As many of you are probably aware by now, David Woodson, Managing Director, Energy & Water Services announced that he will be leaving UBC at the end of October. Dave will be taking on the position of Executive Director, Campus Energy, Utilities & Operations at the University of Washington (UW). This is an exciting opportunity for Dave to return to his alma mater, and apply his years of knowledge and experience on new challenges at UW! While it will be a bonus for us to have an insider at UW to share best practices (and Huskies tickets 😊), it will be tough to see Dave leave, and he will surely be missed.
Dave is a great colleague, a friend, and the driving force behind so many of our innovative and impactful initiatives and projects at UBC. I have been working closely with Dave for most of his 23 years at UBC, and he is one of the most genuine and thoughtful individuals I know, with a hidden creative talent —for those that haven’t read his farewell poem, see below.
Personally, I will miss Dave very much. His successor will have huge boots to fill, and we are working with HR for recruitment. I will provide more details in the coming months.
Please join me in congratulating Dave. We’ll be giving him a warm send off before he leaves. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to read his poem. It’s a good one, and I’m sure you will enjoy it!
Sincerely,
John Metras
Associate Vice-President, Facilities
Thank-you from Dave Woodson, Managing Director, Energy & Water Services
Hello my friends, I hope this note finds you well,
I have some news I’m excited to tell,
My long-term UBC journey started in May 98,
And if truth be told, it has been fun and great,
Leading EWS has been a blessing for me,
A great vibe, good work ethic, and smiles easy to see,
We made the bold transition away from steam,
Created a culture of conservation embraced by the team,
GHG, electricity, water, and natural gas reductions were the aim,
Innovation doesn’t come easy, and sometimes there was pain.
Opportunities and timing don’t always align,
And I have decided that now is the time,
This morning I informed John that I’m resigning, and I’m done,
My last day will be October 31st, 2021.
Some of you may be thinking what the hell? What does that mean?
Well for one, my last day at UBC will be this Halloween.
On November 1st a new adventure I will start
A new home, a new country, a new role, and a new team to be apart.
The Executive Director of Campus Energy, Utilities, and Operations I will be.
At the University of Washington in Sea…
…attle, home the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, Kraken, Storm, Huskies, and now me…
So, it’s back to the future with steam to hot water and other things fun,
I’ll have the pleasure of applying lessons learned of the initiatives we’ve done.
In a way, I’ll be expanding the influence of UBC,
Remembering of course, that the second mouse gets the cheese.
I’ll be on vacation for a few weeks away,
Siu and Phil will be in-charge, so everyone be good, ok?
When I get back, I’ll make sure to plan time,
To provide more details, without having to rhyme.
In friendship,
David Woodson
Managing Director, Energy & Water Services