University of Illinois Facilities and Services

Employee of the Month - Russ McDuffee

Russ McDuffee has received abundant positive acclaim by his associates in his five years of building service work. The Engineering Sciences Building’s occupants know they can rely on him to carry out his duties and additional requests as needed. Various building operations personnel once attested that university buildings could not be maintained in the early hours of the day. Nonetheless, Russ proved the contrary by rising early every day to ensure ESB is one of campus's cleanest buildings. We emphasize “every day.” Russ has has not used a single day of sick leave in over five years, showing that it's possible to show up daily and work hard. His perfect attendance, attention to detail, collaborative skills, and admirable work ethic are why he is F&S's Employee of the Month for July.

Team of the Month - Abbott LOE Team 

The Abbott LOEs continue to innovate to improve the plant's safety and reliability. Most recently, they provided excellent customer care with the new boiler commissioning and plant outage coordination. During the commissioning, the new boilers needed to be tested and adjusted to meet the current air emission regulations as well as change in load from minimum production to full power. The test engineer was grateful for the excellent support from the LOEs as the team adjusted the equipment to optimize air emission performance.

Twice during testing the new boiler tripped causing massive steam flow disruptions. Nevertheless, the LOEs led their teams to recovery promptly so that testing could resume while at the same time maintaining service to campus. The LOEs provided excellent support to assist the testing team, enabling them to accomplish in four days what typically takes about two weeks. The professionalism and support of the entire operational team under the leadership of the LOEs represented the University of Illinois as the world-class institution we strive to be.

Employee of the Month - Mary Mathiews

We at F&S have decided to recognize Mary Mathiews, one of our building service workers, as August’s Employee of the Month for the good she does every day at the Digital Computer Lab (DCL).

Whether it’s cleaning up for special events or occupants in movement, dumping trash, or vacuuming, facility managers Lori Beeson and Mike Hansen know they can count on Mary to ensure the DCL is in notable condition. She’s hardworking, and an advocate for diversity, coming in contact with groups of people from assorted backgrounds on a daily basis. She is friendly, has a big smile for everyone she meets and is always helpful.
In the face of an ongoing manpower shortage, the other two building service workers must cover more ground when one is absent. Mary consistently accomplishes this, with minimal reduction in the standard of cleaning. For how she shines on the job even amid complication, we give her our recognition.

Team of the Month - Moving Crew 

The teamwork involved in bringing commencement to life is abundant. Thus, F&S has decided to reward our moving crew, namely Joe Perkins, Dennis Peters, Demes Johnson, James Atkins, Leonard McFarland, and Delbert Ketteman with May’s Team of the Month for their efficient, friendly, environmentally conscious behavior during this intense preparation period.

Everyone that works on the moving crew comes from a different background. They all get along and work well together. When they have different points of view, the team works through things and makes compromises.

Their supervisor was more than satisfied as these men came together to ensure perfection before, during, and after the ceremony. During commencement, they interacted with customers and ran back and forth during ceremonies to keep everything in line. Their duties included getting podiums in place for the Chancellor's office and running department gonfalons on a time sensitive schedule. At Huff Gym, they made a notable effort to recycle all the water bottles left behind.

In summation, their good nature and transcendent teamwork make them worthy of Team of the Month. Keep up the good work, guys!

Employee of the Month - Ben Meyer

For his future-oriented mindset and immense dedication, we’ve decided to name Ben Meyer our star employee for September. Ben helped F&S automate tasks with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager as he led us into the new age of computer management. His capabilities have aided F&S on more than one platform however, as he now manages our mobile devices in a similar way with a similar product.

Without his marvelous efforts, tech aptitude, or his impressive skill set, our organization-wide tech upgrades would still be manual and characterized by tedium. Yet, Ben’s tech initiatives have saved us abundant time. Given his accomplishments, we recognize him proudly!

Team of the Month - Electricians Shop 03

Beyond performing their daily duties in the repair shop, Electricians Shop 03 also provides power, lighting, and sound for special events across campus. And, the stage doesn't get much larger than the one that’d hold U.S. President Barack Obama as he made a nationally televised speech at Foellinger Auditorium on Friday, September 14.

Foreman Louis Hillier, Sub-foreman Mark Henry, and the sound tech crew of Dave Schopp, Keith Grob, Bill Buesing, Ryan Jones, and John Mingee all worked tirelessly to provide a flawless production on short notice. John removed the electrical feed to the seat lighting so seats could be removed to accommodate the cameras. Dave, Mark, Keith, Bill, Louis, and Ryan provided temporary power and the audio feed to network news satellite trucks, provided video and sound at the President's house on campus, and of course the lighting and sound for the speech at Foellinger.

Employee of the Month - Mel Kocher

F&S is teeming with star employees, and Mel Kocher is no exception. For his admirable work ethic and radiant positivity, we felt it necessary to award him Employee of the Month and bring to light a few of the positive remarks his colleagues had for him.

Talk about operational excellence: Mel’s assigned area sees heavy student traffic, yet he keeps it immaculate. Every time a supervisor checks on him, he is working. If he is asked to do something extra or out of the ordinary, he’s on it immediately, with a smile on his face.

We see environmental stewardship as vastly important at F&S. This is why Mel uses non-toxic and environmentally-friendly cleaning products. Moreover, he sorts paper and plastic recycle and makes sure they are placed in the appropriate bins for pickup. The Law building produces a large amount of paper recycle. Even so, Mel keeps up with the volume. Additionally, Mel is a proponent of diversity, working every day around students, staff, and professors from diverse backgrounds. He respects their differences and is friendly and polite to them all. He enjoys working and engaging with people from all walks of life.

Team of the Month - Stores Receiving Team

There’s no question that Facilities & Services at Illinois is teeming with star employees. This month, we’ve decided to highlight the notable efforts of our stores receiving team. Comprised of Eppietta Smith, Dustin Sears, John Bradley, Casandis Hunt, Kyle Pelmore, Jim McGuire, and Josue A. S. Esorcia, this team transcends the standards, going above and beyond to cultivate a comfortable, effective team culture and brighten the lives of their clients and colleagues alike.

They’re a diverse team, ranging in race, age, and gender, and despite their differences, they communicate strongly both with vendors and customers of distinct backgrounds across campus. Their “customer-first” attitude stands firm as they keep each other in the loop with any issues that arise on the job. This intragroup communication prompts not only a sense of in-group solidarity, but ensures that their client base is properly tended to. Many members of the stores receiving team are also always filling in and ensuring constant customer satisfaction.

In summation, the stores receiving team houses several remarkable individuals. The culture of cooperation they’ve fostered is something we all should observe and try to emulate here at F&S.

Employee of the Month - Mike Burns

Mike Burns genuinely cares for others. Burns is a lead operator at the Abbott Power Plant, and through his dealings with key clients, students, faculty, researchers, and university staff every day, his selflessness and outstanding customer service skills are evident. Recognizing and responding to needs as is required of him, Burns puts customer satisfaction first. This is why we at F&S have elected him November’s Employee of the Month.

Team of the Month - Card Access Team

Much can be said about the card access team’s strengths. Every day they strive to eliminate waste on projects and share resources wherever they can.

The card access team excels in their endeavors partly due to their use of virtual servers which allow them to share resources with other systems in the PPSB Data Center. This eliminates the need for dedicated physical servers for each system and provides great cost/resource savings to the university. Their successes can also be credited to their proactive, hardworking nature. Their pride in their work and whom they’re benefiting is evident. Thus, we’ve made them November’s Team of the Month. Way to go, guys!

Employee of the Month - Brad Stevenson

When staff shortages arose among the emergency response team, building service worker Brad Stevenson was not deterred. Brad received several work orders and took on a permanent position, which in turn motivated him to communicate effectively with his supervisor and customers and ensure that all his assigned tasks were seamlessly carried out. His new responsibilities require him to think on his feet, yet he's been hard at work in multiple locations doing emergency response work and often aiding moving crew BSWs. Ultimately, Brad never stops thinking about ways his team can improve their emergency response time. His devotion to his team and his craft is why he's earned the title of December's Employee of the Month.

Team of the Month - Shop 24

With the iPad Mini in the hands of the front line steam operators, they send and receive information in real time from the field. In turn, the need for paper repair request forms has been eliminated completely. Instead, steam operators screenshots customer requests as they come in, attach photos of the needed repair, speak into their device to provide additional info, and immediately report this info to F&S to ensure quicker repairs. Such innovation, prompted by effective collaboration, are why we've nominated Shop 24 as F&S's Team of the Month. It goes to show that new technologies make an impact when formulated and implemented properly.

Employee of the Month - Rocio Arroyave-Jamison

A building service worker at Grainger, Rocio Arroyave-Jamison is characterized by her sensible, thorough work ethic. From engaging in effective team collaboration to tuning up hard-to-reach areas at Grainger with no complaints, her efforts know no limits. Rocio goes above and beyond to make an esteemed campus facility an optimal, productive environment for students and faculty alike. Furthermore, she takes initiative to educate herself on that which she doesn't understand on the job. She tackles new work projects with grit, displays a willingness to learn and improve, and puts in 100% at all times. We at F&S have chosen to highlight her efforts for the month of January, as her productive ways fill us with pride daily.

Team of the Month - Shop 03

When the garage encountered issues with tripping circuit breakers during the holiday luncheon, Louis Hillier and his shop convened to reach a positive outcome, running a temporary line to supply power to keep operations in motion until the proper repairs could be made. This operation required collaboration, cooperation, and diligence, yet Shop 03 channeled this all with no hesitation. We at F&S see Shop 03’s efforts as a notable display of excellence in the workplace; their selflessness contributed to optimal university operations in the face of a dilemma. Thus, we’ve named them January’s Team of the Month!

Employee of the Month - Dave Pavlick

A steam and power plant operator at Abbot, Dave Pavlick constantly provides exceptional support and service. He tends to discern individual needs and moves efficiently to provide key information, recommendations, direction, always completing tasks so others around him can do the same. His effective communication abilities allow him to mesh well not only with his coworkers, but his superiors and entry-level associates. The caring, collaborative environment he cultivates every day through his work is one that supports cooperation, honesty, and openness.

Even beyond bettering the plant’s culture, Dave consistently acts with environmental stewardship. He is a leader willing to employ practices that’ll result in less energy consumption, less waste, and less risk to his peers and the public. He utilizes all his available resources, such as lead operating engineers, peer employees, vendors, and contractors to drive innovation and adapt to changes in our environment. In turn, the plant can deliver better more reliable energy to customers.

In summation, we’ve awarded Dave Pavlick the honor of February’s Employee of the Month on his account of his significant contributions to F&S.

Team of the Month - Will Corum, Jason Maxwell, Mark Klein

Will Corum, Jason Maxwell, and Mark Klein installed hundreds of feet of conduit and cable tray for AV infrastructure along with two electrical panels, hundreds of feet of conduit, and thousands of feet of wire to provide power and signal needs for the Richmond Family Welcome Gallery at Alice Campbell Alumni Center. The work was performed within a very tight window with many environmental restrictions and a limited flow of information. Mark and Jason proved to be excellent craftsmen as demonstrated by their problem-solving abilities and their quality and quantity of work.

This team was led by Will, who did an outstanding job communicating with the customer, the contractor, the project coordinator, and any other stakeholders involved. He thoroughly reviewed available documentation, anticipated problems, worked with his team to provide solutions to problems, scheduled work, and ensured his team had the resources needed to be effective and efficient.

This was a technically complicated project given to this team with limited information and a short timeframe. It was up to them to secure the information they needed, work in a sensitive environment, adjust schedules, solve problems, and maintain focus on project completion and customer satisfaction. Other electricians were involved when we needed to ramp up manpower, and their contributions were essential. However, Will, Mark, and Jason were the core of the team. It was through their operational excellence that the Alice Campbell Alumni Center was able to unveil this showpiece prior to their Homecoming deadline. This team's actions reflect well on this shop, Construction Services, Facilities and Services, and the University of Illinois.

Employee of the Month - Brandon Finefield

Brandon Finefield is seen as the FLB's most diligent building service worker, excelling both in his duties and in connecting with every person he encounters. His consistent self-direction and team-player mindset impress the building's occupants daily and challenge his coworkers to raise their work ethic to his level.

His recycling endeavors don't go unnoticed either. He ensures that the building's recycle containers are properly displayed and well maintained with the correct signage, even coordinating with the building contact to have them placed in strategic areas. Moreover, he regularly takes out barrels of paper recycle so that they're not full or difficult to access.

Brandon approaches others' ideas with respect and an open mind and helps colleagues carry out even the toughest tasks. His stellar attitude and performance are why he is March's Employee of the Month. Rock on, Brandon!

Team of the Month - Deep Night Lock-up Team

When January and February saw multiple heavy snowfalls, the Deep Night Lock-Up Team, consisting of Scott McCartney, Johnny Joyner, Rodney Butler, Scott Pham, Chris Sedlock, Bob Deremiah, Rocio Arroyave-Jamison, and Joshua Potts, worked weekends to clear snow from several campus buildings' entrances.

They exhibited selfless behavior throughout: relying on one another, carpooling to avoid extra fuel consumption, periodically checking in on each other's safety during their outdoor labor, and ensuring that they didn't use too much ice-melt on steps or sidewalks so that less was tracked into university buildings. These circumstances, their strong teamwork, and the time they dedicated to keeping the Urbana campus accessible and safe for students is why they are March's Team of the Month.

Employee of the Month - Corina Funkhouser

Corina Funkhouser, a building service worker at the Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL), has displayed abundant pride in her profession through her actions every day on the job. From developing strong working relationships with customers through her helpful, courteous, and professional behavior to discovering a product that gives CSL's rubber floors a dazzling shine, we are happy to name her April's Employee of the Month at F&S!

Team of the Month - RCx Team

The RCx team is comprised of capable, dedicated individuals who consistently go out of their way to accommodate their building's occupants. Specifically, their project in McKinley required ample interaction and discovery to manage the space and workload efficiently. Gaining the necessary insights took cooperation, understanding, and collaboration with other groups of technicians, yet they did so quite successfully.

In summary, each member of this team exhibits an excellent customer service focus and passion as they continue performing exceptional workmanship. Their ability to engage and train the staff and occupants stands out with each project. Congratulations, RCx Team!

Employee of the Month - Cory Pelmore

Cory has demonstrated excellence in the delivery of his customer service to all the occupants in their building. Cory Pelmore, a building service work on campus, has received more than 20 letters from U of I faculty describing his professionalism as a Building Service Worker. Cory's personality is complimented in each of these. Occupants from the Library Informational Sciences state that Cory is always welcoming and greets them by name, and that he is timely, efficient, hardworking, always with a smile planted on his face.

Due to the overwhelming consensus of satisfaction with Cory’s duties among the iSchool's occupants, we are proud to award him the title of May's Employee of the Month. Congratulations, Cory!

Team of the Month - Elevator Shop & Service Office

Getting stuck on an elevator is no one's best case scenario, though we're thankful to have had the Elevator Shop & Service Office to quickly rescue a couple of people when it happened at IGB. The joint effort of supervisors Vince Schaub and Jerry Dinnin, along with the entire elevator shop and service office staff provided necessary information back to campus in a timely manner, remaining calm as they dealt with a high-stress situation.

The elevator mechanics at the University of Illinois has the responsibility to repair and maintain the 350 elevators on our campus, yet even with so many tasks at hand, they and their foreman worked together with the Service Office implemented a communication plan using their assigned iPads to notify the multiple building contacts in wake of the situation and free the entrapped people quickly. For this, we're awarding the Elevator Shop & Service Office May's Team of the Month!