at 13 bucks. Um, kids 12 and under are free. Nice. Um, so, you know, it's a, it's a, an affordable event That's a good family, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, gates open at nine. Mm-hmm. Uh, the show's gonna start. The air show itself is gonna start about 11 o'clock. Okay. But there's gonna be a lot of, um, planes on the ground. Yeah. It's kinda like touch a plane type nice type thing and love that. Um, you know, they can interact with, with pilots and just learn about aviation. Yeah. And so it's a great partnership. We're, we're excited to, to see this happen and then also grow in the future. Yeah. I think there's a, a lot of potential. And we've got the, uh, flying circus coming in. They're out of, built-in nice Warrenton area, and they're coming over. The weekend. This is the weekend before they actually do their weekend series through, I think it's Labor Day. Oh, okay. So, um, this is kind of a trial run for'em. Oh, nice. So they're coming over, um, to, to put on the show. And so it should be pretty exciting. Beautiful. Well, with all the, uh,

Dan Hoffman: 54:33

improvements they've made at the airport too, it's, it's a good chance for, for folks to see the investment that, you know, really in, in large part, the community has made out there. Of course, there's, you know, I think some federal money involved and whatnot, but, you know, Winchester I know contributes to the airport, the county, it, it is a regional asset and, you know, between the terminal and some of the new hangers mm-hmm. Out there. Mm-hmm. Yep. It is, it's worth, I mean, obviously the air show is the, is the, the attraction, but seeing the airport, you know, right now is, is very neat.

Brad Veach: 55:05

Yeah. Take your kids. Yeah, definitely. And, you know, the, the airport and the authority want. To see folks come out to there. So yeah. Yeah. It's an opportunity for us to help them get, you know, a couple thousand people out to, to, to show it off, so. Excellent, excellent.

Dan Hoffman: 55:21

And then we've got some amazing guests as always. This year. I'm, I know my, personally, I'm most excited about Ryan Zimmerman as the sports marshal. Of course. You're, yeah. I'm a, I'm a big Nats fan. Uh, my older son, I was at the very first Nats game, uh, at RFK Stadium. Oh, wow. And actually Lindsay was pregnant with our older son Will at that point. And I had season tickets for a while when I was in dc. Uh, so Zimmerman's a kind of, a huge part of kind of my baseball experience over the last couple of decades. He's such a good guy too. Oh, he is, yeah. Fantastic.

Brad Veach: 56:00

Yeah. Well, and then we've also got the presidents coming. The racing president. Oh, yes, I saw that too. Oh, it screech you. I said what?

Dan Hoffman: 56:07

The

Brad Veach: 56:07

president.

Dan Hoffman: 56:07

Oh, the, um, no, uh, George. So we'll get to see Teddy

Sarah Frey: 56:10

Lou. Yes.

Dan Hoffman: 56:11

Yes. The uh, no, I saw that. And that honestly, you know, that's kind of right up there, you know, I know Ryan. It's like Ryan Zimmerman and then like a hair below you get the racing president. I mean, that's kind pretty iconic for the uh mm-hmm. For Nats baseball. Right, right. Um, but then of course there's just. Straight up celebrities, you know, obvi these days. I think, you know, the younger generation knows Alfonso Riviero from Dancing With the Stars. Um, but funny funniest song videos. Yeah. Funniest Stone Go, oh my goodness. Forgot about that. But I mean, fresh parts, I mean, come on now. That's Carlton, he is a, where he

Sarah Frey: 56:49

perfected those dance moves. Exactly. He is

Dan Hoffman: 56:50

a legend in his own right. So, um, you know, every year you guys get great folks, but you know, the lineup this year is, is really fantastic. And there, you know, there's a handful of others. Uh, the guy from, uh, revenge of the Nerds, I know he's probably, he's been in other stuff, but of course Revenge of the Nerds was, you know, I was, I was probably a little too young when I saw that movie, but, um, that's, you know, that's a classic. Robert Carine. Yeah, Robert Carine from Chicago. Chicago Fire, right. No, that's, that's the revenge of the Nerds. Oh, his name is, okay. Yeah. He was. Okay. Yeah. So he's the revenge owners guy, but there's somebody from Chicago Fire coming as the fire.

Sarah Frey: 57:23

Yeah. He's a real, a firefighter fire. He's a real firefighter.

Brad Veach: 57:25

Tony. Tony, uh, Ferrera Ferraris, I believe I, I'm not sure I'll say his last name, but he actually is a firefighter like you say. Oh, okay. Wow. And um, yeah, there's a cool story behind that, that Jeremy, our president has, has talked about and um, he just recently retired from Chicago. Yeah. And it's funny'cause Jeremy was actually at Jeremy Luttrell, he was also your fire. Yeah, I was, I was just about to jump in another city. Right. Jeremy Lure was also one of my, uh, my employees. He's our

Dan Hoffman: 57:51

fire marshal, which is very appropriate.

Brad Veach: 57:53

Yeah. Well, Jeremy was down at training, I think it was in Stanton, and the guy who was training used to work in for Chicago. Mm-hmm. Okay. Fire rescue. And he gave Jeremy Tony's phone number and said, here's call him and see if he wants to come.

Dan Hoffman: 58:08

What?

Brad Veach: 58:09

And Jeremy gets this. Oh, that's amazing. Jeremy gets this text from a, from a TV star when he is on his That's amazing. On his couch. Yeah. Well,

Dan Hoffman: 58:16

I will have to give him a rib him for that a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. J Jeremy is always, um, you know, he, he can kind of be quiet. He's in, he is in, you know, aqua talks quietly, carries the, the big fire hose, I guess. Right, right. In his case. Um, so I, I bet. But I bet he still, uh, got a tickle outta of that. Oh, oh, he loved it. He was, he, yeah, he was really shocked about that. Excellent. Um, so what else do folks need to know? What, what, for a, for a newbie, what is, what's the. What's, what, what should a newbie know?

Brad Veach: 58:53

So I think for most folks, go to the the bloom.com. Um, there are over 50 events, and so there's literally something for everyone and, and plan ahead. Um, the city does a great job in helping us with a frequently asked questions page. We share that page. You all actually house it on your site. Win winchester

Sarah Frey: 59:15

va.gov. There you go. Slash apple dash blossom.

Brad Veach: 59:18

There you go. You know, we, we, we kind of send everything there so that it's in one place. Perfect. And so it gives you guys some web traffic too. Yeah. Um, but we, um, you know, and together we kind of create this list of things. Mm-hmm. Um, definitely go there and read it. Um, you know, our pets allowed, you know, it depends upon the, the venue. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, ages most, yeah, different ages, but, you know, plan ahead. Um, and, and I think that'll cut back on, you know, frustration. Yeah. I mean, there it's gonna be busy.

Dan Hoffman: 59:50

Yeah. Don't just show up. No. Yeah. Right. And if you're thinking that, oh, I'm just gonna go park down by the walking mall.

Sarah Frey: 59:55

No,

Dan Hoffman: 59:56

no, no, no. Like it, it's, you can, there are garages that will be available during certain events, but a lot of street closures, you know, between races and, you know, parades, there's a lot of parades, right? Yeah. So, mm-hmm. I plan ahead and, you know, some of these are ticketed events. I know, you know, my first one I just kind of mistakenly thought, oh, I'm just gonna walk up and buy a ticket for this, or buy a ticket for that. And no, you're much better off. Getting it ahead of time. Definitely. And because these do sell out,

Sarah Frey: 1:00:24

I was gonna say, how many have sold out already? I imagine several at,

Brad Veach: 1:00:27

yeah. At least half a dozen events have already sold. I mean, business at the Bloom is sold out. Yeah. Um, you know, we're, we, we've got some other, the golf tournament, the tennis tournament, I mean, it just, there are a number of events that are really, really popular. Mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, definitely plan ahead. Um, go to the bloom.com, um, you know, visit the city's website. Um, and you know, also just, you know, when, when you're, when you're out and about. You know, you are gonna see a lot of police officers, pr, private security, um, volunteers. Um, you know, I think it's important for all of us to, to recognize them and say that, to say thank you.

--: 1:01:12

Mm-hmm.

Brad Veach: 1:01:12

Um, and, and tell them how, how much we appreciate what they're doing. Because, you know, they, they aren't participating. They're, they're working. And while we all, while the rest of us are enjoying ourselves. So, you know, I guess from that, just, you know, be appreciative. Yeah. Um,

Dan Hoffman: 1:01:28

you know, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Yes. Hydrate folks. I mean, trust me, our, uh, our, our law enforcement officers will also appreciate that. Especially if it's a hot day, uh, on the day of the parade. Yep. Don't be that guy. And fire and rescue. Yeah. And fire and rescue. Don't, don't be that guy or gal. Uh, you know, hydrate Pace yourself. Apple Blossom is a marathon, not a, not a sprint.

Brad Veach: 1:01:51

Yes, it is. That is, that is so true. So true. Excellent. Yeah, we're, um, just visit the bloom.com. That, that would be my recommendation, especially if you're looking for tickets, you can find pretty much anything you're looking for. Um, you know, we're a hundred years old. We're actually 101 years old. Yeah. Um, and so, you know, we've been around a long time. Obviously lots of things have changed.

Dan Hoffman: 1:02:12

Yes.

Brad Veach: 1:02:13

Um, but one thing that remains is, is, you know, apple Blossom is about. The community. Yeah. And it's about showcasing Winchester, Frederick County. Um, we, we feel with the investment that we make mm-hmm. In there, the investment that the city makes, our sponsors the Virginia tourism. Yeah. There's a lot of groups that are investing time and effort and knowing that it is a strong economic benefit to the region.

Dan Hoffman: 1:02:40

Yes.

Brad Veach: 1:02:41

And so, you know, without, without the support of the community, without the support of the sponsors and our partners, you know, apple Blossom just could not happen.

Dan Hoffman: 1:02:50

Yeah.

Brad Veach: 1:02:50

Um, so, you know, it's, uh. Like you say, it's a marathon. My marathon started last. Yeah. May the fourth. Yeah, I was about to say

Dan Hoffman: 1:03:00

your yours starts at right after the end of the last one, so Yes, it does. But I know that, uh, you are looking forward to, uh, taking a little bit of a breather right after, uh, the bloom is, is complete. But you're right, we do that hot wash, the kind of after action debrief. We do, we do it within what, about a month or so? About a month. Yeah. Within a month of it. So everything's still fresh in our mind and we start thinking about, you know, the little tweaks and little improvements we can make next year because there's always, every year there's something new. Correct. Every year there's something a little different. Maybe, you know, this year the carnival's moving to a new location, but you know, there's always something. We've talked about the air show. Mm-hmm. The comedy show. There's always something new. So if you are listening to this and you're like, well, I went last year. Okay, cool. It's a wholly different thing and it's always a good time. Sure. So Brad, thank you so much. Yeah, thank you all. It's great to see you again. I, I hope I, I don't see Brad enough in the, in the intermediate period between, so we'll have to figure out a time to catch up. Sounds good. Thank you all. Thanks buddy. Thanks Brad. That's it for this edition of the Ralphs review. Next time we're gonna talk to Mike Nee, AKA Michael recycle, uh, from our waste and refuse team talking trash again. Uh, we got some changes coming up and you should know about it because, uh, your trash may be getting picked up on a different day moving forward. So, uh, make sure you listen to that and, uh, until then we will see you rent City Hall.