Tom Thompson
DES Board Vice-Chair

Thompson Brings Engineering Background, Customer Perspective to Advisory Board As a member of the Metro Nashville District Energy System Advisory Board, Tom Thompson has been able to offer an engineer's and customer's perspective to the committee that monitors DES' operations. Thompson has served on the Metro Nashville District Energy System Advisory Board since 2007, and was elected vice chairman in 2008. He has been the director of engineering for the Renaissance Nashville Hotel for four years, but his experience in the industry spans almost three decades, as he's been with Marriott for 29 years. His experience in engineering, coupled with the fact that he's a DES customer, has made him an asset for the MNDES Advisory Board.

"The advisory board is focused on observing system operations and customer service related to the DES plant," Thompson said. "Simply put, we're here for checks and balances. Being an engineer probably allowed me to gain an understanding of the operations aspect pretty quickly, and because the Renaissance is on the system, I've been able to get a customer's perspective as well."

As an advisory board member, Thompson is able to represent other customers on the DES system by reporting any issues at the quarterly meetings; but he also makes himself available to answer any questions customers might have throughout the year.

"Part of my responsibilities includes being able to educate DES customers about the system," he said. "I'm always available to talk to customers about any issues they might have, and answer any questions about DES." As the director of engineering for the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Thompson is in charge of overseeing all of the operations in the building, including repairs, upgrades and preventive maintenance to equipment. Because the hotel is a 24/7 operation, Thompson's team is constantly keeping an eye on all the equipment in the hotel.

"Preventive maintenance is very important in my line of work, and I really want the DES customers to understand the importance of it as well," Thompson said. "Over the past few years we've seen a big push to make everything as 'green' as possible. One of the best ways for customers to save money and be more efficient is to perform regular preventive maintenance on their equipment.