This month, EssexNEXT highlights our value, Care About What Matters, which is truly fundamental to who we are at Essex. At the core of this value are characteristics such as passion, commitment, joy, and showing up as the best version of ourselves regularly. As we reflect on this value, we wanted to share an E-Team with you that we believe excellently represented this month's highlighted value, Care About What Matters.
 
Recently, Magnolia Square has been the target for vandalism and destruction by a group of rebellious teenagers. Some of the vandalism inflicted upon the site included destroying the dog park by trampling and tearing down the perimeter fence! 
 
While these events were incredibly upsetting and disheartening to the team and residents, the Magnolia Square Maintenance Team, led by Javier Aquino, saw an opportunity, and took it upon themselves to restore and revive the community dog park!
 
With the combined effort of the maintenance staff, they researched how to construct a fence from the ground up and applied their newfound knowledge to the restoration of the once beautiful amenity space! Javier and his dedicated team, Lisandro Torres, Ivan Torres, Bernabe Andrade, Adriana Hernandez Soriano, and Gabriel Pariaco Bastardo, purchased the proper equipment and materials, dug the foundation, laid the cement, and leveled the stakes to build a beautiful, new fence successfully! What would typically have cost Essex $7,000 in repairs was completed for only $1,000 through the drive and dedication of this team!
 

 
This amazing Maintenance Team exemplifies Essex values every day and demonstrated so many of our values with their actions. They represented Care About What Matters by incorporating the residents' feedback and going the extra mile to install a motion-sensor light in the dog park to create a safer environment for pets and their owners at night! Plus, they also simultaneously embodied two other values; Do Right with Urgency by not hesitating to jump into action to repair their dog park, and Lead at Every Level, with every member of the maintenance team taking part in this project for the greater good of the community.
 
Thank you, Magnolia Maintenance Superstars! We appreciate you and your efforts!